2025-11-17 23:53:08The hotel Ethan chose was deliberately ordinary—an old, eight-story building with flickering corridor lights and peeling wallpaper. A place no one would expect a war.
Ethan checked in under the name Daniel Gray.
No luggage.
No questions asked.
Commander Hale waited by the stairwell, pretending to read a newspaper.
“Room 608, sir,” Hale whispered as Ethan walked past.
“Scorpion Unit has been sighted three blocks away.”
“Good,” Ethan replied.
“I want them to find me.”
THE SCORPION UNIT ARRIVES
Three black vans stopped in the alley behind the hotel.
Twelve men stepped out—uniform black gear, reinforced suits, dual weapons. Their movements were synchronized, disciplined, silent.
These were not street thugs.
They were assassins, trained in eliminating high-value targets.
Their captain, a scarred man with cold eyes, spoke into his mic:
“Objective confirmed. Eliminate Ethan Cole and retrieve proof of kill. No survivors. No witnesses.”
They split into formation:
Team A: Roof penetration
Team B: Stairwell sweep
Team C: Elevator breach
Professionals. Efficient. Lethal.
But they didn’t know—
Ethan had already mapped their every step.
ROOM 608
Ethan stood inside the small room, hands in his pockets.
He didn’t bother locking the door.
He didn’t need to.
He simply waited.
A soft vibration reached his ears—the sound of boots on the rooftop.
Another—elevator cables shifting.
Another—breathing from the lower stairs.
Hale’s voice whispered through the earpiece:
“Sir, they’re surrounding you.”
Ethan exhaled slowly.
“No, Hale.”
His eyes sharpened.
“I’m surrounding them.”
THE STRIKE BEGINS
8th Floor – Rooftop Access
Team A sliced the lock and moved in silently.
The first operative stepped through the doorway—
Only to freeze.
Ethan was standing right there.
As if he had been waiting for them.
Before the man could lift his weapon, Ethan’s palm slammed into his sternum.
A dull thud.
The man flew backward, crashing into two others.
Ethan grabbed the last operative by the vest and dragged him into the rooftop doorway, slamming the metal door shut behind them.
Four seconds.
Team A was neutralized.
Ethan re-entered the hallway without breaking stride.
TEAM B — THE STAIRWELL
Footsteps thundered as the second squad stormed upward.
“Move to six-oh-eight! Now!”
One operative kicked open the stairwell door—
But a shadow moved faster.
Ethan slid down the railing, flipping over the squad as he descended. Before they could react, he struck with ruthless precision:
Elbow to the throat
Knee to the ribs
Two open-palm strikes
One disarm
A spinning kick that sent another man crashing into the railing
Six men dropped like dominos.
The captain of Team B gasped for air.
“Wh-What are you…?”
Ethan leaned down, voice cold:
“Your mistake… was coming here.”
He flicked the man’s own stun baton, hitting him across the temple.
Team B: eliminated.
TEAM C — THE ELEVATOR
The last four men waited inside the elevator, gripping weapons tightly as they reached the 6th floor.
Ding.
The doors slid open.
Dark hallway.
No one there.
One operative muttered,
“He ran.”
But the moment they stepped out—
The elevator panel behind them sparked violently.
Ethan had rerouted the power.
The doors slammed shut, trapping the men outside—and cutting off their escape.
Ethan walked forward with calm footsteps.
One of the operatives panicked and fired wildly.
Ethan moved with terrifying precision—dodging, closing distance, and snapping the rifle in half with his bare hands.
Two seconds later, the last of Team C was on the floor.
THE CAPTAIN’S REALIZATION
Only one man was left—the captain of Scorpion Unit.
He staggered backward as Ethan approached him, step by step.
“You… You were supposed to be retired,” the captain whispered.
Ethan grabbed him by the collar.
“I was.”
A cold pause.
“Now I’m awake.”
The captain trembled.
“Slate… Slate said you were overrated. Said the Ghost Commander was nothing but hype—”
Ethan slammed him against the wall.
“That was his last mistake.”
He let the man drop unconscious.
AT THE DAWSON HOUSE
Lila stared at the photograph she found earlier.
Ethan in military gear.
Dust, blood, fire behind him.
The emblem.
The words Ghost Commander.
Vivian paced.
“So Ethan was some kind of soldier?”
Lila’s voice was barely a whisper.
“No soldier looks like that.”
Her fingers traced the emblem.
“Ethan… Who are you?”
MARCUS SLATE’S OFFICE
Slate stared at the destroyed video feed.
All units: neutralized.
His jaw locked.
“So. He really is the Ghost.”
He turned toward his enforcer.
“Prepare the Black Serpent. Full mobilization.”
The enforcer stiffened.
“But sir—that’s a war declaration.”
Slate smiled darkly.
“Exactly.”
ETHAN LEAVES THE HOTEL
Commander Hale met Ethan outside.
“All twelve operatives neutralized,” Hale reported. “What next, sir?”
Ethan adjusted his sleeves calmly.
“Next? We send Slate a message.”
Hale nodded.
“And the content?”
Ethan’s eyes hardened.
“One sentence.”
He walked away as Hale typed the message.
“You wanted war. Now you have it.”
