GREENSMOKE

Chapter 10: Smoke and Fire

The journey through the south canal began under moonlight. Adam crouched in the belly of a flat-bottomed skiff, his rifle strapped across his chest, eyes locked on the mist swirling just above the water. Koji, his contact, navigated silently with a long wooden pole, cutting through the current like a phantom. The canal stretched endlessly forward, framed by black reeds and unseen eyes.

Koji (whispering):

"We’re an hour out. Compound’s to the east. There's a tunnel under the sugar refinery. That’s your door."

Adam gave a tight nod. The second man in their trio, Corporal Dazeem, sat on the edge of the boat, checking his ammunition. His face bore fresh scars and older silence.

Dazeem:

"We hit hard. We hit fast."

Adam:

"We hit clean."

As they neared landfall, the faint thump of bass echoed across the swamp—music from Malik’s compound. Guards visible through scopes danced, drank, patrolled lazily. Complacent.

Koji:

"Drunk dogs bark the loudest. You want to get in, you move while they’re howling."

The boat nudged up against a rotted dock. They disembarked quickly. Adam held his breath as they approached the grate-covered drain leading into the tunnel system. Koji handed Adam a key and a piece of cloth.

Koji:

"That opens the side hatch inside. Cloth is for your face. The lab’s air... it ain’t clean."

Inside, the compound was a hybrid of science and sin. Flickering lights illuminated steel tanks, racks of chemicals, broken tiles stained dark with spillage. In the corner, a makeshift club pulsed with strobe lights and distorted laughter. Adam and Dazeem crept past a wall where the words "WE ARE THE CURE" were painted in bold red strokes.

Adam (to comms):

"We have visual. Lab is active. Hostiles unaware. Proceeding with phase two."

Dazeem placed a shaped charge beneath one of the filtration units. Adam moved toward the far side of the compound, slipping into a narrow hallway that led toward what the intel had called the throne room.

He found Malik there, lounging on a low couch. Two guards flanked him. He was laughing at something on a tablet, drink in hand. The smugness on his face was unbearable.

Adam (stepping out of the shadow):

"Miss me, Malik?"

The guards turned, reaching.

Bang. Bang.

Two shots, quick and clean. Both dropped.

Malik barely had time to rise before Adam pressed the barrel of his g*n to his forehead.

Malik (chuckling):

"Creed. Thought you died in a ditch with the rest of your sorry squad."

Adam:

"You got close. But I crawl out of ditches. And you... you crawl behind money."

Malik:

"So what now? You gonna kill me? Be the hero who dies with a cause? Or the killer who walks away with guilt?"

Adam hesitated.

Adam:

"No. You’re not worth the guilt. You’re going to stand trial."

Malik:

"You think they’ll cage me? I built judges. I paid juries."

Adam:

"Then I’ll build your cell myself."

Dazeem appeared in the doorway.

Dazeem:

"Charges set. We’ve got three minutes."

Adam cuffed Malik, dragged him to his feet, and together they raced back down the corridor.

Outside, as the compound erupted in flames behind them, Adam watched the smoke curl into the night sky. It didn’t smell like victory. It smelled like the past, burning.

Adam (V.O.):

"Sarah, I found him. I ended it. But the fire still lingers. Some things you don’t walk away from. You carry them. But I’m carrying it home."