V Dossier

THE TEAM

CHAPTER 02

1ST PERSON POV

I pushed open the apartment door and stepped inside quietly.

The room was dark and silent except for the faint sound of rain tapping against the windows. I tossed my keys onto the table before shrugging off my bloodstained coat.

Pain shot through my shoulder immediately.

"Tch…"

I clenched my jaw and slowly sank into the couch. The bullet wound from yesterday's mission still burned badly despite the rough treatment I had received at headquarters.

What a terrible day. I thought in my head.

I grabbed the remote from the table and switched on the television.

The bright screen flickered to life.

A female reporter appeared almost instantly.

"Breaking news from downtown tonight. Authorities confirmed that two world-class mafia leaders were assassinated during a private gathering at Mc Canter Club. Witnesses claim the attack was carried out by a Class-A Investigator known only by the codename Unrevealed."

Pictures of the destroyed nightclub appeared on screen, police lights, bodies covered with white sheets been towed into the ambulance.

Blood across shattered glass floors.

I stared silently at the screen.

"Reports also suggest the recovery of highly dangerous biochemical weapons believed to have been stolen from military storage facilities weeks ago—"

I muted the television and stood up.

The media always exaggerated things.

I walked into the kitchen and pulled out the leftover food I had stored inside the microwave earlier that morning. A few seconds later, I returned to the living room with a plate of chips and grilled meat before dropping back onto the couch.

For once, I just wanted silence for a minute.

No missions. No blood. No gunfire.

Just one peaceful night.

Ding Dong.

The sudden sound of the doorbell ruined that thought immediately.

Who the hell visits at this time? I frowned.

Instinctively, my hand slid beneath the couch cushion where my pistol rested. I stood up carefully and moved toward the door without making a sound.

Looking through the peephole, I spotted a familiar face standing outside.

Jake.

He wore an all-black hoodie with matching combat trousers while a black duffel bag hung over his shoulder. His dark brown eyes reflected beneath the hallway light like polished marble.

I relaxed slightly before hiding the pistol behind my back and opening the door.

"Jake?" I raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing here this late?"

"Hey Ethan," he replied with a grin before stepping inside.

I shut the door behind him.

"You look terrible," he added while staring at my wounded shoulder.

"I got shot."

"Again?"

"Occupational hazard."

Jake laughed softly and dropped his duffel bag onto the floor before walking into the living room.

"Well, I came because I need your help with something."

I sighed immediately.

Of course he did_ he always does.

"I'm injured, exhausted, and trying to eat in peace," I said while sitting back on the couch. "So, whatever this is, can you make it quick."

Jake pulled out a folded map from his bag and placed it on the table.

"I got assigned a mission about three streets away from here."

"What kind of mission?"

"There's a warehouse belonging to Makarios."

I paused. The same Makarios I killed yesterday.

Jake continued.

"According to headquarters, the warehouse contains multiple biochemical weapons and military-grade prototypes stolen from government storage."

"That sounds serious."

"It is."

I leaned forward slightly.

"What's the objective?"

"We infiltrate the warehouse, extract specific weapons, and destroy everything else."

"How many operatives is required?"

"Six-man squad."

"And you're short one member," I guessed.

Jake smirked. "Exactly."

I stared at him for a moment before sighing deeply.

"You really know how to ruin someone's rest."

"I'll buy you food afterward." He said.

"That's not enough motivation."

"I'll also pretend you carried the mission."

"That's slightly better." I agreed.

Jake chuckled.

"The warehouse is heavily guarded," he explained while opening the map fully. "Roughly fifty armed men spread around the perimeter and inside the building."

"Fifty?" I frowned. "Why guard it that heavily?"

"Because the weapons inside aren't ordinary."

Jake pointed toward several highlighted names written on the map.

"Batch numbers 001, 007, 105#, and MAC109."

I narrowed my eyes immediately. "Those are military prototypes."

"Exactly."

I leaned back slowly.

"How did weapons like those end up in Makarios' possession?"

Jake's expression darkened slightly.

"That's what headquarters wants us to find out."

"The Archivist is certainly to be involved," I muttered.

Jake nodded quietly.

The Archivist. One of the most dangerous information brokers in the underground world.

Nobody knew his real identity. Nobody knew where he operated from.

But whenever illegal military technology appeared somewhere it shouldn't, his name always surfaced eventually.

"If he's involved," I said quietly, "then this situation is bigger than stolen weapons."

Jake crossed his arms.

"That's why the Commander wants the remaining prototypes destroyed immediately."

A small smile formed on my face.

"Sounds fun."

