Midnight. A cloudless sky. The moon was beautiful, especially when reflected from the ocean’s mirror.

The beach was empty, devoid of life. But if you looked under, you’d see four individuals running at a steady pace.

As it turns out, the apartment the group was in was actually the deactivated passageway mentioned during their meetings. It was one long, rather cramped hallway with no lighting.

“How come they don’t use this anymore?” Jane, who was unironically curious at their incompetence, asks. “They literally just left an opening.”

“Maybe it’s a trap?” Crimson ponders.

“Not really.” Hawk refutes. “The bigger the operation, the more likely something is going to be neglected. Intentionally or not.”

Jane looks around. “But still. No cameras? No guards? Nothing? Isn’t this too convenient?”

Samuel puts something together. “I guess someone has been doing the leaks from the inside.”

The redhead then inquires. “If that’s so, then who and why?”

“Now, that’s a good question.”

Despite their conversation, they never lessened their pace. The training Beol gave them was sure to condition them just enough for this much.

“Doesn’t the air feel… wet?” The freckled girl asks as she sniffs the air.

“We were told this base was underwater.” Samuel responds. “We must be under the beach now.”

“I wish I had brought a bikini.” Jane comments while looking at her companion in a funny way, who eyerolls with an annoyed smile.

What feels like fifteen minutes finally pass. The seemingly endless corridor now ends at an equally small door. To the side of the door, a card reader.

Earlier that night.

“What’s this?” The group asks Deck as he hands them a metallic card.

“Your ticket inside. If you see a door, use this to go through.”

“What if the door doesn’t have a card scanner?” The freckled girl asks. Deck shrugs.

“Then you should probably not bother entering that room.”

Back to now.

Hawk, who was ahead, scans the card and, as expected, it registers and unlocks the door with a beep. It slides open and the inside is shown.

An intermission hall. A small cubicle-like room with another, equal door to the other side. Much like the previous one, this one is scanned and opened.

Which rings a notification at the security room.

Usually, four men would be monitoring all the cameras and be constantly reporting to their superiors, who would usually also be keeping a close eye at everything. However, half of them were asleep due to being overworked and the other half wasn’t actually paying attention.

The notification, an alert that one of the entrances was used, was a very minor inconvenience that went by unnoticed by the sleep-deprived personnel.

“You think they noticed us yet?” Crimson asks, keeping her voice to a minimum. Everyone shrugs.

“If so, we better get this fast.”

“Why didn’t Deck give us a goddamn map?” Hawk asks, only now realizing their predicament.

“We were told the building was small enough we wouldn’t need one.” Samuel comments. “Just keep going down and we will find what we want.”

The interior of the base was… lacking. The walls were a dirt blue and a stained white, clear signs that time had its grasp on that complex. Or that whoever designed this had the fashion sense of a troglodyte. The floor was equally mistreated and ugly.

There were no immediate doors, only a corridor that ended abruptly and split in two directions. Since their odds were on a coin flip, they choose right and go for it.

And are immediately greeted by security.

Upon being spotted, Hawk’s instincts kick in immediately as he rushes the single personnel with his large body. Before he has time to react, he is tackled to the ground unconscious.

“Well, that was something.” The dark skinned girl says, a bit surprised they were spotted this early.

“I guess stealth was never an option.”

Their descent follows. Through the cameras, however, they are finally spotted and immediately reported on.

From another room, a tough-looking older man with a military get up was having a conversation with a group of individuals. Unlike himself, all of them wore suits but had a similar aura to them. One of experience and toughness.

“What are we waiting for?” One of them speaks up. “That anonymous message is the confirmation someone has been betraying us.”

“But it can’t be any of us.” Another one looks around.

The only one wearing his old uniform speaks up. “I feel like I know who it is.”

Right on cue, the alarm rings, which springs everyone up from their chairs. A reaction gained from years of experience hearing a similar noise during their active days.

“WHAT?!” The man that had just spoken screams from the top of his lungs, absolute rage embedding his every being. He then grabs his radio and communicates something on it. “Security! Code red! Everyone on high alert!”

“This is impossible!” One of the other men speaks. “We’re so close to finishing this!”

“An unideal timing.” The official says. “But just an inconvenience.”

From the other side of the building, the group of thieves sweatdrop at the sound they’re hearing.

“Are you kidding me?” Jane deadpans. “Whoever said this was going to be a stealth mission can go suck my-” Samuel slaps her on the back of her head. “What was that for?!”

He looks at her with a disinterested look. She eyerolls and keeps moving forward.

As they make progress, more doors appear. And more soldiers come out of random alleys.

Unfortunately for them, they were so overworked and sleep deprived that their reaction times were less than ideal for split second decisions, giving the group ample time to fire against them. Hawk and Crimson took care of the ones from the front while Samuel and Jane took care of the ones from behind.

And this scene repeats itself two or three times before they finally go to a lower level of the complex.

“How many floors does this have again?” The dark skinned girl asks, frantic with adrenaline.

“Good question.” Samuel answers collectedly. “Hopefully, not more than this.”

