Page 56 of Echos and Empires (After #3)

His mind was a storm of tactics and timelines, the imperative to keep them safe, warring with the knowledge that war had its own demands.

Death was a part of it, a shadow they couldn’t outrun.

He reminded himself of that truth with every beat of his heart, with every shot that left his weapon and found its mark.

Liam kept watch from the perimeter, an eye on the battle and the jungle beyond. “They’re closing in!”

“Keep moving!” Chris ordered, his voice a steady anchor in the maelstrom. He caught sight of Alex, the medic’s hands swift and sure as he took down an opponent with brutal efficiency. Not medics, not here. Not now.

Time stretched and snapped, a wire drawn too tight, and still they fought. Chris moved like a force of nature, his own life a secondary concern to the mission. He couldn’t think of Emma, of what he’d promised, of what was still to come. Not yet. Not until this was done.

Victor’s men pressed harder, more organized, more determined, and Chris felt the shift as they neared a breaking point. “Fall back!” he commanded, the words a release, a decision, an end and a beginning.

The jungle swallowed them up, the thick heat closing over their escape like a fist. Chris knew the victory was theirs, the proof in the urgency of their retreat, in the frantic shouts and confusion left in their wake.

They’d given Victor a warning. They’d shown him they weren’t afraid.

But more than that—they’d done it without losing anyone. This time.

“We keep going, but we take the long way around,” he hissed to the men and women with him. They’d damn near been ambushed at the community line, but they weren’t done. “Alex, Liam, your group is staying with us. We can’t split further, and we only have today and tomorrow to get this right.”

The supply warehouse loomed like a monolith of desperation, every wall a promise of protection that Chris knew he had to shatter.

They descended on it with the force of a hurricane, loud and relentless, their first step a calculated gamble with lives on the line.

Bash and William led the charge, gunfire a staccato of violence that tore through the night.

Chris, Alex and Liam were in the eye of the storm, moving with deadly silence while the world around them erupted into chaos.

It was war, and war had a way of swallowing everything.

They came out of the jungle, shadows against the glare of the compound’s lights, and the tension snapped into a crackle of gunfire. Bash’s voice cut through the comms, fierce and exultant. “Hit them hard!”

Chris watched the chaos unfold, the panic and disarray as Victor’s men scrambled to respond.

This was the first step, the crucial blow that would set the stage for everything that followed.

It felt like betrayal, the memory of Emma’s face sharp and accusing in his mind.

But they had to make it hurt. They had to make it count.

Bash was a force of nature, his shots precise and unyielding, his presence like an explosion in their ranks.

William followed his lead, weaving through the confusion with lethal intent, the shock of his attacks drawing fire and attention away from the others.

It was a dance of danger and destruction, a pattern they’d practiced until it felt like instinct.

“Go,” Bash barked, voice crackling with the sound of gunfire. “We’ve got this.”

Chris nodded to Liam and Alex, the briefest signal, and then they were moving, slipping into the compound’s perimeter with stealth and purpose. The noise of the assault was a shield, a living thing that breathed and bled and gave them the cover they needed.

The weight of the damage they were about to cause settled into his bones, a pressure as unyielding as the concrete walls they crept past. Every shot, every shout, every second was a reminder of what they were risking, of who might pay the price.

It was supposed to feel like victory, but it felt like something darker, something hollow.

Liam kept pace beside him, a grin flashing across his face even now, even in this. “Think they know we’re here?”

Chris gave a grim smile, his attention never wavering from the path ahead. “Pretty damn sure.”

They advanced through the chaos, through the noise and fury that swallowed everything but the cold focus of their task. The tension built with every step, a countdown to a moment that could either save them or destroy them.

Chris felt it tighten around him, a coil of inevitability. He heard Bash’s voice again, strained but certain, and knew they were running out of time. “Go for it, Chris. This group is out like a light.”

He pushed forward, the walls of the depot rising up like a fortress around him. Liam was at his side, a silent partner in the violence they were about to unleash. Chris knew the stakes, knew the cost, and still he moved with the certainty of someone who had already sacrificed everything.

The depot felt like a maze, a labyrinth of crates and corridors and confusion.

Chris navigated it with the cold precision of someone who had planned for every eventuality, who had already mapped out the path to victory or failure.

He couldn’t think of the lives they were risking, the moral lines they were crossing.

Not yet. Not until this was done.

They gathered the supplies, the spoils of war and desperation, and Chris watched as people filed in to steal the food and medical tools. One by one he packed a bag and passed it to someone, watching as they vanished out of sight.

“Fuck, this feels awful,” Alex sighed and grabbed a bag over his shoulders.

“All we can do is hope we activate and disarm quickly. We don’t want to steal from people in need, but we have to cut them off and protect ourselves and our new people.”

“I didn’t say I didn’t get it, just that it sucks.” Alex winced. “Sorry. I’m on edge. There’s about five people out there without supplies. Let’s take them with us to the radio tower. Send everyone else home. We’ve had too many firefights, the less I have to patch up, the better.”

The words—the less who die—hung in the air.

Chris gave a nod and gestured for Alex and Liam to file out. Outside, Bash and William had tied up all but two guards, making Chris’s stomach a little less heavy knowing they hadn’t killed too many.

The depot stood silent behind them, a ghost of what it had been, a monument to the ruthlessness that Chris had allowed himself to embrace.

