"So… you're saying this whole terrorist attack was just to create a reason and start a war between the Soviet Union and the United States?"

"Yes..."

Chad stands there, stunned, after hearing the information Neil got from the terrorist. He groans and rubs his forehead.

"I thought what happened to us was the worst of it, but it turns out the situation is way more complicated, and much worse than we could ever imagine."

"What should we do?" Someone asks.

"As I said before, our plan was to do whatever we could to save the city and the innocent people from the terrorists. But after what Mister Neil said, we now have more than enough reason to stop their plan at all costs. However, this will be extremely dangerous, so I won't force anyone to join if they don't want to."

As Chad finishes speaking, Neil turns back and locks eyes with everyone: "Anyone who wants to go, raise your hand."

The first hands raised are Chad's, Nick's, and Neil's. As Chad watches his friends make their decisions in silence, his heart races when no one else raises their hand. He starts to worry that his plan will fail at the first step.

...

But as soon as Roy, his best friend, raises his hand, Chad's anxiety disappears. Even though he knows he's leading his friend into danger, he feels relieved and happy to have him along, even if his face doesn't show it. What's even more surprising is the three others who raise their hands after Roy.

"Brent, Ben, and Saiko? You guys are coming too?" Brent frowns at Chad's strange question. "What? You asked if we wanted to go, and when we said yes, now you're questioning our decision?!"

"No, it just feels odd that you guys would want to do something like this."

"I'm not staying here with the girls like a loser."

"Alright then, anyone else?"

...

Despite the silence, Chad notices that Mike seems a little hesitant. What he doesn't know is that Mike is struggling with himself inside.

'Come on, nigga, you can do this! You've been a coward your whole life. This is your chance to do something meaningful, to be someone who can help others! You can do it! YOU CAN DO IT!!'

Mike slowly, but steadily, raises his hand, trembling so violently and sweating so much that others might think he's being forced: "I... want... to... join... too."

Mike immediately regrets his decision to join, but he can't take it back because of his fear of humiliation. Chad, however, isn't sure if it's a good idea to let Mike go, even though he gathered the courage to say it out loud.

Mike is the last one to join the team, leaving only Selena and Jenny at the bar as a result of their decision to stay. This gives Chad another reason to reject Mike, he feels it wouldn't be right to leave two girls alone, unable to protect themselves, but he has to go because he is the one leading the operation.

After some time of thinking, he came up with a solution: "Mike, how about you stay here with Selena and Jenny?" He reasons that this is the best option, as it keeps the girls safe with a man there to protect them, and it also increases the chances of success because "shy Mike" won't slow them down.

But Mike's face shows disbelief, unable to process what he's hearing: "But didn't I say I wanted to go?"

"I know, I know, but if you go too, who would protect Selena and Jenny? Who's good enough to keep them safe without risking the operation? That's why I think you should stay with them. That way, you'll be an even bigger help to us... and to me." Chad inexplicably looks away.

"But I don't know what to do."

"Don't worry. All you need to do is close all the doors and windows after we leave. Until we return or the mission is successful, keep a rifle with you at all times. And if anyone comes to the bar, except us, you might have to shoot. Got it?"

"Okay, I guess that makes sense." Mike puts on a dissatisfied face, but inside, he's sighing with relief. He steps back, letting the "squad members" focus on their mission planning.

"Alright, so we know where the force field machine is, we know how many of them are there, and we've got 7 people on the team."

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

"Yep."

"The problem is, how do we get in? How do we deactivate the machine, and how do we get out safely once they know what we've done?"

...

Chad pauses, giving himself and the group a moment to think. After a brief silence, Neil speaks up: "What if... we disguise ourselves as them?"

"???"

"The terrorists I've seen, whether they're strong or weak, leaders or soldiers, all wear the same kind of uniform and mask, covering their faces except for their eyes and nose. It's the same as the one we captured."

"So, you're suggesting we dress like them to sneak inside and get the job done?"

"Yes, it's actually not that hard. We just need to... capture 6 more of them to get enough suits. And from what I've observed, the terrorists don't stay in one place all the time. They can move around the city as long as they don't disrupt their mission or raise suspicion. Like the guy in the basement, he was driving somewhere with the truck before we captured him."

"What do you guys think?" Chad looks around at the team to see if they're on board with Neil's idea.

"I agree with Neil," Nick says. "Attacking them head-on would be suicide, so sneaking in by disguising ourselves is probably the best and most practical option."

