The industrial complex materialized from winter fog like skeletal monument to Soviet ambitions—rusted machinery, collapsed warehouses, crumbling administrative buildings arranged around central courtyard where Ral would meet Delta or die trying.
"Teams in position," Dmitri reported through encrypted comms. "Sniper one has eyes on north approach. Sniper two covering east. Assault team positioned in warehouse with clear sight lines to meeting point. All exits secured."
Ral stood in the courtyard center, exposed and vulnerable, watching his breath crystallize in subzero air. Twenty-three operators had died executing his strategy. Tonight would determine if their deaths accomplished anything beyond adding bodies to casualty count.
"Movement on north approach," sniper one reported. "Three ve
