Chapter 2

Isaac's POV

“You’re the supreme commander of this operation right now,” I snapped. “Not a woman settling old scores with me. Do you have any idea how bad the situation is?!”

“Snap out of it?” Her cold laugh came through the headset, calm enough to chill my bones. “I’m perfectly clear-headed, Captain Thorn. I’m sitting in the command room, keeping you company while we admire the moon overseas together.”

“Why don’t you take a good look at this place, the one you ran to without hesitation five years ago. Let’s see what it’s given you in return,” she continued.

“If we don’t withdraw now, we’re all dead!” My eyes were bloodshot as I roared into the mic.

“So what?” Her voice didn’t waver in the slightest, frozen like permafrost. “You could throw away three years with me just to come here. So, I assume you’re more than willing to die for this place now.”

That was the moment my last thread of reason snapped.

“Diana! You’ve lost your damn mind!” The shout tore my throat raw as I hurled the radio into the mud.

My vice-captain, Lauren, lunged forward and grabbed my arm, holding on tight. Her voice cracked as she begged, “Captain! Calm down! Please, just calm down!”

I sucked in a heavy breath, bent down, and picked up the mud-smeared radio. Then I forced myself back into command mode.

“All units, report remaining ammunition and casualty status. Team A, fall back to Cover Two. Team B, plant the last Claymores at the southeast breach. Snipers, prioritize enemy machine gunners and RPG operators.”

Under my direction, the team continued to resist, even though it was almost hopeless.

Of course, a rescue unit cut off from support had no chance of holding back a full armed group. It was like stopping a tidal wave with bare hands.

Our ammunition was draining at a visible rate. Every shot fired felt like someone tipping the hourglass of our lives faster.

Soon, the medic’s voice came over the internal channel, strained and close to tears. “Captain… the civilians… many of them are breaking down. They’re asking if we’ve been abandoned. If we’ll ever be able to pull out.”

I glanced at the two magazines left on my belt. My throat tightened as I replied hoarsely, “Tell them… the country hasn’t abandoned them. We will take them home. We just… need them to hold on a little longer.”

I took a deep breath, thick with smoke and blood, and pressed the encrypted channel to the command room again.

This time, all the anger was gone. No shouting. No rage. Only exhaustion and a kind of humility I barely recognized in myself.

“Commander,” I addressed her by rank. “I’ve never begged anyone in my life. But I’m begging you now. Whatever you want to do to me, I’ll accept it. But at least… let those hundred-plus innocent lives survive.”

The channel fell into a long, suffocating silence. Only the faint hiss of static remained, along with the barely audible sound of her restrained breathing.

At that time, a thought I barely dared to hope for crossed my mind. Maybe she was hesitating.

Just as that fragile hope began to rise, her voice cut back in. “Fine.”

My heart jolted.

But then her tone shifted, and she laughed, unhinged, almost manic. “You want to take your people and leave? Fine. But before I issue the official withdrawal order, Captain Thorn, you’re going to kneel in front of every person you rescued. Admit how you cheated, how you betrayed your wife, and how you abandoned her.”