Chapter 6: The Line You Can't Cross
Location: Undisclosed FOB, 6 Days Later
Zane sat on the edge of his cot, fully geared up. Helmet beside him. Knife strapped to his thigh. Rifle cleaned and loaded.
But no orders had come.
Not through command.
Not through whispers.
He was waiting for the second coin — the real invitation.
That's when the envelope arrived. No name. Just sealed black paper, slid under his door.
Inside: a single photo.
A teenage boy. Maybe 15.
Brown eyes. Tattered clothes.
A note on the back:
Asset: Alleged courier. Intel pending. Decision left to operator discretion.
2 Hours Later – On the Ground
Zane was dropped ten miles from a mountain village known to harbor insurgents. He moved silently, low across the terrain, cloaked in night.
He found the boy exactly where the intel said — carrying a satchel through an alley behind the mosque.
Zane drew his sidearm.
Tracked the target.
Heart steady.
But something felt… wrong.
The boy wasn't running.
Wasn't nervous.
He was just walking home.
Zane intercepted him near a dried-up canal.
"Stop," he said firmly.
The boy froze. Scared. Hands up. Eyes wide.
Zane searched the bag.
Inside:
Bread. Dates. A pack of cards.
No phone. No maps.
No intel.
Just a kid trying to survive in a warzone.
Flashback: Dad's Words
"They'll tell you the mission matters more than morals. That's half-true. But the day you kill someone who didn't need to die — that's the day part of you stays dead, forever."
Zane lowered the gun.
"You tell no one we met," he said. "Understand?"
The boy nodded fast.
Zane turned and disappeared into the trees.
Later That Night
He returned to the drop site. Same civilian from before was waiting.
"You had your shot."
"He wasn't the courier," Zane replied coldly.
The man raised an eyebrow. "And if he was?"
"I'd be holding a second coin right now."
The man smirked. "Interesting."
He tossed something at Zane's feet.
A black coin. Roman numeral II.
"You followed your gut. Not the paper. That's what Delta wants."
Zane picked it up. Heavy. Colder than the last.
"You're in."
Back at Base
Zane opened his locker and placed the two black coins side by side.
No joy.
No pride.
Just silence.
He didn't cross the line.
But now he was on the edge of it.
And Delta was waiting.