"You lead," Dmitri gestured to Johannes. "We follow at distance. Any sudden moves—don’t blame us for what happens next."
Johannes nodded once. No argument.
Elias was his main concern. Making an enemy out of a possible ally was not.
They moved through back streets and service alleys, avoiding open roads and areas where the civilians might encounter them.
Dmitri counted the steps without meaning to do so. Corners, blind angles. Fallback routes.
Countless scenarios formed in his mind, yet despite it all, his face remained neutral.
Johannes didn’t rush, but they didn’t linger either. Then, after a few more turns, they stopped.
The building looked unremarkable—one that would assume it was abandoned due to wreckage and old age.
Dmitri raised a hand, "Doors."
Johannes signaled to Evelyn and Marcus. One by one, the shutters rolled back. No sudden noises awaited, and no ambush either.
Dmitri waited for a five more seconds. Then another two.
Johannes observed in amusement, He’s a careful lad. Quite experienced in it, eh?
He would be as cautious as Dmitri as well. Who would trust a man they just barely met, and one that intruded them in the middle of a peaceful night?
No matter how much the quality of his storytelling was, words meant nothing. Actions mean less. Only evidence remained the absolute.
Johannes tilted his head, signaling Evelyn and Marcus forward.
They entered first, head low but heavy. Johannes followed them inside.
Dmitri came next, flanked by four Scouts.
The space was narrow, but one could see the layers.
Power cables ran cleanly along the walls—recently worked upon, a stark difference to the outside.
A map was pinned to the concrete wall: Grefort City sprawled across the center. Pandora District was circled in grease pencil at the lower right.
Smaller marks branched outward, dates and arrows layered over each other.
Dmitri didn’t stop walking.
One scout went to the left, another to the right. Corners were checked.
Doorframes were tapped.
A third crouched briefly, testing the floor for hollow sections before moving on.
Johannes watched without comment. To gain one’s trust, one must be scanned meticulously without resistance.
The place wasn’t a hideout but purposefully became one.
A folding table near the wall held ration packs stacked by type.
A kettle sat beside a small gas burner, wiped clean after use. Burnt marks seeped both on the kettle and on the side, making one wonder who would be so careless.
Two bedrolls were rolled tight against the far wall; another was folded, unused. The last one was placed farther to the other side, more organized and cleaner than the rest.
Dmitri’s eyes paused on that, then he moved on.
Crates were stacked in one corner, matte gray with faded government stencils still visible beneath the scratched paint.
HELIX markings were half-scraped, but not enough to hide what they had contained. Inventory numbers were written neatly along the sides, keeping track of rations, pills, and other necessities.
Bureaucratic nonsense, Dmitri snorted.
Marcus lingered near them without touching anything, his arms crossed.
Evelyn stood near the doorway, her gaze drifting between Dmitri and the four Scouts.
On a shelf above the table sat a handful of items that somehow felt peculiar: laminated IDs, cracked phones, a photo folded so many times it no longer lay flat.
Dmitri stopped at the center of the room, realizing what he had just went into.
Seeing him pause, Johannes leaned on the wall and shrugged.
"Satisfied?"
Dmitri didn’t answer. He pulled the vial from his pocket and tossed it back. Johannes caught it easily.
"You’ve proven yourself enough," Dmitri said. He turned to the map pinned to the wall. "What are these markings? HVI?"
"Was," Johannes replied. "With the world right now, they barely count as much."
"Figures," Dmitri agreed.
Johannes rolled the vial between his fingers. "You sure you don’t want this?"
"My men don’t need it," Dmitri rejected. "Our weapons will do the job."
Johannes studied him more carefully now.
"You’re very confident," he said. "If you take this, you’d be stronger than me."
"I will be, but not with that," Dmitri stood with his own reasoning. "Why do you insist?"
"It’s my goodwill," Johannes chuckled. "And a leverage for your assistance."
"Not enough."
"What do you want then?" Johannes frowned. This was something he didn’t expect.
"Information about Pandora District," he said. "And guarantees that when we move east, we won’t find Elias’ shadow waiting for us."
Johannes contemplated.
Dmitri added, almost casually, "If you want help, it won’t be charity. And it won’t be blind."
