To The Rescue

Damien was taken aback, his expression a clear reflection of his surprise. Glancing at Isabella, he saw a mischievous grin spread across her face. It dawned on Damien that Isabella's only motive for taking the job was to reconnect with him.

"Isabella, why did you take this job?" Damien's eyebrows shot up, the surprise evident in his tone.

Isabella's mischievous grin widened. "Oh, just missed the thrill of working with you," she teased.

"Uhn wait, did you know each other?" The Oracle asked, confused.

"Yes, and believe me this is not a coincidence!" Damien said, contemplating refusing her right then, but a different idea brewed. He wanted retribution for the pain she caused him.

Just as a smile began to form on Damien's face, a deafening explosion rocked the room from behind. In a swift, calculated move, Kai positioned himself between Damien and the blast, absorbing the brunt of the explosion that could have struck them all—Damien, Isabella, and the Oracle. The force of the explosion sent everyone hurtling across the room

The once-grand chamber turned chaotic, splattered with blood and filled with groans. Amid the chaos, Damien's instincts kicked in.

"Get down!" Damien yelled, pulling Isabella and toppling a nearby table for cover. The Oracle sought refuge beside them.

"We're under attack!" The Oracle's voice trembled with urgency.

Helicopters' hums filled the air, glass shattered, and gunfire erupted. Kai, wounded but determined, took aim.

"Chairman, they're after you!" Kai's voice strained as he lay on the floor, clutching a pistol with sheer determination. With a last surge of strength, Kai aimed true, but outnumbered, his shot found its mark before he succumbed, collapsing unconscious.

The assailants, clad in desert military attire, ceased firing and methodically advanced, searching for Damien amidst the overturned tables. Each person they discovered hiding behind a table met a swift end, yet none were Damien.

"This way, find him!" one of the attackers commanded.

Unease settled in Damien's gut as the room echoed with the sound of gunfire and lives were being claimed, all seemingly in his name. Casting a glance at the Oracle, he found a silent reassurance in his determined nod.

Breaking away from Isabella's side, Damien rose abruptly, leaving the safety of their makeshift barricade. In a split second, an assailant caught sight of him, and a shot rang out. Time seemed to stretch as Damien's reflexes kicked in, allowing him to dodge the incoming bullet that was aimed at his head with lightning-fast precision.

With a sudden burst of speed, he evaded the barrage of gunfire that followed. A swift, calculated slide brought him to Kai's fallen pistol, now resting on the floor. As his fingers closed around the grip, a surge of determination coursed through him.

Caught off guard by Damien's superhuman agility and swift acquisition of the weapon, the attackers faltered. The realization that Damien was no ordinary target struck them, sowing seeds of doubt and fear within their ranks. Their confidence wavered in the face of this unexpected turn, unsettling their previously unwavering resolve.

In the dimly lit room, chaos reigned as the thunderous echo of gunfire filled the air. Damien, with unwavering precision, darted across the space, each shot from his pistol finding its mark, dropping the intruders one by one. It seemed unfathomable that he remained unscathed against their automatic SMG fire, his agility and skill outmatching their weaponry.

Meanwhile, amidst the pandemonium, The Oracle, with a sense of urgency, moved swiftly toward Isabella's hiding place. "We need to get out of here," he urged, grabbing her hand while preparing his crutch for a quick escape at any opportune moment.

Peeking from behind cover, The Oracle observed Damien's acrobatic evasion of bullets, taking down attackers with a precision that seemed otherworldly. Recognizing a chance to flee amidst the assailants' focus on Damien, he readied himself to escape with Isabella.

"Let's move—now!" The Oracle exclaimed, poised to dash to safety with Isabella when, suddenly, a rifle blow struck him unconscious. Isabella's scream pierced the chaotic atmosphere as The Oracle crumpled to the ground.

Caught in the crossfire of emotions, Damien's eyes darted between the lifeless form of The Oracle and Kai, motionless nearby. Isabella, now a hostage in the hands of the intruders, held at gunpoint by their leader, halted Damien in his tracks.