"Yeah, I think so."

"Me too."

"Same."

As everyone else agrees with Nick, Chad decides to go ahead with Neil's plan.

"Alright, so now we know what we'll do, but we still need to figure out how to disable the force field machine."

"Why don't we just attach a timed bomb and blow it up?" Nick suggests.

"I thought of that too, but you've got to remember, this machine might be something out of science fiction. It could use materials or physics that humanity hasn't even discovered yet. What if it's radioactive? Blowing it up could make things worse, killing millions with cancer while we were trying to save them."

"…"

Nick falls silent, processing what Chad said. The others are equally quiet, as they have no other plan. Without knowing how the machine works, they can't figure out how to disable it without causing more harm.

"How about this?" Chad suggests. "Let me approach the machine with a timed bomb. I'll analyze it to see if it's safe to blow up. If it is, we'll set the bomb. If not, I'll find another way to disable it."

"But what if that doesn't work either?"

"Then I'll blow up the power source. Without power, the machine won't have the energy to sustain the field."

"Why don't we just do that from the start?"

"Because some machines could malfunction and cause something worse, like… radiation, if we force them to shut down abruptly. Like I said, I need to analyze whether it's safe to destroy the power source. Clear?"

They nod.

"And finally... once we've finished our job, we'll blend in with the terrorists by acting like we don't know what happened. Or, if we end up blowing up the machine, we'll get out of the building before the timer goes off, leaving the sky open and letting the military handle the rest. Sound good?"

They nod again.

"Now let's—"

"I think there's a flaw in your plan," Saiko suddenly speaks up.

"What do you mean?"

"You said we'd capture 6 more terrorists just to get their suits, but don't you think that's risky? What if their comrades get suspicious? Worse, what if they manage to escape? We clearly can't bring them with us, and we can't just tie them up in another building, they could escape and report back to their base, making our mission even harder."

"But we also can't imprison them here. Six unarmed but highly skilled terrorists, plus the one under the basement, would be more than enough to defeat Mike, even if he has a gun and manages to escape the bar. So... unless you can come up with a different plan, we'll have to kill them."

Saiko's bold argument leaves everyone, including Chad, speechless. It's true, they can't afford to treat the terrorists humanely, fearing they'll retaliate. But they don't have a better solution. Chad, however, makes the decision not to follow Saiko's advice.

"No... No! I won't kill them!"

"But they're terrorists! They've killed many people and caused so much suffering. Why should we spare them?"

"I know, but if we kill them the same way they tried to kill us, we're no better than them. We'd be no more than brutal, heartless monsters."

Neil feels a bit offended.

"They are criminals, and criminals deserve to be punished by the law. But you're right, we can't just capture 6 more terrorists and expect them to behave. So, what do we do?"

"What if we don't have to?" Chad gives Saiko a bewildered look.

"I mean, we only need to deactivate the machine, right? That would take no more than 3 people. The others can hide somewhere and serve as backup."

"Yeah... why didn't I think of that? I didn't realize I could count on you like this, Saiko. Honestly, I almost forgot you were the second smartest in the class."

"Heh, second smartest..." Saiko murmurs with irony.

"Okay, so does anyone have any other opinions?"

Ben raises his hand.

"Yeah?"

"Uh... the terrorists have guns and bombs, we have nothing. Aside from the rifle we took from them, we barely have anything to protect ourselves."

"Oh, you don't have to worry about that." Neil shakes his head as he speaks.

"Nick?" He calls out to Nick.

"I thought you'd never ask."

Nick moves slowly behind the bar, while the others are still unsure about what's going on. On the side of the wall, which serves as a shelf for wines and other alcoholic beverages, there's something that looks like a calculator. Nick approaches it and presses a few buttons that seem to be part of a password. The whole scene begins to feel like something out of a spy movie as he presses the red button. The wall starts to rotate 180 degrees with loud mechanical creaks.

By the time it's halfway turned, the bottles and wines are gone, replaced by something else, something dark, long, and menacing, slowly emerging. When the wall finally stops, revealing what's on the other side, all of them are left speechless, their jaws dropped.

"Oh my God."

The wall is lined with M4 shotguns, AR-15 rifles, G17 pistols... all displayed with their corresponding magazines and cartridges, arranged like works of art. The number of weapons could easily be double the number of people in the room, and the ammo supply would be enough to take down all the terrorists, with at least 15 rounds each.

Nick grins as everyone continues to stare in astonishment."Told you there was no need to worry."