●　● Infinity Marikina HQ, Manila, The Philippines

Sebastian stood at the restroom sink, water running full pressure. He rinsed off the soap suds for the third time, re-examining his right palm. Memories of the dried blood stains that ran through each wrinkle remained despite the now clean appearance, feeling the weight of killing another by his own hands directly for the first time in years. He dried his hands and took a step back, looking down at himself.

[Still in one piece,] he thought to himself and took in a slow, deep breath. He continued to stare up at the wall above the mirror, dreading having to leave what respite he managed to get there, quiet and alone. The thought that this would be his best shot at the last Cloak had ironically taken a back seat to stronger begrudged thoughts.

And then a noise came from the locker room door behind him, prompting a more casual look from him as he rubbed his face, dreading the talk he knew would come.

[Look alive, brother,] Andre spoke up enthusiastically with a pat on his shoulder from behind. [No time for girl trouble- and I tried to warn you way back,] he continued, looking back at him through their reflection in the mirror. [Right?]

[What do you care?] Sebastian’s true feelings of annoyance slipped out unintendedly.

[Bro, this is the best we’ve looked in getting ready for the real shit, don’t you get it?] He fussed back with a smirk, taking his hand off of his shoulder to adjust his shouldered bag. [We always lacked solid vision at each corner, always someone who didn’t quite have their focus together, but did you see the look in Sam’s eyes just a minute ago?]

[The look of terror?] Sebastian frowned as he turned to him, affronted. [And if I understand you right, you have no room to speak-]

[-I know, I know,] Andre huffed, hands up in admittance. [I was always the first to bitch and complain,] he added before reverting to his prior expressions: [But I felt it this time! Everyone’s focused and ready to get this over with no matter how we feel about it! Even Sam- listen, she absolutely wailed on them dudes no mercy. She’s fucking done, it sounds like. Done with this shitshow that keeps following us and ready to put an end to it all! That’s the look I saw in her eyes! Even Kerry agrees, so why can’t you?!]

Sebastian shook his head, collecting his calmer thoughts before speaking. But as he looked up, he noticed Andre already turning to leave.

[You know what, as Kerry says,] Andre added with a quick turnaround, “you do you.” [I’m going to talk to Sam if you won’t. We need to end this real bad, and you know it. We all need it. Shit’s coming, and we can’t run, so, you know… come on, right?] And with that, he turned to head out of the restroom.

Sebastian wanted to put in a last word, yet he didn’t want to extend the meaningless conversation and allowed Andre to leave unimpeded. As the door shut, he slouched forward and leaned on his hands over the sink counter, closing his eyes. He didn’t want to be in this situation to begin with, wishing now things could just go back to how they were before they left South America. His desire to avenge his friends’ deaths had significantly died down, mostly due to two of the Cloaks responsible had met their fate. And as justified as it felt, something felt off with the continued, seemingly futile chase after the third and final Cloak. And making things more confusing and frustrating were his feelings for Sam.

[Why is everything I am doing going so wrong? What am I doing wrong? Why can’t I get through to… no, why can’t I find any damn words when it matters most?] He looked back up at his reflection, seeing a look of no real sleep, he also sensed a self that was still wandering around in the dark, much like it had felt years back before he found his place, committing his life and career to the Galeano Paramilitary. But the distress inside felt deeper, harder to recognize, harder to identify.

[Maybe things will just go back to how they were if we can just get past tonight. I got a feeling this will be our last…] His thoughts trailed off into another troubled pause as he started once more contemplating their encounter with not just another Cloak, but Sam’s brother. The one he saw leaving her for dead in Dhaka. The one who he felt sent an assassin out for her life the other night. He realized this was a problem he’d never be able to face head on with her, one he would avoid at all costs if he could, but the day had already arrived and now there was no time to bring it up. [What is she even going to be able to do? What are her real intentions?] And his last thought brought not only the sensation of tears but even a bit of resentment, as shameful as it felt: [And who will she choose when we all end up face to face tonight?]

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▽　▽　▽

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Sam slowly advanced down the main corridor that linked the back side of the control room back to the hangar, and the locker rooms she aimed for were between the two. With no communications systems working, the shouts and call outs along with the sounds of ringing emergency landlines filled the air, but she was already mostly zoned out, lost in thought. Caring nothing for the bustle of scurrying staff and crewmen passing to and from, she only cared for finding the words to say once she did find Sebastian.