Where they were now was infinitely cleaner than the upper floor. The place actually had its design clean and cold. The walls were an impeccable white while the floor, a deep sea blue. More doors could be seen, each leading to a different room. All of them had windows and inside them were scientists and researchers either working or flat out sleeping.

The guards keeping an eye on them spot the invaders and leave to the corridor to take care of them. Too bad for them, the gang was already on them and taking cover.

Another crossfire ensues, one that awakens the sleepyheads in white coats with a scare. Everyone looks at the confrontation with fear, knowing the windows, despite being sturdier than normal, weren’t bulletproof.

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“Goddammit, I’m out of rounds.” Hawk says. “Cover me while I reload.”

Samuel jumps on the action, keeping his enemies at bay. Once Hawk is finished, he joins him and both hit their targets, them either being crippled or killed.

They didn’t have time to check though. They had already set their new targets.

They decide to split in two groups and join different rooms. Jane and Samuel go to the left.

The scene was a pathetic one. They couldn’t tell wether or not those men were scared or asleep. Half of them were making an effort to panic while the other half didn’t bother raising their heads.

And, as expected, Jane was the one doing the interrogating. “Hey, nutsacks, you know what we’re here for. Where is it?”

They look between each other in confusion, which is immediately broken by the dark skinned woman slamming her hand against the desk, shaking it and toppling over some flasks and paper sheets. “Am I not making myself clear enough?”

As if to prove herself a point, she walks up to one of them, grabs them, drags them, and points the gun at their head. It’s at that moment that something seems to click within the personnel as their more appropriate desperate reaction kicks in. They start panicking and asking her to not do it.

Samuel sighs. At least she was effective.

“W-We don’t k-know.” The man being held at gunpoint stutters. Jane looks straight into his eyes, the gun still pointing to his head. “I-I swear! I swear on my daughter that I d-don’t know!”

“Daughter?!” Something clicks within her head that softens her attitude a little. She snarls before sighing and letting him go by pushing him away. “Let’s go, Sam.”

They leave, right on time to meet up with the other group. They weren’t as unsuccessful though.

“The place isn’t as big as we thought.” Crimson speaks. “Just keep heading down, we’ll get there quick.”

They follow her instructions, which are immediately followed by movement catching the corner of their eyes. Another group of guards come, warranting another crossfire.

They all run for it by going the opposite way, reaching a doorstep that lead downstairs. It also had a card scanner, which wouldn’t be an issue if they weren’t in such a hurry.

With the door sliding open, they push each other more than anything and continue their descent, the door locking behind them to keep security behind. They didn’t want to waste time so they kept going down.

The colors were mostly the same from the previous floor, with some detail changes here and there. More and more rooms made themselves apparent, all of which had glass walls, much like the ones above. However, these ones were empty.

One of the rooms seemed like the testing grounds for combat drills. Practice dummies to spare, weapons of various kinds, and a LED board that was turned off.

“You think this is where they tested the drug’s results?” Jane asks. Everyone else grunts in agreement.

“Probably. I don’t wanna meet whoever did that though.” Samuel points to a bent steel slab. It had to have a meter, at least, and whatever hit it made it fold like cardboard.

As they keep looking around, they encounter a door that doesn’t have glass walls. This piques their interest.

“We don’t want to waste time.” Jane points out. “I’ll check, you all keep looking.”

They nod and follow suit. She quickly gets in formation as soon as opening the door, kneeling down with her gun pointing ahead.

And towards a frightened teenager laying on the floor.

The scene catches her off guard enough that by the time she decides to call for everyone else to come back, they’re already out of sight.

“Well, wasn’t expecting this but sure, I guess.” She murmurs to herself as she approaches the young person.

The kid looked to be a girl but it could also easily pass for a boy if you squinted its eyes hard enough. It had no noticeable feminine features. In fact, her clothes were as in one piece as Swiss cheese.

Her most striking features, however, were her green eyes, clear as an emerald, and her gray hair. Gray as in the color of storm clouds. Wild, ready to strike lightning bolts from itself.

But no, it was just hair.

Speaking of her eyes, they were shaky and wet, as if she had been doing her fair share of crying.

Seeing this girl like this triggered something inside Jane that made her forget the mission almost completely. “Hey, little girl! Are you hurt?”

Her first attempt at approaching her fails miserably. She cowers in fear and backs away. hugging the wall.

“Hey, hey, no.” To emphasize her every word, Jane, against all logic, takes her mask off and smiles as widely as she can. “I’m not gonna hurt you, it’s ok.”

She kneels down and stays a safe distance away, waiting for the girl to come to terms with her friendliness. Slowly, she stops trembling and starts taking a better look at the dark skinned woman.

“H-Hi…” The gray haired girl speaks up after a while.

“Hey there. Who put you here?” Jane takes a closer look at the girl’s body, noticing bruises and tattered clothes. “And who did that to you?”

“I-” The girl’s eyes freeze at something behind Jane, who, by instinct, turns around by opening fire immediately.