Previous Chapter
Latest Chapter
Chapter Fourteen
The Dawson house was too quiet.Too still.Too heavy.Lila stood in the middle of the living room, the broken door replaced temporarily by Riker’s men, the shattered glass swept away, the blood stains scrubbed clean.But the silence remained.The kind of silence that sits on your chest.The kind that changes something.She wrapped her arms around herself, feeling the cold settling into her bones. Every few seconds she replayed the moment Ethan walked away. The way he didn’t look back. The way he spoke as if he were someone else. Someone she didn’t know.Someone she might never have known at all.Riker cleared his throat behind her.“Ma’am,” he said gently, “the perimeter is secure.”She didn’t turn.She didn’t trust her voice yet.A moment passed, then another.“Ethan… he’s gone to fight that man, isn’t he?” Lila said softly.Riker hesitated.“Specialist Cole is responding to a breach. That’s all I can say.”“That’s not an answer,” she whispered.“It’s the safest one I can give.”Lila
Chapter Thirteen
The city lights of District 7 flashed beneath the aircraft as Ethan stepped onto the ramp, black coat whipping in the wind.Hale’s voice cut through the comms.“Sir, Central Vault security is collapsing. Slate deployed a Phantom Unit—full optical camouflage.”Ethan adjusted his gloves.“Phantom won’t stop me.”The strike craft dove lower, slicing through fog like a blade.Below, alarms wailed across District 7. Roads were blocked, drones spun out of control, and the entire security grid flickered as if something—or someone—had overwritten its core.Slate.He was already inside.Ethan exhaled once.Cold.Steady.Purposeful.“Open the hatch.”The ramp snapped downward.Ethan jumped.He landed on the rooftop of Central Vault—silent impact, controlled descent. The black monolith towered above him, its armored surface vibrating from internal shockwaves.Hale landed beside him, panting.“Sir, we can still intercept him if we move—”Ethan was already moving.THE FALL OF THE VAULTThey reache
Chapter Twelve
The garden was silent.Shattered wood, broken armor, and the crushed body of the Black Serpent scout lay at Ethan’s feet. The porch light flickered above him, casting jagged shadows across his face.Lila stared at him—eyes wide, chest rising and falling fast.This wasn’t the Ethan she knew.This wasn’t the quiet, obedient, overlooked husband.This man looked like a weapon.A storm.A warning.Her voice trembled.“Ethan… what… what did you just do?”Ethan didn’t answer.He turned instead—slowly, controlled—and locked eyes with Riker’s operative who had taken cover behind the torn doorframe.“Report.”The operative stood at once.“Sir! Two scouts down. One escaped toward the east block.”Hale’s voice burst from Ethan’s earpiece.“Sir! We have visual on the runner—Slate’s men are initiating Phase Two. They’re retreating to regroup.”Ethan’s eyes narrowed.“Not on my watch.”⸻THE ONE WHO ESCAPEDThree blocks away, the surviving Black Serpent scout sprinted across rooftops, armor sparking
Chapter Eleven
Ethan… someone is outside the house.”Lila’s whisper trembled through the phone.Ethan’s blood went cold, but his voice remained steady.“Where?”“By the gate. I—I think they’re watching the house. I saw shadows moving. And the lights flickered. I don’t know what’s happening.”Hale stiffened.“Slate’s already deployed. They’re targeting civilians.”Ethan pressed the phone closer.“Lila, listen to me carefully.”Her breathing was shaky.“Okay…”“Do not step outside. Stay away from the windows. And whatever you do—don’t open the door.”“O-okay. Ethan, what’s going on?”He didn’t answer.He couldn’t—not yet.Instead, he signaled sharply.“Riker. Full speed. Dawson residence.”“Yes, Young Master!”The convoy surged forward, engines howling as they tore through the streets.⸻OUTSIDE THE DAWSON HOUSEThe night was unnaturally quiet.Three figures in dark tactical suits crouched near the Dawson gate, their movements precise, their breathing controlled. Their visors glowed faint red—Black Se
Chapter Ten
The fog was clearing.The bodies of the Black Serpent operatives lay scattered across the street, armor cracked, visors shattered, their once-perfect formation now nothing more than broken metal.Ethan stood still.Only his eyes moved.Hale approached carefully.“Sir… did he say what I think he said?”Ethan didn’t respond immediately. His mind wasn’t on the dead soldier.It was on a memory he had buried years ago.A banquet hall.A glass of wine.A smile that wasn’t a smile.And a betrayal that nearly killed him.He exhaled slowly.“Yes,” Ethan finally said. “Someone in my family sold me out.”Hale stiffened.“The Cole family is huge… thousands of people have benefited from your downfall.”“No,” Ethan said quietly.“It wasn’t the outsiders.”His eyes hardened.“It was someone close.”⸻THE CONVOY ARRIVESEngines roared across the street.Three armored SUVs pulled up, headlights slicing through the fog. Ethan’s men emerged—silent, disciplined, dressed in matte black with the Cole insig
Chapter Nine
The street was silent.Too silent.A thin layer of fog drifted across the asphalt as Ethan moved to the center of the road—straight-backed, expression calm, hands loose at his sides.Hale stood behind him, tense but ready.“Sir… Black Serpent is sixty seconds away.”Ethan didn’t blink.“Good.”THE APPEARANCE OF DEATHThe fog shifted.The first figure stepped through—tall, armored in matte black, visor glowing faintly red.Then another.Then ten more.Twelve soldiers.Twelve lethal machines disguised as men.They formed a wide semicircle around Ethan, their synchronization disturbing.No breathing.No speaking.No hesitation.Their leader stepped forward.“TARGET CONFIRMED: ETHAN COLE.THREAT LEVEL: EXTREME.EXECUTION PROTOCOL: OMEGA.”Hale whispered,“They’re using Omega Protocol… sir, that’s kill-without-recovery.”Ethan stepped one inch forward.“Protocol won’t help them.”THE FIRST STRIKEThree Black Serpent operatives lunged at once—perfect formation, zero wasted movement.Ethan m
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