Benjamin and Slater hung their heads low, wide-eyed. They couldn’t believe what they had just heard. This shouldn’t surprise them, but they hadn’t thought about it earlier. They had been too focused on finding their way out. Had it not been for one of the hostages in the building telling them the way, they would have taken much longer.
Besides, they didn’t think they had been abducted for that long. It had been only an hour or two since they were taken. They didn’t think that was enough to raise an alarm, especially since Slater and Benjamin had gone to night markets before and stayed out late.
But Atlas was saying...
Slowly, Benjamin and Slater lifted their heads and locked eyes with Atlas. Atlas’s presence alone was enough proof that the nas of those who infiltrated the base to rescue them were indeed inside. Otherwise, Atlas wouldn’t be there.
"I need to go back," Slater breathed out and quickly turned.
"Slater," Atlas called, taking large steps toward them. He grabbed Slater’s arm and pulled him until Slater was facing him. "Stay here."
Slater’s eyes shone with bitterness as he clenched his teeth. "First Brother."
"You and Benjamin already escaped. That ans those guys can only worry about themselves. It’s too dangerous."
"But Penny is there!" Slater argued. "She’s there for , and... I have to let her know I’m safe."
"Stay." Atlas gripped his brother’s shoulder tighter, his eyes sharp. "It’s much better that way. I’m sure they’ll eventually find out that you’re not there anymore."
"But—"
"Help is on the way," Atlas added, cutting off Slater’s argunt before he could even start. However, Atlas knew that was a lie. Before his group arrived, they had already realized that the police were useless, so they didn’t even try to report the situation.
Before they lost signal, Atlas had tried contacting so people for help. But this place was a sixteen-hour flight from Anteca, and even if help arrived, he wasn’t sure if it would co imdiately. Even so, he needed to keep Slater out of the danger zone.
"Those guys are inside, but they’re all exceptional fighters," Atlas breathed out, squeezing Slater’s arm tighter. "Earlier, there were seven of you inside. Now, it’s down to five. They’ll be fine, Slater. Otherwise, things might get even more complicated."
Slater pressed his mouth into a thin line, his eyes on his brother. Reluctance flickered across his face before he nodded. Atlas didn’t let him go imdiately but studied him. When Atlas was slightly reassured that Slater was convinced by his argunt, he let go of Slater’s arm.
A mistake.
The second Atlas let him go, Slater waited a couple of seconds before sprinting back. He quickly picked up the rifle where Benjamin had hidden it and then climbed over the wall before jumping to the other side.
"Slater!" Atlas called, but he was too slow—his brother seed to have gained ridiculous speed. He was even faster than Mark, although Mark had climbed more carefully. "Slat—damn!"
Atlas ruffled his hair in distress before pinching the bridge of his nose. Why did the youngest—Slater and Penny—never listen to him?
anwhile, Benjamin kept his gaze on the wall where Slater had jumped over. He clasped his hands, the little excitent he had felt earlier when they escaped disappearing without a trace. Not only was Mint inside to rescue him, but Zoren was there as well!
"How... how did this..." Benjamin slowly shifted his eyes back to Atlas. "Sir Atlas, is help really going to co...? Please tell the truth."
Slowly, Atlas opened his eyes and looked back at Benjamin. His mouth parted, but in the end, he could only press it shut. All he could do was let out a shallow breath.
---
anwhile, Mark was able to get in without being noticed, thanks to Hugo’s perfect execution of diversion. Although he still encountered a few n along the way, he could count them on one hand.
The territory had three buildings, and if Mark was correct, they ford a triangle. He wasn’t sure if he had gotten into the right building, but since this one was the quietest, he thought Penny and Zoren might be there. After all, if it was quiet, that ant the boss was likely there, and wherever the boss was, Zoren would be negotiating.
’It’s hard to infiltrate a place we barely know anything about,’ he thought, stopping at an old hallway.
It was quiet—eerily quiet.
All the doors were shut, and he couldn’t see or hear any movent. Reaching for the rifle he had taken from one of the soldiers earlier, Mark approached one of the doors. He stayed to the side, trying to listen.
’No one’s talking,’ he thought, glancing at the door. He reached for the knob, twisting it slowly and carefully. When it opened, he hid behind the wall and readied his rifle, prepared for a fight.
But nothing.
Mark furrowed his brows and slowly peeked around the corner, just in case soone would fire at him. That didn’t happen, even though the room wasn’t completely empty. He slowly stepped forward and stood at the entrance, his eyes falling on the corner where three won huddled together, hugging each other.
Despite the darkness, he could see their shoulders trembling, and their muffled sniffles filled the room. When one of them dared to peek, she whimpered, "Please don’t kill us."
"..." Mark held his breath for a mont, then silently turned and walked away. Instead of leaving, he checked the last door he had tried to listen to, and sure enough, there were people inside. However, they didn’t seem like the type to fight him for infiltrating.
If he guessed correctly, they were also hostages.
All of them were won, and by the looks of the rooms, this seed like a won’s dormitory.
With this realization, Mark turned his head toward the sound coming from outside. "Wrong building," he breathed out, and adrenaline surged in his chest.
Mark stord into one of the rooms where five won were hiding in the corner. Just as he was a few steps from them, the five of them started weeping and begging.
"Please don’t kill us. We’re not one of them."
"Please... I don’t want to die."
"Have rcy...!"
Mark clenched his fists, his jaw tightening. However, he ca here for Zoren and Penny.
"Where’s the owner of this place?" he asked quietly. When they didn’t answer, he repeated, raising his voice, "Tell where he is!"
"In Building C!" one of them yelled in surprise, their crying now muffled. "Please don’t kill us. The boss is in Building C."
"Which one?"
The woman who had answered mustered every last bit of energy to raise her trembling hand and point in a direction. "The building on that side."
Mark nodded and turned, walking off without looking back at them. But just as he reached the door, he glanced over his shoulder.
"Stay here," he said. "Keep quiet."
After saying that, he shut the door behind him and headed to the other building the woman had pointed to. Unlike the previous building, which had only a few soldiers, this one had many more guards. Their battle skills and marksmanship were subpar, but their numbers held him off for a while.
Even so, with Mark focused on his goal, he prevailed.
What he didn’t know was that what awaited him in the "office," where he was told Zoren was, was nothing like he had imagined.
Standing by the door, Mark froze as his eyes landed on Zoren, who was lifting a man by the head.
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