After carefully reading the letter, it became clear that the individual who sought shelter had a loving wife and child.

It was heartwarming to see that despite their current situation, their family bond remained strong. I hoped that he listened to his wife's advice and returned home safely.

Placing the letter in my back pocket, I proceeded to scour the area for any clues that could lead me to the individual.

As I searched the room, Suzi spotted something strange on the wall. the word "Icarus" painted in large letters.

Curiosity piqued, she inquired about its meaning, asking, "Wasn't he that Greek guy?"

To which I replied, "Yeah, he was. His father fashioned wings out of feathers and wax for him. Then, the boy flew too close to the sun, causing his wings to melt. And then tiss... No more wings. No more Icarus... My best guess? Could be the alias of someone."

The meaning behind the word painted on the wall was still unclear, but it was a piece of the puzzle that we could not ignore.

We continued to search the room, hoping to find more clues that would lead us to what the hell was going on here. But our search was put on pause as in the distance I could hear the sound of cars getting closer and closer to our location.

Out of curiosity, I asked if the others could hear the sounds of cars, and they confirmed.

Suzi took out her laptop and used her netrunning skills to locate the source of the noise and determine the direction the cars were headed. Suzi discovered that our uninvited guests were four armored trucks heading towards us, and she suggested that we leave immediately.

It was clear that these people were not friendly, so the three of us decided to evacuate. As we were leaving, Suzi instructed me to prepare Delamain to come pick us up.

Max phones Delamain

Max: “Del it's Max listen I need you to get the car ready we’ll be on our way.”

Delamain: “Certainly Mr. Carver. My sensors have detected hostile enemies heading in your proximity. I suggest that you keep low as I have detected that they are fully equipped in body armor and guns.”

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

Max: “Thanks for the tip.”

Delamain: “I have detected sarcasm in your tone.”

Call Ended

As we stepped out of the house, the convoy of trucks arrived, and I quickly took cover to observe what was happening.

My eyes scanned the area, and I noticed that each person who got out of the trucks was donning identical outfits and carrying assault rifles with handguns holstered, just like Del had informed us.

What was peculiar was that they were all acting like military personnel, but they weren't wearing Kang Tao, Militech, or Arasaka armor. It begged the question: who were these people?

I instructed Henry and Suzi to wait while I approached the group to eavesdrop on their conversation.

“Listen up! Our orders are simple. We are to roll up on that whistleblower son of a bitch Kyle Richards. Codename Icarus. Intel suggests that he’s been seeking refuge here for the past few days. The plan of action is simple, we’re to split up into four groups, and each group will be given a specific area to search, if you end up finding the S O B, I want you to inform me of his location before you proceed to capture him as he’s no use to us dead. I repeat we are not ordered to kill him. Wolf has made that very clear that he doesn't want Kyle dead. Any questions?.. Good, let's move out men! HOOAH!”

They began splitting up into four groups and began their sweep of the area, with strict orders not to kill him. It was clear that Kyle had done something that had pissed them off.

I quickly returned to Henry and Suzi to inform them of the situation. We needed to lay low and keep quiet. These people were not in the mood for conversation, and if they caught us, it could end bloody.

Henry took charge, and we stealthily moved from cover to cover, avoiding the soldiers searching the area.

We were getting closer to the Delamain when a soldier spotted it and yelled out.

Delamain called me, asking if it should deploy combat mode. I instructed it to wait until we were in the car and get to our location then activate combat mode.

Seconds later, chaos erupted as Delamain revved its engine and rushed towards us, getting pelted with gunfire. I readied my weapons and told Henry and Suzi to get in the car while I provided covering fire.

Henry was quick to shut me down grabbing my arm and saying. “Are you fucking crazy? Are you looking to get flatlined? Here's what we’re doing, we’re getting in that Delamain and getting the fuck out of here understand?”

Within a few seconds, the Delamain arrived. While still being met with constant machine gun fire, Henry began ordering us to get in the car and keep our heads down until Delamain activated combat mode.

With all of us in the car, Delamain shifted into combat mode and sped away, dodging bullets and weaving through the chaos. It was a close call, but we made it out alive.

We return to the conflict with the unnamed group where we see two soldiers watching the Delamain speeding away in the distance.

"What should we do about them, sir?" A soldier asked.

"Don't worry about them... We have something that they kindly left behind for us." The other soldier said holding a piece of paper that was left on the floor.

He lets out a chuckle before ordering his men to regroup as they head back to base.