Was it anyone else, they’d be dead. But given that Samuel had learned about her self protective tendencies since long ago, he was waiting for that reaction and had dodged to the side. “I love you too, J.”

“How many times did I tell you to not scare me like that?” She stands up again to push him back. He hits the wall and yelps but laughs anyway.

“Why did you take your mask off?” He takes a closer look at the girl, who flinches upon seeing his stare. “And who’s that?”

“I was getting to that so if you’ll excuse me.”

Jane turns back to the scared teenager with another, not as forced smile. “Can you stand up?”

The girl puts a hand over her head, shaking it negatively. “My legs hurt.”

“Can I see your legs?” Right after asking this, footsteps can be heard from outside. Fearing more guards, Samuel takes a stand and fires a few rounds.

“We gotta go, more guards will come and we’re short on time.”

“But-”

He raises his voice a bit more. “Our mission is to secure the pill and, if possible, the formula. We can’t afford losses over someone you just met.” He then gestures towards the door. “Come!”

A conflict inside of the dark skinned woman begins but ultimately, the pull she receives from the girl she just met wins her over. That and her weak ‘please, help me.’

“I can’t leave her alone, you know that.”

He sighs. “Leave the complex and wait for us.”

“Wait, what? Why? I can still help!”

He shakes his head. “You have deadweight on your back to carry.” He then looks at the girl. “No offense.”

She was definitely offended.

Jane protests further. “I can do this! I’m not defenseless!”

“I’m not saying you’re-” A surge of frustration hits him, making him give up arguing. He knew they’d stay there forever if he kept going. “Ugh, fine! Stick to me and watch my back!”

“Um-” The gray haired teenager tries to speak up but is barely heard in the commotion. Luckily, Jane’s ears are enough to pick on it.

“Yeah?” She looks at the girl with an inquisitive look. The girl feels pressured but speaks anyway.

“Y-You said a pill? A-A formula?”

Samuel, noticing she was referring to him, nods.

“T-The formula is in my DNA.”

Baffled by this piece of information, both partners take a second longer than necessary to process it, with Samuel being the one to speak up. “Uh, what?”

“I-It’s a long story and-”

She’s interrupted by the man. “We can talk as we go.” His brain was coming up with something. “If the DNA is in you, then we need to have you out of here.”

“B-But-” she protests. “My dad!”

“Who?”

“He’s probably here.” She points at a camera. “Look!”

“The security room.” The male of the group curses. “We don’t have time for him, you need to come with us.”

“N-No!” She goes back to hugging the wall.

When Samuel gestures to go after her, Jane steps in the way. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“Being efficient.” He deadpans. “I already said we need to get out of here as quickly as possible.”

“You won’t kidnap her.” Jane doesn’t budge.

This conflicting mentality actually angers Samuel more than he’d be willing to allow. “Oh, ok, so now, doing crime is a problem?”

“There are boundaries we can’t step over. You taught me that.”

“Yeah, I did.” He moves his arms as he talks. “And killing people just so happens to be the biggest of them, something you did plenty by now.”

“Well-”

“No, you said you wanted to come! And now-” He takes a deep breath to calm down. “And now, whatever happens next, comes next. She’s coming with us.” He points at her for emphasis. “Besides, ask her if she wants to stay here.”

The green eyed teenager shakes her head at the indirect question.

Jane groans. “Fine!” She then turns to the girl with another polite, disarming smile on her face. “Hey, uh… what’s your name?”

A surprised look takes over the teenager’s face. “Oh! It’s, uh. I, uh.”

“Test subjects don’t have names.” An unfamiliar, crispy voice comes from outside the room.

The voice immediately startles both thieves, springing them into their guards. Unfortunately, they were a tad too slow as two guards enter with guns pointing forward. “Drop your guns!”

Reluctant, neither do as they’re told, with Samuel already trying to figure a way around this. Noticing they weren’t being taken seriously, the crispy voice from outside makes himself present with a gun in hands.

A military official clad in a full uniform and a displeased visage shoots Samuel’s leg, making the man kneel in pain.

“What?!” Jane immediately sees red, an unbridled rage in her visage, but Samuel is quick to stop her.

“Drop your gun.”

“But-”

“Do you want to get shot too?!” Samuel shouts, getting Jane to follow suit. She puts her gun down and kicks it away, kneeling next to her wounded friend.

“Quite the ruckus you two caused in my base.” The official speaks up. “I’ll have you two open your traps on who’s behind this.” He then looks at his men. “Go after that disappointment of a man. We found our mole, boys.”

The two guards that were stationed outside do as ordered and run away. The remaining two keep pointing their guns, ready for sudden movements.

The oldest in the room wanted to have a better look at his masked man so he approaches him and takes it off. Looking into his eyes, he asks. “Where are the others?”

Speaking of the others, Crimson and Hawk were facing a large glass container with dozens of pills going back and forth on a strange liquid. Nothing else filled the room.

The large man communicates with a radio. “Hawk to Deck. Over.”

“Deck to Hawk. Over.”

“We found it.”