March 15, 2022… Kandahar Province, KHORZABAD… 2:13 AM… Sergeant John Collins briefly checked his watch before whispering into his radio. "Home Base, this is Team One. We are at the target building." The voice crackled in his earpiece. "Got it. Remember, this is a secret mission. As far as the rest of us are concerned, you were never there." Diaz laughed, hearing the same message through his earpiece. "Sadly, that includes my wife Rosa. My beautiful queen would go nuts if she finds out I'm still in Khorzabad. As far as she knows, I've traveled back home to teach new soldiers." Evans crawled in from behind. "Sergeant Major, didn't our country leave this place months ago? What are we still doing here?" John pursed his lips, looking back at the frightened young soldier who had just joined his team. "Kid, what the President says on TV isn't what really happens on the battlefield. If the average civilian knew half of the things we've seen, the entire country would b

With a soft bump, the elevator reached the ground floor. Through the glass doors, James saw his black Mercedes-Maybach at the curb. His personal driver Arnold stood beside the car, straightening once he spotted James from afar. "James Henry Ronald!" The shout was so loud it was disturbing. James turned around to see an older woman, maybe in her fifties, fighting against two security guards. Whether it was her dark silver hair or her bloodshot eyes, something about her made his gut twist. "Please, listen to me, Mr. Ronald!" She kept wrestling against those holding her as other guards came to support them. "The person you trust most is with another man! Charlie Harrison! You think she's resting alone in your mansion, but she's with him right now." James frowned as he remembered the name. Charlie Harrison was his wife Freya's boyfriend from college, based on what he recalled. He was the person she broke up with for James when Greenville Limited had just taken off. His hands sho

Manhattan traffic was hell. By the time James' car pulled into the driveway of his mansion, the reality of his death had almost paralysed him.It seemed there was nothing about his personal life that he didn't regret. From the ignored family meetings, his daughter Linda's forgotten concerts, and the piled-up books written by his son Arthur which he never read.The only good thing his mind could pick up was that he bought them trust funds worth millions. But that didn't mean much when he was wrestling with lost time and affection.He walked into the mansion and headed straight for the master bedroom. For the first time in a long time, the building felt lifeless and empty.Freya was supposed to be in that room where he left her, down with a fever. Too sick to even think of spending a hot afternoon with another man.With part of him believing he might catch her in the act, he swung the door open without knocking as usual. But there she was, propped against the pillows with her hair messe

Working side by side in the million-dollar ranch were James and Freya. They hadn't done this in over a decade, and the only thing standing between them was the strong smell of boiling pasta that filled the room."I can't believe it's the first time we're cooking together in 12 years, and it's just pasta." James sighed as he lifted the heavy Italian pot with steam rising everywhere as he poured the noodles into the silver sieve."It's called compromise, Freya. We should try it a bit more," he said as he removed the last noodle from the pot. "And that's why I said yes to strawberry sauce." Then he turned around and caught her stuffing strawberries into her mouth while she cut them into the salad. She looked around with bulging cheeks like a kid stealing cookies."Keep doing that, and we won't have enough sauce for the meal." He said this while setting two crystal plates on the custom wooden table."Do you want us to eat a full dinner, or just the parts?" Freya gave him a thumbs up

James heard the heavy boots coming from below. He pressed his ear to the cracked floor, counting footsteps the way John's memories taught him. There were four men, different from the ones before."This is team Beta to Phoenix Base," came a voice from downstairs."We are moving on to Mission B."His stomach sank when he heard that. If John's memories served him right, that report meant this new set of soldiers weren't there to clean up bodies as he'd thought.They were here for something much worse. James stayed still as two soldiers came up to his floor. Through half-closed eyes, he watched them scatter modified weapons around Evans' body to make it look like the man had been carrying terrorist gear.Still playing dead, he felt rough hands take out his military radio and switch it with damaged enemy equipment."We don't have all night, soldier," the second operative said. This came after spreading fake intelligence papers near the destroyed laptop."The boss wants this wrapped up in l