After an hour on the road and an hour of walking, Lucian, squad Alpha, and Ethan set up on a forest cliff. Ethan and the Russian he met earlier were atop it, watching a compound of twelve buildings. One was an old, large mansion that once belonged to a rich politician; the others were more recent industrial warehouses. A fence surrounded the compound, but it was heavily damaged, leaving gaping openings.

The windmeter they set up sped up. The Russian lowered his thermal rangefinder to glance at it. "Twenty, left to right."

Ethan moved his aim to the left and slightly down. He was aiming at five cars parked in an arc in front of the main house. His left eye, kept open, saw movement on the house's front balcony. "We haven't seen this one yet."

"Da," the Russian answered.

For the past two hours, they have seen a dozen cartel members keeping watch. They weren't alert, and many were just chatting with each other. But they moved in erratic patterns and could come out of a building for a smoke at any time.

"I have heat near the east road, twenty past the road sign," the Russian said. "Can you see what it is?"

Ethan moved his sight to try and find the source. He spotted the sign and looked further inside the forest. He saw only greenery. Then something moved inside the bushes; it was camouflaged, but the shift attracted Ethan's attention. "Woodland BDU."

The Russian pressed on his shoulder-strapped radio. "Alpha two. Possible third party. One. Unidentified; American camouflage. My two o'clock, six hundred meters. Moving towards TRP one."

"Copy," the American, their squad leader, acknowledged. There was a pause in the communications. "Alpha team, unknown single third party to be designated unknown one."

"Copy," the Russian said, followed by the other Gravekeepers.

"Alpha two, ETA of unknown one to TRP one," the team lead asked.

"I lost them on the thermal," the Russian said to Ethan.

"On them; five minutes," Ethan said. He was tracking them through the forest, compensating his aim for their speed.

"Alpha two, five minutes."

"Copy," the American acknowledged.

Ethan kept his sight on the unknown party. If it was the woman he met last night, it would be a problem; if it was yet another foreign element, it might force them to withdraw. The idea of giving up, of imagining himself once again bereft of a fight, burned at the back of Ethan's mind. He realized that his finger moved on the trigger and replaced it alongside the guard.

"Alpha four, SUV coming from the west road. Three minutes to TRP one," the Japanese informed. He was the spotter of a Gravekeeper marksman Ethan hadn't met.

"Copy," the team leader said.

Ethan steadied his breathing, trying to calm his mind as he tracked the unknown. When they finally arrived at the compound's edge, he finally saw who it was. Kate, wearing a plate carrier and carrying a suppressed pistol, surveyed the guards.

"Unknown one at the edge of TRP one," the Russian transmitted.

"Copy," the American acknowledged.

Ethan opened his own radio. He was only connected to Lucian, while Lucian could listen and speak on both channels. "I have eyes on her."

"Alpha three, take over Scythe," Lucian ordered. "Scythe, come over."

Ethan laid down his rifle and crawled back until he was covered by the hill. He let himself slide over the forest's leaves to reach Lucian.

The last of the squad's Gravekeepers climbed to where Ethan had been, taking the TAC-50.

"Alpha three, in position."

"Copy," Lucian acknowledged. He cut his mic as Ethan approached. "Last night, you let her escape, putting the mission and our secrecy at risk. This is your opportunity to rectify that mistake. You are to capture Kate Kingswell so we may ensure that our secret existence remains as such."

"And the attack?" Ethan asked. He plugged his earpiece into his radio to hide the communications he may receive.

"Communications with Three and HQ are unavailable. The attack on their production facility will begin in fifteen minutes," Lucian said. He listened to something coming into his own earpiece. "There is another car coming from the west, three minutes out. I'll keep you updated; go."

Ethan set up a timer on his watch to warn him when the time came. He put on his face mask, leaving only his eyes uncamouflaged. The thrill stirred inside, warm and sharp, waiting to be unchained. He suppressed it and slid down the remainder of the cliff before jogging into the forest.

Ethan edged the compound. He saw a hole in the fence but moved to a still intact spot. The likelihood of landmines being placed around the fence's weaknesses was too high. He pulled out wire cutters from his belt pouches and opened the fence.

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The interior of the compound was louder than it seemed from afar. Idling engines mixed with faint music playing from inside the warehouses. Men were arguing, joking, or playing cards without a care for their duties.

Ethan moved from one hiding spot to another, often stopping to let a patrolling goon wander off. He reached a sheet metal warehouse edging the outer fence and moved between them, hiding in the building's shadow.

Ethan stopped as he smelled the stench of a cigarette approaching. He flicked off the clasp keeping his knife in its sheath. His rifle was suppressed and using subsonic rounds, but someone nearby could still hear it fire. He moved to the edge of the building, ready to catch whoever was coming.

A cartel member stopped right before the corner and leaned back onto the sheet metal wall. He was so close Ethan could hear him breathe.

Ethan listened for other threats but heard none. The stench of smoke and sweat assaulted his senses. It drew out a sliver of thrill, supplicating to grab this enemy and throw his corpse in the closest industrial bin. Ethan drew his knife and readied himself.

"The fuck you doing outside?!" another man yelled in Spanish. He seemed to be at the mansion's entrance.

The man next to Ethan grumbled and threw his unfinished smoke at Ethan's feet. He lifted himself off the sheet metal wall and went to the mansion, mumbling curses.