It was over. The first step, the horrible, necessary first step. Chris allowed himself a single breath of relief, of certainty that this was the right choice, and then it was gone, replaced by the relentless drive to keep moving, to keep pushing, to keep winning.

They moved with surgical precision, cutting through the compound with a ruthless grace that left no trace.

Chris felt the tension like a pulse beneath his skin, a countdown that beat faster with every step.

The radio room was their target, their final objective, a lifeline that needed to be severed before it choked them.

He was worried they’d get caught, that the fragile thread of their luck would snap.

But the team worked like a clock wound tight, each move a testament to how much they’d sacrificed to get here.

The mission was over nearly as quickly as it had begun, Chris breathing out a sigh of relief as they finished without detection.

He commanded everyone back to their homes except the five who didn’t have supplies.

“William, Bash, I’m sending you back to the caves with supplies. If we get caught, Emma will be on her own with Ranger. otherwise.”

“Understood,” Bash reached out and took Chris’s pack of supplies. “Get your asses back to the caves safe and sound right after, yeah?”

“Yeah,” Chris clasped his hand into Bash’s and gave William a little shove. “Get back to our girl. Let her know we’ve won a battle.”

He turned to the small group. “We have maybe twenty minutes. We’ve taken down a good number of guards, and who knows how many are out searching the island for my unit after the last forty-eight hours.

We make this quick. The tower comes down either literally or figuratively.

Then we all go our separate ways until the next leg of the assault we discussed.

Five heads nodded, all wearing grim expressions. If he paused to check in with them like he would have done his unit, he’d dismiss them, and he needed them. “Fall out.”

Chris led them through with a careful eye, each step calculated to avoid detection. The air was thick with the risk of discovery, a tangible thing that pressed against them like a second skin.

His thoughts ran in a loop of anxiety and resolve, Emma’s voice a constant echo in his mind. We go in with everything. He knew the stakes, knew how quickly luck could turn, how swiftly a plan could unravel. The first hit had gone too well, the kind of well that didn’t last.

They reached the building that housed the main radio server room, a squat structure at the compound’s edge, and Chris felt the familiar knot of tension tighten. The final objective. The last piece of their strategy, and the one most likely to get them killed if anything went wrong.

Liam gave him a sharp nod, a silent question, and Chris answered it with a gesture, a flick of his hand that sent them into motion.

They moved like a military drill, every action smooth and coordinated.

Alex and Liam took the lead, slipping inside with practiced ease, while Chris and Bash hung back, eyes scanning for any sign of trouble.

Chris felt the weight of responsibility settle over him, a lead blanket that pushed the air from his lungs.

The others worked quickly, efficiently, tearing through wires and circuits with the skill of men who’d done this a hundred times.

He watched them, a silent guardian, his senses tuned to the slightest hint of danger.

Alex stood at his side, a solid presence, eyes sharp and vigilant. “Almost too easy,” he muttered, a trace of suspicion in his voice.

Chris nodded, the worry a constant undercurrent in his thoughts. “Don’t jinx it.”

The team moved like they were born to this, a symphony of destruction that left no trace behind.

Alex dismantled the radio equipment with swift hands, his focus absolute, his cocky smirk replaced by a look of fierce concentration.

Liam was right beside him, every movement a study in efficiency, a dance of chaos controlled.

“Time?” Alex asked, not looking up from his work.

“Four minutes,” Chris replied, the tension in his voice betraying how long those minutes felt. “Finish it.”

Liam gave a tight grin, the challenge sparking in his eyes. “Already done.”

Chris watched them wrap it up, saw the precision in every detail, the care they took to leave nothing salvageable.

The radio room was a husk, gutted and empty, a ghost of what it had been.

He let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding, the relief like a rush of cold air in the stifling heat.

“Move out,” he ordered, the command cutting through the moment like a knife. They flowed from the building, silent and efficient, retracing their steps through the compound with the same ruthless precision that had brought them there.

The jungle was a welcome sight, a dark embrace that closed around them as they left the compound behind. Chris felt the night settle over them, a promise of safety, of distance, of another day lived through. He knew better than to trust it, but he took the moment for what it was: a victory.

Once they’d put enough ground between them and the compound, Chris called a halt, gathering the team in a small clearing. The sweat and grime of the mission clung to them like a second skin, but their expressions were triumphant, charged with the adrenaline of what they’d accomplished.

“Nice work,” Chris said, the praise gruff but sincere. “They’ll be scrambling without that comm.”

Alex gave a crooked grin, the confidence back in full force. “And the depot hit? Bet they’re wondering what the hell’s happening.”

Liam leaned against a tree, arms crossed over his chest, satisfaction written in every line of his body. “Tomorrow, they’ll know.” He snickered. “I sound like Bash.”

Chris met each of the community members’ eyes, saw the readiness there, the willingness to keep going, to push forward with everything they had.

“Go back to your homes,” he said, voice carrying the weight of both command and promise.

“Next phase meets at the coast tomorrow night. Victor’s own doorstep. ”

Liam let out a low whistle, his grin contagious. “And here I thought you’d forgotten how to be reckless.”

Chris felt the hint of a smile, a fleeting thing that disappeared into the serious set of his jaw. “We go in with everything,” he said, Emma’s words an oath, a vow, a battle cry.

They broke apart, melting into the night like shadows, each step taking them closer to the final confrontation, to the risk that would either save them or end them.

Chris watched them go, a sense of purpose thrumming in his veins.

They didn’t get second chances, but with Emma and the others, he knew they didn’t need them.