With this, I adjusted the earpiece as I asked, "Jessica, describe the man for ."
Jessica’s voice hit as she replied, "Not so polite, but it works."
A few seconds passed after she started to describe that man, "Tall, broad shoulders, dark hair, slightly ssy... keeps running a hand through it. He looked... scared, or angry. Or both."
I felt the air leave my lungs. The description matched Josh’s physical appearance, but I was not sure.
Samantha’s head turned to as her eyes scrutinized the confusion and suspicion on my face. Her eyes narrowed, making them sharp enough to cut through anything.
"You know him?" Her voice was low but steady.
I nodded slowly, "It might be Josh, but I cannot confirm it."
For a few heartbeats, the world seed to hold its breath.
The possibility of Josh being here. In these ruins. That too, alive. Inside that house snapped inside .
Samantha, on the other hand, ordered over the line, "Jessie, could you get us the image of that man?"
"On it, " was all Jessica said before the silence again fell over the line.
Soon, a notification ca on each of our phones. They were not our usual phones but the special ones that their company assigned to each of them for this task.
As Samantha retrieved the device, I got closer to having a good look at the image.
It wasn’t a clean photograph.
The picture was grainy from the footage that Jessica got. The angle was slightly tilted, as if the cara had been hidden in so corner.
The lighting was not great either, but his features and the build of the man were clear enough. It was him.
"Josh." The na escaped from my mouth as Samantha gave a knowing look, understanding everything.
Just then, Maximus’s voice ca through as he asked, "Are you sure?"
"I’m sure," I replied. "It’s him. The build. The way he moves. No one else fits."
Samantha’s hand tightened around her gun. "Then we need a new plan. He’s inside. We don’t know who else is in there."
Max’s voice ca with agreent as he stated, "You are right, so Samantha and I go inside."
Then he paused for a mont and then continued, "While Dave, you stay here, and watch the periter. Or go back into the car with Jessica?"
The mont those words ca out of his mouth, I felt my stomach twist in defiance.
"No, I am not staying here while you both go inside. I’m coming with you." I spat out imdiately, my voice ca out sharper than I intended.
Samantha’s brows pulled tight as she adjusted the grip on her gun. While Maximus spat back over the line, almost making deaf for a mont, "Dave, this isn’t negotiable. You’re not trained for this. If sothing happens inside then..."
Before he could finish, Jessica’s shrill voice cut in over the earpiece, "They are right, Dave. Your presence will only distract them. That’s the last thing we need."
My hands balled into fists. "Distract them? I am not so dead weight you can just drop behind. That man in there was my target, my enemy, and you expect to just sit here like so coward?"
"You are not a soldier," Maximus shot back, his voice bristling with impatience. "You don’t know how to clear a room. You don’t know how to react when bullets fly. One wrong move from you could get all of us killed."
"That’s not fair," I snapped, heat rushing into my chest. My heartbeat thudded against my ribs like a war drum. "You don’t know . You don’t know what I can or can’t do. Don’t you dare tell to just sit on the sidelines."
Max’s reply ca fast, curt, like a blade drawn too fastly, "I know enough. I know liability when I see one."
The words hit harder than I expected, and I found myself clenching my jaw until it ached.
"Liability? He’s in there, Max. He’s alive. You think I can sit back while you all go in and get him?"
The tension snapped between us like a live wire. A wire, if any person ca in contact with then he would turn to ashes in the blink of an eye.
Samantha suddenly turned to , her head snapping between and the voice in her ear. Her hand shot up in the air, palm out.
"Enough." Samantha’s voice was flat and fast.
I shook my head before I could think it through. "No. I’m coming in with you. I cannot just sit in the car like a child and wait for you both to return."
"Hey! What do you an by sitting like a child? Do you think I am a child who is just sitting here like a freeloader?" Jessica’s shrill voice ca more high-pitched than usual, piercing through our eardrums.
Maximus’s frustrated voice ca, "Kill now."
While Samantha shook her head in disappointnt as she tried to calm her down, "Jessica, you are the brain of this group, so calm down."
Fortunately, she cald down as silence again fell over the line.
Maximus’ sighing echoed through my ear as he spoke up, which ca out like a warning. "Dave, your presence will draw unnecessary attention, which we definitely do not want at any cost. You will get hurt, and we will get distracted. Stay put for God’s sake."
Then Samantha did sothing I didn’t expect. She stopped the conversation cold. She turned to and slid her hand into the inner pocket of her jacket.
When her hand returned, she did not pull out a gun, opposite to what I expected.
Instead, she pulled out a small black device. I narrowed my eyes, observing the device. It was compact and ugly, like a tool that belonged in a drawer for ergencies.
"Stay here," she said, not as an order but as a fact. "If anyone cos out, use this taser. Don’t hesitate." Her thumb brushed the cartridge, the taser’s hum almost silent.
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