'That was too close,' Ethan reprimanded himself, sheathing his knife. He waited for both of them to enter the building and moved to the mansion's side. Windows were left open on the second floor. He broke into a sprint and launched himself upward. Catching a window's ledge, he pulled himself over and vaulted inside.

A cartel member was playing on his phone, lying on one of the many beds laid out in the barrack-like room. His rifle was resting against the bed's metal frame, at the man's feet. But it could have been in his hand, and it would have been all the same. Before his eyes left the screen to look at Ethan, he received a round to the head.

Ethan moved through the room and half-opened the door to find a corridor. He cleared the corners and went out without hiding the body. Any minute now, they would receive a call informing them of the attack on their lab. Finding him would only hasten their leaders' escape and their demise by sniper fire.

A staircase awaited at the end of the corridor, going down two levels. As he knew she was searching for a prisoner, Ethan guessed that going underground might be his best chance of finding Kate.

As he checked the first-floor lobby from the stairs, Ethan heard a voice coming through a large door. A man was yelling in Spanish, angry about attacks on their trucks, hideouts, and ranking members vanishing. Ethan recognized the voice from audio he had heard; it was one of the cartel's leaders.

Ethan edged the staircase entry into the main lobby. He checked the sides and up. Two men were watching from the main door, placed at each side. Two more were blocking access to the door leading to the cartel leader. Four shots would be all it takes to clear the lobby; Ethan trigger-finger itched as the thrill crawled out.

A sharp, distant ping echoed from below.

Ethan moved back to descend, checking every corner as he went. Two men were sitting around a table, playing poker while drinking. Ethan shot the man who saw him first and then the one with his back turned. He moved behind cover from the corridor and aimed at the stairs, listening for reactions.

Instead of anything coming from above, Ethan heard a clatter of chains from further inside. He checked the corner as he exited cover and moved down the corridor. Alcoves littered its walls, forcing Ethan to clear each of them. They were acting as storage for drugs, chemicals, pallets of wrapped money, local and foreign, and weapon crates.

He reached a T section – stairs on his left, a dead man alongside a door on his right. He had been shot twice in the chest and once in the head.

Ethan pushed the door open and scanned the room with his rifle. From the door's side, a hand dropped onto his weapon. Ethan pulled back, and his target rushed him from inside.

Kate coiled around his aim, making it hard to shoot her in the short distance between them. Ethan could have immobilized her by shooting her legs, but he was to capture her. And dragging an unconscious, bleeding person would make his escape infinitely harder. Her pistol came up to Ethan's chest.

Ethan grabbed her gun and moved it to the left as he bobbed his body to the right. A suppressed shot ricocheted on the stone walls, ending its course in the staircase. He jammed his finger in the ejection, stopping it from cycling before ripping it out of her hand.

Kate let go of her pistol and jabbed Ethan's throat.

Still holding her weapon, Ethan blocked the strike with his elbow and answered with a kick that sent her on her back. He leveled his rifle at her but kept his finger off the trigger. "I'm not here to kill you."

Her tense expression shifted to relief, and she stood up. Dusting herself off, she said, "You took your time."

'Who do you think I work for to be this convinced I won't hurt you?' Ethan pondered to himself. When he wasn't trying to morph his voice, Ethan had a light UK accent. Could she have thought that he was with the SAS, SRR, or such? "Did you find your brother?"

"Yes." Kate re-entered the room to restart her lockpicking of a man's chains. They looked alike. The lock was keeping the metal chains tightly wrapped around his raised forearms. Other than him, five people, men and woman, were held there in various disastrous states. An old camera was installed on a tripod, pointed at the prisoners.

Ethan moved behind the camera and checked that it wasn't recording. His eyes found a table littered with tools and knives, many covered in dried blood. His watch buzzed with low vibration, and he cut it off. "This place is about to descend into chaos. We need to go."

Kate didn't respond; her hands were shaking, and her tools were clattering in the lock. The uneven tension she applied unset pins, wasting precious time.

"Watch the door," Ethan ordered, moving her away by the shoulder. He let go of his rifle, letting it hang from his plate carrier, to grab his own tools. He examined the lock and smirked; it was one of the inexcusably poorly designed brands. He hit the brass lock with the side of his hand.

As the lock clicked open, Keith fell forward, his weight pulling the chains off the wall fixture with a rattle.

Ethan caught the man in his fall to lay him on his back. He was hot and shivering but also dry. Ethan scanned him, finding several long, infected cuts. They had been inflicted while he was bound. He pressed two fingers against Keith's throat and felt a weak but rapid pulse.

Kate had noticed the chains coming free and couldn't stop herself from glancing back as Ethan examined her brother. But she stayed at the door to watch the corridor.

Ethan looked at the other five prisoners. Two had been left dead for days, bloating and emptying themselves; two bled out recently; and the last could have looked alive but wasn't breathing. Ethan glanced back at his target. It would have been easy to knock her out and carry her outside. But if he left her brother to die here, he would destroy any chance of convincing her to keep quiet.

"Scythe, status report," Lucian demanded.

Ethan opened his radio. "I have found the target and her brother. He's in need of immediate medical attention."

"Alpha squad spotted a convoy coming your way. Twenty-three cars in five minutes. You need to get out," Lucian said without a hint of worry.

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