"Stop this facade or she's dead!" the intruder leader bellowed, the pistol at Isabella's head emphasizing his threat.

"Isabella!" Damien's cry reverberated across the room. Frozen, torn between the urge for vengeance and the fear of losing another, he grappled with an excruciating decision. Despite past betrayals, letting Isabella meet her demise wouldn't fulfill his desire for revenge.

Slowly, Damien lowered his pistol to the floor. Though fury swirled in his eyes, the thought of losing anyone else, not even Isabella—despite their tumultuous history—became unbearable, and he slowly knelt.

In a tense stand-off, Damien locked eyes with the leader of the intruders, a chilling grip holding a gun to Isabella's head.

"This isn't the end," Damien spat, his voice taut with determination.

The intruder leader chuckled darkly, his tone ominous. "Believe me, Mr. Damien Malone, this is as final as it gets."

Swiftly, one of the intruders holstered his SMG and advanced towards Damien, kicking away the pistol by his side. "Hands back!" he commanded, clicking handcuffs around Damien's wrists, hoisting him off the ground before a signal from their leader prompted the swift placement of a full head covering over Damien's face.

Relinquishing his grip on Isabella, the leader flung her towards another intruder who promptly cuffed her hands and covered her head.

"Here, Chairman," the leader joked, a cruel edge to his words. "Just as feeble as your father. I still recall the terror on his face when I aimed that plutonium gun at him. You'd have met the same fate if not for the lack of plutonium. I know that's the only thing that could bring you down."

Damien was both stunned and seething with rage, learning that the man before him was responsible for his father's demise. The desire for revenge surged within him, yet the soft hum emanating from Isabella, now beside him, gave him pause. He knew he could easily break free from the handcuffs, but the stakes were too high.

"Load them into the truck. The Boss will be pleased," the leader ordered. Those words were the last Kai, who had regained consciousness, heard before he could act. As he struggled to his feet, the distant sounds of a helicopter and the screeching tires of the truck mocked his delayed awakening. His fingers fumbled for the GPS phone tucked in his combat suit. "To all Nexus Empire Battalion leaders in New York and nearby cities, the Chairman has been abducted. Retrieve him at any cost."

The dust settled, leaving a lingering sense of foreboding in the wake of the chaos. The urgency of the situation permeated the air as the call for action reverberated through the Battalion.

**

*Kennedy International airport (JFK)*

Few minutes later

In an abrupt and startling announcement, the soothing hum of the airport was pierced by a commanding female voice resonating through the speakers. "Attention, all flights have been cancelled," it echoed throughout every nook and cranny of the terminal. The atmosphere shifted swiftly as passengers exchanged puzzled glances, their plans suddenly thrown into disarray. An air of urgency descended upon the bustling hub, airport staff rushing to their designated briefing room, leaving bewildered travelers in their wake.

Simultaneously, the sky above the airport transformed into a dramatic scene as a fleet of forty Nexus Empire fighter jets and twenty cargo planes swooped down, landing swiftly on the runways. Each cargo plane disgorged ten heavily armed Drapeck military vehicles, while nearly ten battalions, comprising thirty members in each unit, spilled out, their red berets proudly displaying the emblem of the Nexus Empire.

A breathtaking sight unfolded as nearly two thousand soldiers lined up on the tarmac, flanked by forty fighter jets and a hundred imposing military vehicles. At the forefront stood the leaders of each battalion, their unwavering gazes fixed upon the supreme leader—the embodiment of authority among them all.

In a moment charged with tension, the leader's voice boomed, breaking the stillness. "The Chairman has been kidnapped," he announced gravely, pausing to gauge the reaction of the battalion leaders before continuing. "We understand the language of war, yet we seek peace. But if they seek war with the Nexus Empire by seizing its Chairman, I vow upon every soul here that someone else will nurture their sons and daughters. Fan out, lock down the city—our Chairman must be brought back."

The soldiers, fueled by determination and loyalty, scattered across the city, transforming its very essence. Streets once bustling with life now became arteries of military precision. Each battalion moved with purpose, their presence casting an aura of both strength and resolve upon the city's landscape.