2025-11-01 18:54:20
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Chapter 104: Pressure Points
The Divide did not broadcast this time.They detonated.At 05:42, a coordinated strike hit three Vanguard infrastructure nodes across the city. Not civilian targets. Not symbolic landmarks.Operational arteries.Communications relay north sector.Vehicle deployment garage west perimeter.Logistics hub near the river line.Clean. Timed within seconds of each other. Minimal casualties.Maximum disruption.Reed was in the operations room before the third explosion report finished transmitting.“Damage assessment,” he ordered.Tanner’s fingers moved across the console, pulling up drone feeds. “Relay tower is offline but structurally intact. Garage sustained internal fire. Logistics hub lost primary transport vehicles.”Carter stood behind him, jaw tight. “They’re not trying to kill us.”Morales nodded slowly. “They’re cutting tendons.”Bishop watched the surveillance footage replay once. Twice. “Precision charges. Internal access.”Reed’s voice was steady. “Sleeper placement.”Tanner conf
Chapter 103: No Cracks In The Wall
The three prisoners were secured in isolated holding before sunrise.No spectacle.No announcement.Reed stood in the observation room above Interrogation Bay Two, arms folded behind his back, watching through reinforced glass as Carter and Tanner conducted the initial sweep.Morales handled equipment recovery. Bishop stood motionless near the door inside the chamber, rifle slung but ready.No new faces.No rotating personnel.Echo Unit handled their own.The lead infiltrator sat upright despite the restraints. Early thirties. Controlled breathing. Eyes alert, not afraid.Not broken.“You baited us,” the infiltrator said calmly.Carter leaned back against the metal table.“You took it.”Tanner placed the disabled amplifier device in front of him.“You were mapping perimeter response timing. You expected a gap.”The infiltrator’s jaw tightened slightly.Reed entered the room.Silence shifted instantly.Recognition flared again in the infiltrator’s eyes.“Black Ridge,” he repeated.“Yes
Chapter 102: The Fracture Protocol
The first strike didn’t come with gunfire.It came with doubt.At 0417, three encrypted messages were routed through separate internal channels within Vanguard command. Each message carried clearance markers that appeared legitimate. Each was signed digitally by a different ranking officer.Each contradicted the other.Mobilize Echo Unit for external reconnaissance.Stand down all active units pending internal audit.Detain Lieutenant Reed for procedural review.By 0422, confusion had spread through command like controlled fire.Not panic.But hesitation.And hesitation was exactly what The Divide wanted.Reed was already awake when Carter knocked twice on his quarters door.“They’re trying it,” Carter said flatly.“I know.”Tanner and Morales were waiting in the corridor. Bishop stood watch at the end of the hall, arms folded, eyes sharp.“They hit internal command,” Tanner said. “Spoofed authorizations.”Reed moved past them toward operations.“Briggs?”“In command center,” Morales
Chapter 101: After the Line
The victory lasted exactly six hours.That was how long Vanguard was allowed to breathe before the next fracture appeared.Reed was in the training bay at 0500, running Echo Unit through close-quarters drills. Carter was sharper than usual—controlled aggression instead of reckless bursts. Tanner was clinical, precise as ever. Morales and Bishop moved like extensions of the same machine, silent and efficient.They weren’t celebrating the reinstatement.They were stabilizing after it.Reed watched every movement.Measured every hesitation.Leadership restored didn’t mean leadership secured.At 0630, alarms didn’t sound.Which was worse.Instead, every screen in the facility went black.Not a flicker.Not a glitch.A clean, total shutdown.The overhead lights remained on, but the command interface—the backbone of Vanguard’s operational network—was gone.Carter lowered his rifle slowly.“That’s not routine maintenance.”“No,” Tanner agreed. “That’s surgical.”Reed was already moving.“Ope
Chapter 100: The Line That Holds
The order came before dawn.Full assembly. All units.No preamble. No context.Just presence required.Reed stepped into the operations hall with Carter and Tanner at his sides. The air felt charged—like the seconds before a storm breaks.Every soldier in Vanguard stood in formation.Echo Unit in front.Delta behind them.Support teams lining the walls.At the center platform stood Commander Kessler.And beside him—Colonel Briggs.Kessler’s expression was unreadable.Briggs’s was carved from iron.Reed felt it before the words were spoken.This wasn’t just a briefing.It was a reckoning.Kessler began.“Last night’s operation at the power relay station resulted in successful neutralization of hostiles and prevention of catastrophic infrastructure failure.”A pause.“One civilian was recovered alive.”A ripple moved through the room—small, controlled, but present.Briggs stepped forward.“However,” he said, voice cutting cleanly through the silence, “that success came at the cost of d
Chapter 99: Fracture Point
The call came at 0217.Not a drill. Not an exercise.Live deployment.Reed was already awake when the alert hit his comm. Sleep had become something shallow and conditional lately—never fully trusted.“Vanguard mobilize. Briefing in five.”Carter met him in the corridor, already geared.“Feels different,” Carter muttered.“It is,” Reed replied.Inside the briefing room, Kessler stood at the front. Briggs leaned against the far wall, arms folded, expression carved from stone.The screen lit up.Urban grid.Industrial sector.Hostile group had seized control of a municipal power relay station on the outskirts of the city. If detonated, it would cripple half the grid and potentially ignite secondary fires across three residential zones.“Confirmed hostiles?” Tanner asked.“Six to eight,” Kessler answered. “Heavily armed. Improvised explosives on structural supports.”“And civilians?” Carter asked.“Unknown,” Kessler said. “Facility staff unaccounted for.”Reed’s jaw tightened.Unknown ci
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