"You liar!" the General bellowed, though a bead of sweat rolled down his temple. "You realize I am a five-star General? A serving officer of the High Command! How dare a peasant like you lay such accusations against me?"Meanwhile, inside the darkened mobile prison van parked at the edge of the yard, the Alpha Team One soldiers were huddled together. The sergeant, his jaw shattered and wrapped in a bloody cloth, leaned his head against the small, barred window. He watched the cameras, the President, and the man in the blue shirt."It is him," the sergeant gurgled, the words barely recognizable. "He summoned them. One phone call and the world arrived.""Thank God we begged," another soldier whispered, his eyes wide with fear. "He promised to spare us, but look at the General. He thinks he’s talking to a man. He doesn't realize he's talking to a god."The sergeant looked at the General through the bars with a flash of pity. He knew what was coming. He had lost his jaw, but the General

The General’s face turned the color of ash. He looked at the cameras, then at the President’s furious eyes, and finally at the vibrating metal van. He realized he was trapped. With a trembling hand, he gave a weak signal to his men."Open it," he croaked.The heavy steel bolts hissed as they were pulled back. The doors swung open with a loud groan, and the dozen men of Alpha Team One spilled out into the blinding light of the media flashes. They looked like ghosts returning from the grave. When they saw President Nolan standing there, several of them broke into tears of pure joy."President Nolan!" they cried, their voices thick with emotion. "You found us! Thank God!"The media swarmed forward, their cameras capturing every detail of the soldiers' disheveled appearance. But the yard went deathly quiet when the sergeant stepped into the light. The President gasped, and even the hardened reporters recoiled in horror. The sergeant’s jaw was a mangled ruin, hanging at an impossible

The rays of the sunrise began to stretch across the neighborhood. The chaos that had once consumed the front yard was gone, replaced by an eerie, pristine silence. Before the Vice President of the Rhein Group entered her car, she paused. She turned to President Nolan, who was adjusting his tie as the last of the media crews packed their equipment."Thank you for coming along and taking care of things personally, Mr. President," Julia saidNolan sighed, looking around the empty yard one last time. "To be honest, Julia, I came here because I thought I could catch a glimpse of him. The President of Rhein Group... the man who practically keeps our economy afloat.""But I can't find him anywhere. I thought you said he was the one who called you? That he was here?"Julia let out a soft, knowing chuckle. She glanced toward the porch where a certain man in a dusty blue uniform had been standing just moments ago. "Oh, he was here, sir. Very much so."The President’s brow furrowed in genuine c

"Heyyy, Vanessa! There you are!"Vanessa froze. She recognized that sharp, grating voice anywhere. She turned around to see Fiona, the floor manager who had spent the last year making Vanessa's life a living hell.Fiona was walking toward her with a massive, artificial smile Vanessa had never seen before."Hope all is well, ma'am," Vanessa said cautiously. Deep down, she wondered if Fiona had also been bitten by the "niceness bug.""Oh, I'm wonderful, darling! How are you doing?" Fiona came closer, and to the shock of everyone watching in the hallway, she reached out and pulled Vanessa into a tight hug.Fiona, the woman who would usually hold her breath and look disgusted if she had to stand within three feet of a janitor, was hugging her like a long-lost sister."How are you doing, our star employee?" Fiona chirped, pulling back but keeping her hands on Vanessa’s shoulders. "It is just so good to see you. I was telling everyone this morning how lucky we are to have you.""Good to see

"He will strip me of my status. Everyone will laugh at me. Everything I’ve built... It’s all going to crumble."Adrian moved quickly, grabbing her shoulders and forcing her to look at him. "Calm down. Breathe, Lilith. In and out."She followed his lead, her chest heaving as she tried to find her center."You’ve managed this company to the best of your ability for years," Adrian said firmly. "Just because of some setbacks doesn't mean you should be destroyed. I will talk to him.""You don't get it, Adrian," she gasped. "Failure is not an excuse to him. To Richard Domino, a setback is a choice."Suddenly, the private chime of the CEO’s personal elevator rang through the room. The lights above the door flickered, showing it was rising fast."He’s coming," she panicked, her blood pressure skyrocketing.The elevator reached the top floor with a final, echoing*ding. The doors slid open with cold precision. Richard Domino stepped out, looking like a god of war in a pinstriped suit. His face