Page 79 of Echos and Empires
Chris shook his head, his expression a mixture of calculation and certainty. “They’ll be scrambling. And we’ll be gone.”
Emma’s voice broke through again, sharp with urgency. “We have to be faster than them. We need to strike before they can regroup.”
Her insistence hit Chris like a physical force. He knew she was worried, but she needed to calm down and accept that he also knew the risks. “We’ve got one shot, Emma. We can’t waste it.”
She looked at him, unwavering. “Then we make sure we don’t. Victor needs to know we’re not afraid, Chris. We go in with everything.”
Chris felt the others shifting, her determination fueling their resolve. It was contagious, a fire that burned away caution. He was the leader, but Emma was their heart, and he felt the balance of their power shift under the weight of her conviction.
“You’ll be alone, Emma,” he said, the warning in his voice unable to mask the fear the idea sent through him.
She met his gaze, unflinching. “I’ve been alone before.”
The cave fell silent, the finality of her words resonating with the depth of what lay ahead. Chris looked at each of them, the people who were his family now, bound by more than blood. He saw their resolve mirrored in his own, the certainty that they wouldn’t back down.
“Alright,” he said, voice firm with acceptance. “If I’ve learned anything it’s that you are the woman we found surviving on her own for three years. While it’s hard for us, you don’t need our protection the way we want to protect you.”
“I will always need you all. All of you. But right now that need means ensuring we win and our babies have the safe haven they deserve to grow up in.”
In any other moment, he would have swept her into his arms and showed her how much he agreed. This moment was not the time. “We move as planned. Every hit has to count.”
“Bash, you’ll take a group and spread out, making certain no one gets too close to the cave while everyone is out. Ten people, no more. We can’t really have that many, but I want Emma protected.
“As you command,” Bash’s gaze was that of a man Chris thought long dead, a man who was going to throw it all away to protect the woman if someone didn’t stop him.
But Chris wouldn’t stop him this time.
The air was charged, a live wire humming with anticipation. Chris knew the risks, knew the cost if they failed. But he also knew they didn’t have a choice. They had to move, had to strike, had to let Victor feel the sharp edge of their rebellion. Emma was right. They needed to show him they weren’t afraid.
Chris let the map roll back on itself, covering the lines of their strategy like a shroud. “All right then, there’s nothing left but for us to start. Tonight it’s all of us. Then we split as just discussed. Then, we come home to Emma and our babies.”
As they filed out, he watched them, each step taking them closer to the edge of everything. Emma watched as they left, her eyes locking with his and holding a promise in her eyes as she looked back at him. He felt the tension settle into his bones, a reminder that they were fighting for their lives, for their future. They didn’t get second chances. But if they played this right, they wouldn’t need one.
Chris led them through the jungle like ghosts, every step a whisper in the thick tropical air. It was as if the air itself were watching them, dense and full of warning, wrapping aroundtheir limbs like a living thing. Sweat trickled down his back, its path a reminder of how close they were to spilling blood.
They’d regrouped with the people who’d volunteered the day before, twenty of them. More than enough to carry the supplies they needed to harm Victor and help the resistance.
Their movements were silent and purposeful, a choreography of discipline. Bash kept pace beside him, blue eyes sharp behind his glasses, the navigator’s mind mapping their course with instinctive ease. Bash moved with a predator’s grace, every step full of promise and threat. William’s intensity was a beacon, drawing them toward their goal with unwavering focus. Alex was their shadow, slipping through the jungle like smoke, leaving no trace but the weight of his presence. Liam to his left was going to vanish with Alex soon enough as they split up into different missions and Chris would be without his right hand.
The heat pressed against them, thick and unyielding, as if the island itself conspired with Victor to resist them. It coated their skin in a sheen of sweat, made every breath an effort, every step a testament to endurance. The burden of command tried to drown him as it always did, but Emma’s determination pushed him forward, a constant echo in his mind.
The jungle opened up ahead, a clearing in the dense weave of green and shadow. Chris signaled a halt, his senses reaching out to test the edges of their silent world. The meeting place. A thin line between ambush and victory, between death and a heartbeat’s chance. His hand hovered over his weapon, a gesture of readiness, of inevitability.
Alex’s voice cut through like a blade. “Looks quiet.”
Chris gave a grim nod, eyes locked on the clearing. “Too quiet.”
He felt the others shift, the certainty of what lay ahead pulling them taut. Seconds stretched, brittle and tense, and then the jungle exploded with motion. Figures emerged from theclearing, twenty men moving with practiced speed, the opening salvo of Victor’s resistance. The trap had been set, and now it was sprung.
Chris’s focus sharpened to a lethal edge, every move calculated, every thought a plan within a plan. He signaled his team, the urgency of the moment igniting their practiced instincts. They moved with the precision of a well-oiled machine, fanning out to meet the threat with controlled force. No room for error, no time for hesitation.
Bash and William pushed forward, a wall of aggression that drew Victor’s men like moths to flame. Chris watched the diversion unfold, saw the chaos take root in their enemy’s ranks. The men scrambled, voices urgent and commanding as they tried to regroup, to respond, to survive. Chris knew the pattern well; he had drilled it into his own team a hundred times.
His mind was a storm of tactics and timelines, the imperative to keep them safe, warring with the knowledge that war had its own demands. Death was a part of it, a shadow they couldn’t outrun. He reminded himself of that truth with every beat of his heart, with every shot that left his weapon and found its mark.
Liam kept watch from the perimeter, an eye on the battle and the jungle beyond. “They’re closing in!”
“Keep moving!” Chris ordered, his voice a steady anchor in the maelstrom. He caught sight of Alex, the medic’s hands swift and sure as he took down an opponent with brutal efficiency. Not medics, not here. Not now.
