The situation was intense and palpable as Mr Phil Marcus stared at Debra Zachs slowly."I know," Mr Phil said miserably. "But I can't betray Fred. I won't. He risked himself to warn me. The least I can do is protect his identity."General Carl Gerald, who had been silently observing, pulled out his phone and typed a quick message to Phineas: Need deep dive on Lord Cassian, Blue Mountains Syndicate. Also look for a freelance cyber specialist named Fred, possible connection to dark web forums. Priority one.The response came back almost immediately: On it. From Phineas.General Carl Gerald pocketed his phone and addressed the room. "Alright, here's what we're going to do. Mr. Marcus, you're going to tell us everything you know about the recruitment messages, the timeline, the specific threats mentioned. Every detail, no matter how small.”“We'll verify the information independently." General Carl Gerald immediately said, his voice was laced with a mixture of determination and authority

General Carl Gerald was already moving toward the door, his hand on his sidearm, his mind racing with terror and tactical calculations. But before he could reach the exit, Captain Luke grabbed his arm."General, wait!" Captain Luke said urgently. "We need to think about this!""My sister is in danger!" General Carl Gerald shouted, trying to pull away. "There's no time to think…there's only time to act!""Which is exactly what they want!" Captain Luke insisted, his grip tightening. "General, listen to me. This could be a diversion.”“This could be exactly what Maya Denver wants…to split our forces, to get you away from the Marcus residence, to create chaos before the funeral." His voice was laced with a mixture of authority and determination.Debra Zachs had also stood, her face pale but her voice steady. "General Carl Gerald, Captain Luke is right. We need to consider the tactical implications here.”“If someone is really attacking your apartment, why now? Why at this exact moment

"Then why is your hand shaking?" the mystery voice immediately asked as if he or she was actually there present and looking at General Carl Gerald."Why is your voice tight with fear? Why are you standing there instead of already racing to your sister's side?"General Carl Gerald looked down. His hand was shaking."Here's what's going to happen," the voice continued."You're going to make a choice. You can stay at the Marcus residence, continue planning your security for a funeral that's already doomed….”“Or you can go to your apartment, try to save your sister, and leave the Marcus family vulnerable to the very real threat that's coming for them.""That's not a choice," General Carl Gerald said. "That's an impossible situation.”"Exactly," the voice said. "Welcome to war, General. Real war. Not the sanitized, strategic version you're used to.”“But the messy, personal, painful kind where everyone you love is a potential casualty."The line immediately went dead.General Carl Gerald

"You're not fine," Debra Zachs said firmly. "You're terrified for your sister and it's affecting your judgment. Pull over. Let Captain Luke drive.""We don't have time…”"We don't have time to scrape you off the pavement either," Debra Zachs interrupted. "Pull over. Now, please, General Carl Gerald. That's not a suggestion."“It's for all of us safety, if you crash into another car now, how are we going to get Sara back from whoever is actually holding her?” Debra Zachs immediately said, her voice was laced with a mixture of emotions and thoughts.General Carl Gerald wanted to argue, but he knew she was right. His hands were shaking, his vision was slightly blurred from adrenaline, and he'd nearly hit that last turn too fast.He pulled the SUV to the curb with perhaps more force than necessary. "Fine. Captain Luke, you drive."They quickly switched positions…Captain Luke taking the driver's seat, General Carl Gerald moving to the back.As soon as Captain Luke had the vehicle in moti

General Carl Gerald's hands were still pressed against his sister's side, trying to stem the bleeding, his mind refusing to process the full horror of what he was seeing. The blood…there was so much blood pooled on the concrete floor, staining his tactical pants, coating his hands."General Carl Gerald," Debra Zachs said carefully, her voice cutting through his mental fog."General, we need to talk about what happened here. We need to understand the timeline." "Timeline?" General Carl Gerald repeated, his voice was a bit hollow."The timeline is that some blonde assassin came into my apartment, attacked my sister, stabbed her multiple times, and kidnapped one of my officers.”“That's the timeline." "But how?" Captain Luke demanded, his weapon still raised as he continued scanning the basement's shadowy corners. "How did this happen? We had Captain Carlos en route. We had security protocols.”“How did someone get past all of that?" "They were already here," General Carl Gerald sai