Raziya used her underworld contacts to get hold of a scouting chopper and a pilot.“Maybe I should come with you, Commander.”But Alex shook his head. “No. I’ll try to intercept Mitch’s chopper in the sky. But if he manages to land, I need you on the ground. Take my private jet and head to Nexus City. You are my backup plan.”Raziya crossed her heart and bowed.“I won’t let you down, Commander.”Raziya sent Alex all the details of the private aviation firm from which Mitch had booked the chopper before heading off.Once Alex’s recon chopper was airborne, he reached out to Skybound’s Manager.“Mr. Ezekiel, I need a favor.”“Of course, Mr. Verlaine. Anything for you.”“I want to know everything about the private chopper that left Glenmonte right now with a client who offered you 1 million for the ride. Who’s the pilot? What’s the course? And how long will the flight take?”Ezekiel consulted his flight tracker and answered all the questions one after another.The chopper was bound for th

On the southern coast of Ottava Island, two inflatable rubber boats carrying Colonel Tyson and his commandos were waiting for Mitch Banner.They had reached the island several minutes ago and secured the coast for a quick extraction, but the man they were supposed to rescue was nowhere to be seen.Colonel Tyson glanced at his watch and furrowed his brow.It was half past 4 in the morning, and here they were freezing their butts for a guy who had suddenly dropped out of all comms and disappeared into the night.Anxious and frustrated, the Colonel finally contacted Major Monroe.“The asset hasn’t reached the island yet. It’s been 32 minutes already. We cannot stay here much longer. The Coast Guard will be onto us if we idle around.”“I swear these militants are completely worthless!” Major Monroe muttered. “Wait for ten more minutes and then leave. I’ll try contacting that idiot again.”“Hold on, Major. I think I see something!” Colonel Tyson cut in sharply. He had just spotted a boat d

Early next morning, Alex was woken up by an unexpected call from Elizabeth Warrington.As he picked it up, Elizabeth’s broken voice snatched the sleep from his drowsy eyes.“Mr. Verlaine, I need your help. Please, you need to come down here as soon as you can. They’re going to kill each other if you don’t stop them!” she cried.“Who’s going to kill each other? What happened?” Alex asked, completely clueless.“It’s the damn Vanderbilts!” she exclaimed, breaking down into tears. “Adam Vanderbilt is out for blood. They have already torched one of our greenhouses and shot up three of our warehouses. He and his younger son are gathering men to attack our estate. And my father is already preparing for a war!”Alex couldn’t figure out how the situation had escalated to such an extent. He had resolved everything between the Warringtons and the Vanderbilts during his last visit, and they had agreed to a permanent truce.“How did this happen?”Elizabeth sniffled, trying to stop her tears. Her v

At the Birkenshaw Airstrip, located at the easternmost tip of the Republic of Orichoko, the cargo aircraft had just landed.Heavily armed soldiers dressed in old, sandy military fatigues flocked to the plane like flies, accompanied by an ivory-skinned man wearing a red cap, riding a modified Oshkosh.That man with the triple stripes on his shoulders was Commander Zaire Umbale, the officer in charge of all military operations in the locality.He was the guy Major Monroe had contacted to arrange for permission of passage and an armed escort for the cargo.Commander Umbale spat out his chewing tobacco and clapped his hands.“Get your legs moving. I want that cargo out and loaded onto the trucks in 15 minutes! Yala Yala!”The men rushed to haul out the crates as the cargo bay door sloped down and the plane’s engine turned off.Commander Umbale counted with his eyes, marking down 50 wooden crates.Since Major Monroe had procured this shipment without notifying the government, it was impera

“You cannot run. Surrender now, and you will be tried in the Commander’s Court!” a nasal voice boomed from the chopper as it flew over the jungle, hot on their tail.“God damn it! We cannot give up now. Commander Payne expects us to get the shipments delivered, and I am not about to fail him after coming this far!” Captain Williams changed gears and reached out to his men over the radio. “Split up. We need to distract the bird!”At the next winding intersection, the 3 trucks diverged, taking 3 different paths through the jungle.The high-ranking soldier riding the attack chopper radioed his own men.“We need reinforcements. These guys are not in the mood to surrender. I repeat, we need backup. Send in the other fliers!”Tracking down 3 targets through the dense foliage was an incredibly difficult task for a single chopper.But a few miles down the road, the tree cover cleared up, and all 3 trucks popped out into the open.“Take them out!”The chopper’s dual miniguns whirred into motio