The room was loud when Ramesh stepped into the central command hall. Several officials stood around the long table, arguing over the reports he had presented minutes earlier. Malachi stood beside him, watching the chaos unfold.One official shouted, “This intelligence is incomplete. We cannot act on guesses.”Another responded, “It is not a guess. There is a recorded confession from the captured soldier.”A third official raised his voice. “We have seen groups like Korr before. They talk big, but they cannot execute a large-scale assault on the capital.”Ramesh slammed a file on the table. “He attacked our convoy. He built a hidden facility. He planned a hybrid weapon. This is not talk. This is real.”Malachi stepped forward. “He has the motive and the means. You all know what happened during the experiment. You all know why he wants revenge.”The first official shook his head. “The government cannot release public alerts without full confirmation.”Malachi answered, “If you wait for

Malachi knelt in front of the explosive device and studied every wire. The small lights on the sides blinked in a steady rhythm. He leaned closer and whispered, “This structure is too stable. Korr planned this months in advance.”A voice crackled in his earpiece. Tara sounded tense. “Your silent beacon just came online for three seconds. It is weak, but I picked it up. I marked your location.”“Good. Do not send anyone in yet,” Malachi said. “The ground is covered with blast sensors.”“I already told Ramesh,” Tara replied. “He is on his way, but he is not rushing in.”Malachi adjusted the detonator casing. He could see a locked panel under the main board. “This thing has more layers than a standard device. Korr is mocking us.”Ramesh’s voice entered the channel. “Malachi, confirm your status.”“I am alive. I am looking at a bomb with too many failsafes.”“Tell me how close you are to the main trigger,” Ramesh said.“It is in front of me. But if I pull one wire blindly, it will activat

Malachi crouched behind a stack of crates, sweat running down his face. The detonator timer glowed faintly in the dim light. His earpiece crackled and Korr’s voice came through, sharp and calm."Malachi, do you remember the Omega incident? Every death, every failure, every betrayal. You led the operation, and look at what it caused. Do you feel responsible?" Korr’s tone was measured but cold.Malachi gritted his teeth. "I know what happened. I’ve carried it every day. But I didn’t leave anyone behind intentionally.""Didn’t leave anyone behind?" Korr’s voice echoed. "I was trapped, Malachi. You left me. The world erased me. You and your government failed me. And now I make the world remember."Malachi’s hand tightened on the detonator. "I won’t let you hurt civilians. This stops here."There was a brief silence. "Every move you make will be watched. Every hesitation will cost lives. Can you live with that?" Korr’s tone shifted slightly, a tinge of mockery.Tara’s voice cut through Mal

"Fuck, he double crossed us," Ramesh's words were calm, but they carried a dark omen. Malachi felt his eyelids twitch, as a dark feeling settled inside of him. The ground underneath him shook, and he only had a few seconds to feel anything before it all went up in flames! Boom! There was a loud explosion, and that was it. The place went up in flames, and everyone was thrown meters away from the tower. Malachi reached out to grab Katherine because she was the closest to him, but the force of the explosion was too much, and all of them were thrown in different directions. "Fuck it, he already had plans to blow up the place. Let's get out of here," Malachi shouted. This was a doomed mission from the start, and he blamed himself. He should have known that a person like Korr who was convinced he was right would insist on taking everyone else down with him. In the midst of the smoke from the huge explosion , Malachi was able to see Tara stumbling over to him. "Katherine, Katherine..

"There's still no news?" Malachi's eyes were cold as he turned to look at both Ramesh and Tara. They swallowed a gulp, and Ramesh in particular looked upset. "We already told you that she's no longer alive and that there's no way they you can find her. Why can't you just let things be? We have been looking for her this whole time based on your instructions but we haven't been able to find anything yet, maybe it's time for you to let go. If she was still alive, we would have found a trace," Ramesh said. Tara took a deep breath, trying to stop herself from exploring, "Ramesh is a bit harsh with his words but you need to see that he is telling the truth. There really is nothing that we can do. You need to learn to let go of that person, Katherine was my friend too," Tara tried to convince him. Malachi turned his face away, not wanting to speak to either Ramesh or Tara. He was just waiting until he got better before he went looking for Katherine himself. He knew that she was still al