The narrow maintenance alley behind Relay Station Four was shrouded in dense midday shadow as six cloaked figures crept along the weathered brick wall.
The Directorate black-ops operatives moved with practiced, silent strides, their active-camo cloaks blending seamlessly into the cracked masonry and damp ground.
"Look at the rear entrance," the operative squad leader whispered over their encrypted laser comms, pointing toward the unlatched steel security door.
"The front entrance is completely unguarded, and the roof maintenance ladder sits unlocked against the parapet," the squad leader noted, adjusting his night-vision scope.
"These Citadel amateurs have zero perimeter discipline," the second operative sneered, readying a magnetic EMP disruption spike.
"They won a broadcast battle, but they left their physical infrastructure wide open to attack," the third operative whispered, checking his silenced carbine.
