The night was too quiet.
Not dead quiet — off quiet.
24 sat on the edge of the cot, motionless, eyes fixed on the thin beam of moonlight leaking through a crack in the wall. The outpost generators hummed low outside, a rhythm he had memorized days ago. Tonight, though, something about it pulsed wrong.
Too steady.
His fingers twitched unconsciously toward the floor where his blades rested. Lu — or Sara, as everyone here called her — slept against the far wall, her mask still on even in her dreams.
24 tilted his head, listening.
A soft echo, a change in the air pressure. A shift in breathing that didn't belong.
There were four of them.
Not the settlers. Not the resistance guards.
Their movements were surgical — soundless, coordinated. Ghosts moving between heartbeats.
EGI kill squad.
He stood, silent as vapor, and crossed to Lu. A single tap on her shoulder brought her awake instantly, eyes sharp behind the mask.
"We're not alone," he whispered.
Her eyes darted toward the door, hand already near the knife she kept under her blanket.
"Scouts?"
"Worse," he said. "Kill team. Four. Already inside."
Her breath caught.
"What do we do?"
He looked toward the far corridor, where the Commander's quarters sat behind reinforced steel.
"We make sure the wrong people don't die first."
The corridors were half-dark, lit only by flickering wall lamps. 24 moved first, Lu shadowing his steps with trained silence.
Every noise in the outpost — every echo of boots or whisper of fabric — carried the weight of a trigger being pulled.
As they neared the command wing, he stopped abruptly, pressing Lu against the wall. A low metallic click ahead — suppressed rifles being checked, safety switches flicking off.
He motioned for her to stay back. Then he slipped into the dark like he'd been born there.
The first EGI soldier stepped from behind the corner — gray armor dulled with dust, black visor glinting faintly. 24's blade whispered once, clean and fast.
The soldier hit the ground before his weapon clattered.
24 caught the body and eased it down, gloved fingers closing the man's eyes out of old habit.
He found the Commander awake when he reached the map room, still poring over data. The man looked up, startled as 24 entered, carrying the dead soldier's rifle in one hand and dragging the body with the other.
The Commander's chair scraped back hard.
"What the hell—"
24 dropped the body with a dull thud.
The light caught the insignia on the armor — EGI.
"They're already inside your walls," 24 said evenly.
"Four-man kill unit. I've handled one. Three left."
The Commander's cybernetic eye flashed red, scanning the corpse.
"How long have you known?"
"Since sunset," 24 replied. "They're good. They came with the last supply convoy you let in."
The Commander's jaw clenched.
"Why didn't you alert the guards?"
"Because you have leaks," 24 said simply. "You start shouting orders, they'll finish the job before sunrise."
For a moment, the Commander said nothing.
Then:
"You're telling me you let them walk in here?"
24's stare was unflinching.
"I'm telling you I let them reveal themselves. You can't hunt ghosts if you don't let them think they're unseen."
The Commander reached for his sidearm, not pointing it — just holding it, a reflex.
"And why should I trust you?"
24 stepped closer, just enough for the faint blue light from the terminal to catch the old brand on his neck — the faded 24burned into his skin.
"Because if I wanted you dead, Commander," he said quietly,
"you'd never have woken up to ask the question."
The air between them thickened, heavy with something unspoken — respect, or maybe fear.
Finally, the Commander lowered the gun.
"Where are they?"
"One near your comm tower. Two in the lower dorms. They'll move soon. Probably when they think your guards are asleep."
"Then we stop them."
24 gave a slow nod.
"We stop them quietly. No alarms. No radio chatter."
"And the girl?"
"She'll take the dorms. I'll take the tower."
The Commander stared for a beat, then nodded once.
"You get this done, Kane… maybe I stop asking who you are."
24 turned toward the door.
"You already know enough."
As he left, Lu fell into step beside him, blade drawn.
"So what did the Commander say?"
"He's staying out of our way."
She looked up at him.
"And the kill team?"
24 glanced down the hallway toward the faint hum of the comm tower.
"They die quiet tonight."