But Andre found her first, spotting her through a crowd of mechanics. “Sam,” he called out as he ran up. “Hey, you on your way to suit up?”

Why is he even bothering to talk to me? Sam avoided eye contact but stopped to collect herself enough to respond properly, feeling it’d be best to avoid any confrontation given the state she was in. Taking in a breath, she replied: “I need to find someone, first.”

Andre thought to take a shot at who that was, but something caught his eye. Sam was wearing only her sleeveless undershirt as her flight jacket she had on earlier was not only ripped and bloodstained, it also got in the way of the bandaging she had done on her cuts and scrapes. And it was over the front of her left shoulder where he noticed it fairly bruised. “That Deimar DR model you took from them, I’ve shot one of those before,” he spoke with a weak chuckle as if trying to soften the air. “Really kicks the living shit out of you if you aren’t used to those kinds of rounds. Sorry to see it was rough on you, too.” He noted her start to look away, not biting on his attempt. “Look, Sam, I need to apologize for the asshole I’ve been,” he added on a more serious note.

“I don’t have time right now,” Sam answered as calmly as she could, starting to move before Andre lightly put a hand up, fully drawing her attention, albeit unpleasantly.

“I have to also thank you for saving us all these times,” he quickly continued as he looked back at her square in the eyes. “I never did, and I… uh, made it sound like I did anything but trust you. I was wrong.”

“I still don’t have time for this.”

“I know, I’ll let you go,” Andre conceded as he stepped back. “I just had to say that, and that I never should have doubted you. I realize you really are a fighter, and I should’ve tried harder to work with you and not against you all this time, because… maybe things would be different if I had, you know?”

Sam closed her eyes, conflicted on how to respond to something so sudden, especially not knowing how sincere he was. “I appreciate the notion, but I don’t want to continue the talk with what I got going on right now, and I really need to find someone right now.”

“Ah, sorry, I totally get you,” he continued in concession, stepping out of her way. “I’ll just catch back up with you at the hangar,” he finished as he trotted off, allowing Sam to breathe out some of the tension that had built up over that minute.

But she found herself standing there in place longer than she wanted to. The words she had gone over in her head evaporated after her encounter with Andre, and that aggravated her on top of everything else she had swirling around in her jumbled mind. Hands over her face, she slowly rubbed her eyes, shaking her head in a mixture of frustration and exhaustion.

“Sam!”

A jolt reflexively ran up her spine as she turned, turning to see Kerry running up to her with apparent urgency. “Kerry? What happened?”

“Come on,” Kerry spoke between the catching of her breath, turning and placing a hand behind her back to suggest they hurry. “Mr. Knight sent for all pilots and specifically asked me to get you back to control.”

“But,” Sam spoke back in her confusion. She then noticed that the flow of the crowd was going in the same direction, right for the hangar. Had she not been aware of the shift in direction during that pause in thought just now? “OK, but can you tell me what’s going on?”

“Something up top, like, way up top,” Kerry continued with her hand in gesture as they started their brisk walk up the hallway. “Made some big order and we won’t find out until we are all in place it seems. But why were you over here, anyway? Why’d you leave control?”

What? What do you care? I thought you were ready to abandon me earlier after everything you said… but then again, why come back? I don’t get it. Sam was at a loss for words, covering it up with a weak chuckle for the time being. “I, uh, I don’t know anything anymore. I can’t even read people right anymore, either. Something’s not right in my head right now… I don’t know.”

“Did no one check out your mesh implant yet? Like if it’s still in place or not?” Kerry asked with a look of concern, but keeping pace. “I wouldn’t be surprised if that was it after seeing you clearly went through some real shit earlier.”

That’s right, I was supposed to wait for that before I bolted. “I do need to get back to control. I bet that med tech is waiting on me, huh.”

But just as they approached the end of the hall, a sudden booming alarm froze them in their tracks. “The hell!?” Kerry blurted out as she looked around her to see if anyone knew what was going on. “Why’s the tsunami alarm going off!?”

“Tsunami alarm?!” others around them started to shout, cueing Sam’s panic once more. She felt Kerry’s other arm reach around her, and this time she felt no hesitation returning the notion with her own hands.

“No,” Kerry finally spit out as she physically urged their progress once more. “We have to hurry!”

