As the group dispersed to tend to their final preparations, Jack made his way to the armory to stock up on ammunition and inspect his equipment. The air was thick with tension, a reminder of the impending challenges they faced. While meticulously counting the ammo clips, he caught sight of Kairi seated at a nearby table, focused intently on sharpening her blades. The rhythmic sound of metal against stone filled the room, a stark contrast to the weight on Jack’s heart.

Guilt gnawed at him over their recent encounter, and he felt compelled to approach her. He cleared his throat, trying to gather his thoughts.

“I see you’re making sure your blades are razor-sharp,” he began, his voice steady but soft. “About what happened between us, I just wanted to say—”

Kairi looked up, her expression serious yet calm. “Don’t worry about it. Once this is all over,” she said, a slight smile breaking through her previously stern demeanor, “you can take me out for a nice dinner.”

Jack felt a rush of warmth at her words, and a smile spread across his face despite the gravity of their situation. For a brief moment, the hope of a future together shone brightly amid the uncertainty that loomed ahead.

Elsewhere Troy made one last trip to Lily’s office not to get another vial of the drug but to instead tell her that things were about to be over and once they were over, he was going to head back home and ask Lily one question.

“I know this is sudden, but I was wondering if you wanted to come with me once this fight is over.”

Lily was shocked by what Troy said; after all, she knew him as this cold-hearted figure. “What’s with the change? You usually care about yourself.”

“It’s just that when this is over, I have no reason to stay here; it makes sense for me to go back home.”

Lily thought about Troy’s offer, “Give me some time to think about it.”

With that, Troy left Lily’s office and headed for a nearby bathroom; inside, Troy pulled out a vial of the drug and inhaled it, getting himself pumped up.

With final preparations complete, everyone headed for the helipad. Harry shook the hands of Jack and then Killgrave and said to the two of them before they left.

“Get that bastard.”

Jack and Killgrave exchanged one last handshake before getting in their respective helicopters. As the helicopters took off, they each went off in different directions.

Inside the helicopter, Jack started laying out what was the plan.

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“Here’s the plan. Anakin and Ellie, you two will be inside the helicopter watching over it in case any GMs arrive unannounced. Askua and Kairi, you two will enter the front door and work your way upstairs. Troy, you and I will make our entrance through the roof. Remember, we have one shot to get this son of a bitch.”

As the helicopter reached No Man's Land, Jack got in touch with Killgrave and told him, “Sargent, we’re almost there; we’ve just reached No Man's Land. What’s your situation?

“We can see the Jackal hideout. Turns out that son of a bitch was telling the truth; we can see Jackel soldiers on watch, though I think you guys are going to be lucky and find Stallone.”

The connection between the two started to go static the deeper the helicopter was going into No Man's Land. Within the blackness, a shiny white mansion could be seen.

Troy was the first to see the mansion. “Holy shit.”

Anakin looked at the mansion. “How does a house that white stay undamaged? That's got to be a beacon for GMs.”

As the helicopter began getting closer, a strange sense of silence was in the air.

“Strange we would usually get shot at right now...You don't think we’ve been lied to.” Ellie asked.

“Either they're completely deaf, or something is going on inside; either way, we stick to the plan.” Jack made his way over to the pilot, “Lower down.”

The pilot nodded his head and lowered the helicopter a few feet, allowing Kairi and Askua to hop off. Once they made their way inside, Troy and Jack followed soon after by knocking down a rope that the two planned on using to rappel down.

On the roof of the mansion, the duo made their way inside; inside, the place was quiet—too quiet. As they walked around, they quickly began seeing dead Jackel soldiers lying on the ground surrounded by a pool of their blood.

“Ahh crap.”

It wasn’t long until Jack and Troy met up with Asuka and Kairi.

“What the heck is going on? All we’ve found is dead Jackel’s,” Asuka said, sounding confused as to why the place was so quiet.

“Same here. I don't like this one bit.” Jack got on coms with Ellie, “Ellie, get yourself and Anakin down here; something bad has happened here.”

The squad continued to search the mansion only to find more and more dead Jackel soldiers. They continued until they reached a door that was slightly creaked open. Jack slightly pushed open the door, and inside was something unexpected.

“What the fuck.” Jack said

Inside the room was Harrison lying on a couch with his face and throat covered in knife wounds. The team quickly looked around trying to see if the person responsible was hiding, but they couldn't find anything.

The team picked up the pace on their search and started looking elsewhere in the mansion. Their search led them to a room that had its door ripped off its frame.

Inside was another dead body; this time it was lying on a bed. The white bedsheets had been redecorated in blood; the body had suffered the same pain as Harrison did. The only difference between the two was the number of knife wounds on their bodies.

“What the fuck is going on?”

Jack tried to get on coms with Killgrave; eventually, he was able to get a signal.

“Crawford? You wouldn’t believe this, but that son of a bitch was telling the truth. We’ve found what Stallone has been planning; you should see this stuff. How’s your progress? Please tell me you’ve found him.”

“We have, but he’s dead.”

The two were silent.

“You don't think he did it?”

“No idea, but if he did, we’re going to need all the help we can get if we’re to take him down.”