The silence in the room was a heavy, suffocating thing, thick with the smell of gunpowder and the metallic tang of blood. Four professional soldiers, men who had likely seen a dozen battlefields, were dead on the floor of our hotel suite. The immediate danger was gone, but the adrenaline was still a roaring fire in my veins.
Bella leaned against the shattered doorframe, taking a deep, shuddering breath. She looked down at her hands, which were still trembling slightly. "I never thought… I never thought I would have to be a part of killing people when I joined this," she mumbled, her voice low and full of a profound, weary shock. "I don't know how my life changed so much."
Nari, who was already calmly and efficiently stripping the bodies of their weapons and gear, looked over at her with a cool, almost amused expression. "You'll get used to it," she said, her voice a flat, simple statement of fact.
Bella shot her a sharp, incredulous look. "What do you mean, 'get used to it'? Both of you are barely twenty. And this…" She gestured to the carnage around us, her expression a mixture of horror and awe.
"Okay, calm down," I said, my own voice a steady anchor in the storm of their conflicting emotions. "We need to leave. Now." I looked at Bella, my tone firm but not unkind. "First, close what's left of that door. Then, go and get Sandra and the others. Tell them we're leaving."
She nodded, her matriarchal instincts kicking in, and disappeared into the back of the suite.
Nari laid out our new arsenal on the coffee table. "Wow," she said, a flicker of genuine appreciation in her eyes. "Advanced tech. We have four Desert Eagles, one M24 sniper rifle, two assault rifles, and a light machine gun. And these…" She held up one of the communicators we had taken. "These are military-grade and still working."
"Good," I said, my own mind already racing ahead. "Try to get a signal out to Anna. Without her, getting out of this hotel is going to be a nightmare." She nodded, her fingers already working on the device.
A moment later, everyone emerged from the master bedroom. Hye-rin was awake now, leaning heavily on Hye-jin, her face pale but her expression surprisingly resolute. Sandra and Allison, however, looked terrified.
"What should we do?" Sandra asked, her voice a timid whisper. "Do we call the police?"
Nari let out a short, humorless laugh. "Seriously? The guys who are after us are from Yunis, special ops division of the Chimera Group of Terra Nova continent. Do you really believe the local Jimacia police can protect us from them?"
Allison's face went pale. "Then… then what will happen to us? I have a brother to take care of."
Hye-jin, seeing the fear in their eyes, spoke up, her own voice full of a quiet, profound guilt. "I'm so sorry. This is all our fault." Hye-rin, despite her pain, looked at me and Nari. She gave a slight, formal bow. "Thank you for saving us. We don't want to become a burden, but… we beg you. Please, help us."
I gave her a curt nod, a silent promise. There was no need for words. I looked at Nari, who was still calculating, her brilliant mind processing a thousand different variables. "Does anyone here know how to use a gun?" she asked, her gaze sweeping over Bella, Sandra, and Allison.
They all shook their heads. "No."
Nari actually smiled, a cold, predatory little thing. "Nice," she said. She turned to me. "Okay, Adam. You take the machine gun and one of the assault rifles. I'll take the sniper and the other assault rifle."
"Okay," I agreed, already slinging the weapons over my shoulders. "You take the rear, I'll take point."
Nari then turned to the other three women, her voice taking on the sharp, precise tone of an instructor. "Sandra, Allison, Bella. Listen carefully. I am going to give you a one-minute lesson on how to use a Desert Eagle. This is for your own protection." She picked up one of the heavy, silver pistols. "Pick it up. Point it towards the target. Hold it as far away from your face as possible and as tight as you can. Use both hands. And then, you shoot. Don't think. Just protect yourselves."
They all looked terrified, but they nodded, a new, grim determination in their eyes. I looked at Hye-jin. "You just support Hye-rin. Both of you stay in the center of our formation. That's your only job."
Just then, the communicator in Nari's hand crackled to life. A familiar, anxious voice filled the room. "Hello? President? Are you there?"
"Hello, Anna," Nari said, a wave of relief in her own voice. "Yes, we're here. What's the situation?"
I leaned in, my own voice urgent. "Hello, Anna. It's Adam. I'm connecting you to their server. Hack everything. Now. And get us out of here. We're in a hostage situation."
"What happened, Leader?!" Anna's voice was frantic.
"No time to explain," I cut her off. "Call Stacy. Tell her to get a private jet ready at the Jimacia airport. Now. And then, you get us out of this hotel. I want the safest and shortest path to the exit."
"Okay, Leader," she replied, the panic in her voice already being replaced by a cold, professional focus.
Nari looked at me. "Do it fast, Anna. We can't stay here any longer." While Anna worked, I looked at my court. They were scared, yes, but they were ready. Allison was terrified but trying to stay calm for the others. Sandra was holding her gun with a surprisingly steady hand. Bella's face was a mask of cold, hard resolve. And the twins, though wounded and afraid, stood together, a silent, unbreakable unit.
Nari met my gaze, a slow, dangerous smile on her lips. "Let's roll, my king."
I just smiled back. "Why not, my queen."
Anna's voice, now a calm, steady presence in our ears, came through the comms. "Okay, the whole hotel is divided into four wings. There are heavy guards on every floor. You are in the residential wing, on the 23rd floor. The only way out is through the recreational area, then the kitchen, and finally, the parking garage."
"Okay," I said. "Move out. Everyone."
"I'll inform you when there are enemies," Anna continued. "And I'm faking the camera feeds. They can't see you."
Nari chuckled softly. "That's our hacker."
We moved as one, a silent, deadly unit. I was in the lead, my assault rifle held at the ready. Behind me, the three women, now armed with pistols they barely knew how to use, formed a protective circle around the twins. And at the rear, Nari, her M24 sniper rifle a sleek, deadly extension of her own body, brought up the rear.
"Upcoming left is an emergency staircase," Anna's voice whispered in our ears. "Take it down. But be careful. There are four men guarding the 20th floor."
We started down the stairs, our footsteps silent on the cold concrete. As we neared the 21st-floor landing, Anna's voice came again, sharp and urgent. "Stop. Two men are coming up."
I held up a hand, and our entire group froze. I signaled for Nari to move up. A moment later, two guards appeared on the landing below us. They never even saw us. A soft shit from Nari's pistol, a muffled thud from my own hand-to-hand takedown, and they were down.
"Clear?" I whispered.
Nari was already stripping them of their ammo. "It's important," she said, before casually shoving the bodies into a nearby utility closet. "Leave no trace." I just nodded.
We continued down to the 20th floor. "From here," Anna said, "you need to go through the recreational area. There's an emergency lift there that goes directly to the kitchen."
"Okay," I confirmed. But as we were about to enter the recreational area, Anna's voice came again. "Stop." We all froze. "There are six hostiles in that area. And they have eight hostages. One of the hostages is one of them, a militant in disguise."
Bella's voice was a low whisper in my ear. "Then how will we proceed? Should we change our path?"
It was Nari who answered. She looked at me, a slow, predatory grin spreading across her face. "Hey, Anna," she said into her comm. "Can you somehow cut the power to this entire area? Make it completely dark."
"Yes," Anna replied instantly. "I can."
Nari's grin widened. "Do it," she said, her voice a low, chilling whisper. "I'm going to assassinate them."