"You’re asking for an alliance," Johannes said slowly.
"Partial," Dmitri smiled faintly. "I will not be the full judge of that."
"Your Commander does?"
Dmitri remained silent.
"Isn’t he a superhuman?" Johannes was confused. "Don’t you want to help your Commander?"
Dmitri took note of Johannes’s words, but the pills wasn’t noteworthy to him for now. A breach of one’s previous judgment would break one’s integrity, and the other party’s trust.
"That’s classified."
Dmitri’s reply almost angered Evelyn and Marcus, but Johannes held them back.
"I can give you as much information as you want," his eyes hardened, locking gaze against Dmitri. "But ensure to us you will deal with Elias and his group."
"That is negotiable," Dmitri extended his hands.
Johannes was about to shake hands when suddenly, Dmitri pulled back.
"Information first."
Johannes stopped, "Fair."
He reached past the table and pulled a folded map from beneath a crate, spreading it open between them.
"Elias was last seen operating here," he said, tapping a sector near the outskirts of Pandora District. "He has three active lieutenants. Two confirmed HELIX users. One untested."
Evelyn stepped forward reluctantly and slid a data slate onto the table.
"Supply routes. He’s bleeding resources faster than he admits," Johannes continued.
"He’s a proud man," Dmitri shook his head, pointing at the data slate. "This thing’s out of battery. You can’t expect me to use it now?!"
Johannes understood Dmitri’s plight.
"Power’s down, but we know of a place that has one. The slate can be charged once we get there."
Dmitri didn’t react.
"In exchange," Johannes said, "No pill distribution. And no collateral that turns civilians into Elias’ next excuse."
Johannes met Dmitri’s eyes.
"That’s my counteroffer."
Evelyn’s palm struck the table hard enough to rattle the map and the lamp.
Dmitri looked up, curious.
"What’s her problem?"
"Evelyn," Johannes frowned. "She has a history with him."
"He doesn’t get to walk away," she snapped, voice shaking despite her reluctance. Her eyes were red, but focused.
"You don’t understand what he did."
"Evelyn," Johannes said again, firm this time.
She sucked in a breath. Her hands clenched.
"I can’t be the one to stop him," her voice broke. "If you cross paths with him, don’t hesitate. I..."
Johannes stepped forward, placing a hand on her shoulder.
Dmitri observed in amusement.
"I don’t take oaths born from grief," he said. "And I don’t kill for favors."
He met Evelyn’s gaze without flinching.
"Elias is a threat to us. He will not get a second chance."
Just as he turned around, Johannes called out. "Wait, I haven’t know of your name yet."
Dmitri glanced back, "Dmitri Volkov, a Scout."
...
By the edge of midnight, Dmitri and the four Scouts returned to their temporary base.
The building stirred as they entered. Conversations faded. Backs were straightened.
Kimmy and Yunera woke up to the chaos, only to find a group of soldiers now gathered in the large hallway.
Dmitri said nothing. He crossed the hallway and set the bundle in his arms down at the table.
"Squad leaders," he said calmly. "Gather."
The men moved in without hesitation.
With the map spread out, Dmitri started.
"We have a new objective on our hands."
"What is it, platoon leader?"
Dmitri flicked a photo onto the table.
The image was creased in places and worn by age. Its edges softened after repeated handling.
In it, a man stood at its center, his hair longer than regulation, brushed back without a care.
He smiled, tight, but not forced—the kind that came easily, as if the camera had caught him between moments rather than posing for one.
At first glance, nothing felt threatening about him. Then the eyes held too long, focused. Alert in a way that didn’t match the rest of his expression.
"Elias Crowe, ex-SAS agent," he declared. "He’s got prideful for unknown reasons. Now, his ambitions are growing unchecked. We leave him alone, and he’ll be a threat to the Commander’s goals."
"How do we proceed, platoon leader?" Ryan asked.
"Kill on sight, and anyone who goes with him," Dmitri paused. "This will not be easy. Target is a superhuman suspected to have powerful combat skills. Three SAS agents will assist, but success depends on us."
Dmitri stepped back from the table, the plan already forming on his mind.
"Get some rest," he added. "We move after the first light."
Outside, the city woke slowly unaware that another chaos was about to unfurl.