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And through all the commotion, they didn’t notice Sebastian behind them, hurrying to catch up, held up by the dozens of crewmen and staff in the hallway. Each shout to get their attention was drowned out by the voices of others in dissonant harmony.

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●　● New San Mateo, Manila, The Philippines

A pair of armored trucks pulled up to a clearing in the trees near where Marian had previously established her overwatch setup. After several PMC soldiers unloaded and quickly swept the area, Kaylen emerged from one of the trucks and walked up to the edge of the mountain path, overlooking the bay area. I don’t know how Vrey picked up enough trace information to lead me here after what little I was able to collect earlier, she thought as she scanned the horizon. But she was definitely here. This is the perfect spot considering where they operated recently. Maybe it’s all simpler than I realized.

“Vrey, I’m in position,” she spoke into her communicator as she brought up her set of oculars once more, zooming in on the same ships from earlier.

“I take it Channing left nothing behind, so let’s assume they’ve gotten the message,” he calmly replied through her earpiece. “Confirm the distance from the targeted ships to the nearest barge at twelve kilometers.”

Kaylen’s eyes narrowed in on the numbers popping up in view. “Currently at twelve point two. If we are to start, now’s the time. Don’t make this all a waste of my time here.” She put away her oculars, continuing to look over the bay with a hand shielding the sun from her eyes. “You do realize whoever is out there is listening in most likely.”

“Let them,” Vincent bluntly responded, drawing a wry smirk from Kaylen. “Everything else is in place. Operation Excalibur commencing in T minus thirty.”

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●　● Malate District, Manila, The Philippines

Isaiah emerged from his vehicle and approached the only visible opening that showed the outside world, giving him a limited view of the harbor and the ships he was watching for. He was in a nervous sweat, frantically checking their approach speed and time to arrival. “How the hell did this leak? Who is the likely mole, here, Marian?”

“You think you’re the one absolutely panicking?” Marian fussed as the sound of her truck engine hummed in the background of their call. “Someone sniffed out my location and was lucky just to erase my tracks! What the bloody hell just happened, Isaiah?! I thought we were clean!”

“We were! Every detail we couldn’t afford to leak was recorded on paper as always! And this line is the most encrypted, secure line we have between us two! There’s no way this is something Tyrus could pull off- wait,” he cut himself off in the realization of something big enough to nearly drop his viewfinder. “The only one who even knows of our operations in Nanning is… Rex…”

“Shit! You mean?!” Marian blurted out. “Rex sold us out!?”

“It’s as you feared, or even worse… this might not go according to the Excalibur information sold to us.” He squeezed his viewfinder in anger, completely taken aback by what could only have been his own missteps. How did I let this happen?! What was wrong with my method? Did I rush this too much somehow?! “They must have men on board! We need to alert the crew!”

“No, you heard the man! It’s Excalibur! That means it’ll be Rodgers from the air!”

“In thirty seconds? No one has that time! It must mean-”

Before he could finish getting out that next sentence to Marian, a blinding, instantaneous flash flickered across the sky before following up with a massive plume of fire and seawater. And before he could even feel startled from the spectacle, the thud from the impact nearly swept him off of his feet. And then a second came exactly one second later. The immense blasts struck deep below the surface, bringing up massive waves sent careening towards shore at an unnatural pace. And throughout the chaos, no one could take the time to realize this was why the warning sirens had gone off preemptively.

.

A whole minute had passed after the screams from the panicking crowds slowly died out, and crashing waves blasted past the primary sea wall but not enough to get past the second. And as the columns of smoke and mist continued to rise up seemingly miles into the sky, it hinted to the knowledgeable onlookers that this was no mere bombing.

Seconds later, the tsunami warning sirens finally died down. But the shock Isaiah felt continued to grow exponentially. He not only saw both cargo ships go up in a flash, but he could almost sense the deaths of dozens of his men without a chance to even cry out. Everything he had planned for the attack went out the window as fast as what just transpired. The large waves from the aftermath continued to assault the sea wall as the crashes filled the air, or else there was not a peep from him nor from Marian for another minute.

“Isaiah…”

After hearing her words, however, he suddenly felt as focused as ever, and the only thing that was on his mind now was the voice of Rex he had imagined was haughtily mocking him. It would only be a matter of time before that call would come in. Rage began to build, never having felt this betrayed, mocked, toyed with before in his life.