Chapter 3 Hot Contact

 Chapter 3

Hot Contact

The team piled into an armored vehicle bearing no national symbols, emblems, or identifying marks. From the outside, it was clearly a military vehicle, yet it was impossible to tell who it belonged to. Its steel plating, matte-black body, and heavy wheels reflected the seriousness of the operation.

The vehicle slowly entered an area that looked like an abandoned industrial town. The surroundings were filled with wrecked vehicles that seemed to have been left there years ago. Burned-out chassis, toppled fences, shattered windows, rusted heaps of metal… Most of the streets were covered with trash and scattered pieces of scrap. The entire area was silent—an ominous, dangerous silence.

When the team disembarked, the air felt heavy, as if no one had lived here for a long time. Helmets went on. Weapons were shouldered.

The team leader gave a brief hand signal.

Nathan, Salih, and the others moved forward in formation.

After only a few steps, the silence was suddenly torn apart.

A sharp gunshot rang out from somewhere. The bullet struck a nearby metal surface and ricocheted, and everyone instinctively pulled back.

“Find cover! Take positions!” the leader shouted.

Within seconds, the team scattered behind abandoned vehicles and overturned containers. The scrape of metal, hurried breaths, magazines being checked… adrenaline surged instantly.

Salih turned to Nathan, clear anxiety on his face.

“I didn’t expect it to happen this fast… damn it,” he said, his voice quick and shaky.

Nathan replied with a faint smile as he scanned the area from the edge of his cover.

“What did you expect,” he said with calm mockery,

“that they’d wait until you were comfortable?”

Salih clenched his teeth, trying to steady his breathing.

As Nathan checked his weapon, he added in an unhurried tone:

“Alright. It starts now.”

Or, as he put it:

“Now the fun begins.”

At that moment, amid silhouettes moving through the shadows and the echoing cracks of gunfire, the operation had officially begun.

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