The silence that followed gunfire was somehow worse than the violence. Ral stood over Delta's corpse while Maya checked for additional threats and Louis limped toward them, pressing bloodied hand against shoulder wound that painted his jacket crimson.
"Dmitri, status report," Ral transmitted through comms.
Static answered. Then weak voice barely recognizable: "Command post... overrun. Multiple casualties. I'm... alive but wounded. Teams are eliminated or scattered. We need immediate extraction before police response arrives."
"How long until police?" Ral demanded.
"Firefight this extensive? Ten minutes maximum. Possibly less if someone called during initial engagement."
Maya was already moving, checking bodies, securing weapons, operating with mechanical efficiency despite obvious sho