Jake rolled his eyes.

"You seriously need therapy."

I stood up and walked toward a large picture frame hanging against the wall. Pressing my thumb against the hidden switch behind it, I heard a mechanical click.

The wall beside us slowly slid open.

Rows of weapons appeared instantly. Assault rifles. Combat knives. Explosives. Handguns.

Jake whistled softly.

"You really love overpreparing."

"In our line of work, overpreparing keeps you alive."

I grabbed a fresh pistol before checking the magazine.

Fully loaded.

Jake glanced at the clock.

"It's already past two in the morning," he said. "We move in thirty minutes."

"Then let's get this over with."

*********

Cold night air brushed against my face as I crouched behind a concrete barrier overlooking the warehouse.

The massive facility stood in the middle of an abandoned industrial zone surrounded by tall fences and armed guards.

Floodlights illuminated the perimeter brightly.

"They're definitely expecting trouble," Kelvin muttered beside me.

I adjusted the binoculars in my hand.

"Ten guards protecting the rear entrance," I reported through the comms. "Seven more patrolling the western side."

Jake's voice crackled through my earpiece.

"Team Two, status?"

A male voice responded instantly.

"We have around twenty guards near the front gate. One of them is carrying a mounted machine gun."

"That's annoying," Lucy muttered through the comms.

Jake spoke calmly.

"Stick to the plan. Team One infiltrates through the rear entrance. Team Two prepares extraction."

"Roger."

I climbed over the fence alongside Kelvin before quietly landing inside the compound.

The two guards nearest to us never even noticed our presence.

Pfft. Our silenced pistols fired simultaneously.

Both bodies collapsed instantly.

We moved quickly through the shadows while avoiding the floodlights overhead.

Kelvin grabbed another guard from behind and slit his throat cleanly.

"Too easy," he whispered.

"Don't get careless."

I knocked another guard unconscious before dragging his body behind nearby crates.

Jake's voice suddenly returned through the comms.

"I'm creating a diversion."

I smirked slightly.

"Doing things recklessly as usual?"

"You know me too well."

Seconds later—

Gunfire exploded from the front gate.

The guards immediately panicked.

"What the hell is happening?!"

"Front entrance under attack!"

Perfect. Kelvin and I slipped through the rear entrance unnoticed.

But the moment we stepped inside the warehouse, heavy gunfire erupted.

Bullets tore through metal crates around us.

"Contact!"

I rolled behind cover while returning fire immediately.

One guard dropped.

Then another.

Kelvin moved beside me with terrifying speed, driving his combat knife directly into a guard's throat before firing twice into another man's chest.

The warehouse quickly descended into chaos.

Screams echoed everywhere.

Explosions shook the walls.

Then Jake arrived.

The front doors burst open violently.

He stepped inside calmly while crushing a strange blue pill between his teeth.

The atmosphere changed instantly.

His glowing blue eyes locked onto the guards.

Fear spread across their faces immediately.

"He used the pill…" Kelvin muttered.

Jake vanished.

That was the only way to describe it.

One second he stood near the entrance.

The next—

Blood sprayed across the walls.

Three guards collapsed before they even realized he had moved.

Jake darted through the warehouse unnaturally fast, his dagger slicing through flesh with horrifying precision.

Limbs fell. Bodies dropped. Gunfire became meaningless.

The guards fired wildly in panic, but Jake moved like a phantom between bullets.

"Monster," Lucy whispered through the comms.

Even I had to admit it.

Whenever Jake used those pills, he became something terrifying.

Within minutes the warehouse fell silent except for the sound of heavy breathing and dripping blood.

Bodies covered the floor completely.

Kelvin stood atop a pile of corpses while panting heavily.

His own eyes glowed faintly blue.

He had used one pill too.

Jake wiped blood from his dagger calmly.

"No time to rest," he said. "Collect the target weapons immediately."

We quickly located the marked prototypes and loaded them into the truck waiting outside.

Victor stared at the destroyed warehouse in disbelief.

"You people are actual monsters."

"Compliment accepted," Kelvin replied proudly.

After securing the final crate, Jake placed a bomb in the center of the warehouse before activating the timer.

Sixty seconds.

We climbed into the truck immediately.

As the vehicle pulled away from the compound, the countdown reached zero.

BOOM!

A massive explosion erupted behind us, engulfing the entire warehouse in flames.

The shockwave rattled the truck violently.

I stared silently through the rear window as fire consumed everything behind us.

Another mission completed.

Jake pressed a finger against his comm device.

"Mission accomplished."

A deep male voice responded almost immediately.

"Good work. Return to headquarters immediately."