11:42 p.m.
City outskirts.

The night—
still.

The air—
heavy.

As if
waiting.

Inside SID Mobile Command.

Screens—
alive.

Data—
flooding.

We confirmed one thing:

KARAM
had not retreated.

They were—
moving.

“Target zones locked,” said Kim Min Jung.

“Signal convergence.”

“Core data in transit.”

“And—backup scent agents.”

I said nothing.

Because I knew—

this wasn’t escape.

This was preservation.

“Routes?” I asked.

Tan Chih Lin:

“Distributed.”

“Multiple vehicles.”

“False paths.”

He paused.

“But the core—”

A point appeared.

Small.

Stable.

“Here.”

Yim Bing’s voice:

“Visual confirmed.”

“Heavy armed perimeter.”

“Not retreat.”

“Protection.”

“They’re expecting us,” I said.

Everyone understood.

This was
the final shell.

“Deploy drones.”

11:49 p.m.

The sky—
silent.

Then—

light.

First strike.

A moment—
without sound.

Then—

impact.

Fire
tore the ground open.

Second.

Third.

Precise.

Unforgiving.

Drone swarm—
synchronized.

Cold.

Calculated.

“Core structure hit.”

“Second level collapsing.”

“Sub-level exposed.”

“They’re moving out!”

Yim Bing fired.

Long-range.

One shot.

One kill.

“Return fire!”

“East side escalating!”

I stepped out.

The air—

burnt.

Metal.

Chemical.

“Advance.”

We moved in.

Not rushing.

Pressing.

Controlled.

Measured.

Gunfire—

short.

Efficient.

“Left clear.”

“Three ahead.”

“Down.”

Lee Wai Hing stopped.

“Trap.”

He disarmed.

“Clear.”

We continued.

Firelight

danced on walls.

Shadows—

alive.

“Core zone.”

We entered.

Inside—

collapse.

Equipment.

Terminals.

Containers.

Destroyed.

“Data?”

“Partial loss.”

“Partial extraction ongoing!”

Signal—

moving.

Leaving.

“Move!”

We pushed out.

Vehicles—

starting.

“Intercept!”

Shots.

Tires blown.

Vehicle flipped.

We closed in.

Trunk—

open.

Inside—

sealed cases.

Marked:

SV-Reserve

Silence.

I opened one.

Inside—

liquid.

Still.

Harmless—

looking.

It could kill

a city.

“Secure all.”

12:18 a.m.

The battlefield—

quiet.

KARAM remnants—

dead.

scattered.

gone.

The base—

destroyed.

“Target neutralized.”

I stood
before the fire.

It should be over.

But it wasn’t.

“Confirm list.”

Pause.

“No.”

“What do you mean?”

Tan Chih Lin:

“Hossein Ahmadinejad—”

“Not here.”

The air—
shifted.

“No body.”

“No signal.”

“No trace.”

Like he had—

never been.

“He’s not here,” said Yim Bing.

Chang Hsin-Yan:

“He was never meant to be.”

I understood.

This—

was cleanup.

Not the end.

I looked into the dark.

“He’s already gone.”

Pause.

“With the next move.”

The sky still burned.

But the real danger—

had already left.

And it was—

closer than before.