pointed to the spilled beer on my boots. “Because tomorrow morning at 06:00, you’re going to lick that clean. And after that…”

I leaned into his ear and told him exactly where he was being transferred.

His knees buckled.

The sergeant doesn’t move. He can’t. His jaw quivers, and I swear for a second he’s forgotten how to breathe. His friends aren’t doing much better—three statues in uniform, faces pale, eyes darting between me and the Colonel like they just stepped into a live minefield.

“Transfer orders will be finalized by oh-eight-hundred,” I continue, calm and even. “Until then, Sergeant—enjoy your night. It’s the last time you’ll be welcome here.”

I turn to the Colonel. “Shall we?”

He gestures toward the back hallway. “Your squad’s assembled, ma’am. Briefing room’s ready.”

We walk side by side, the quiet shuffle of boots the only sound behind us. The door swings closed on the four trembling soldiers, leaving their stunned silence behind.

In the hallway, the Colonel exhales. “Jesus, Captain. I should’ve brought popcorn.”

“I don’t do dinner theater,” I mutter, brushing off the last of the burger crumbs from my jacket. “But thanks for the dramatic timing.”

“Anytime. You always manage to make an entrance even when you’re the one already seated.”

I let a small smirk crack through. “They had it coming.”

He chuckles. “I’d say you went easy on them.”

“Easy?” I laugh under my breath. “I was holding back so I wouldn’t get court-martialed before the real fun starts.”

We step into the briefing room. Twelve soldiers—mine—snap to attention. Every last one of them knows the game, the discipline, the grit. No posturing. No drunken swagger. Just eyes forward, boots aligned.

“At ease,” I say, scanning their faces.

They relax in unison.

The Colonel nods and closes the door behind him, leaving me in charge. My team knows the drill.

“Change of plans,” I begin. “We’re moving out in 48 hours. The intel package just got updated—our target has shifted coordinates, and if we want to catch them clean, we need to be mobile by oh-six-hundred Thursday.”

There’s a ripple of acknowledgment—nods, the silent flipping of notebooks, scribbled notes.

I toss the manila folder onto the table. “Recon satellite tagged movement near sector eleven. Thermal shows six warm bodies in the structure—unconfirmed if it’s our full deck. But one heat sig matches Petrov’s gait signature.”

That gets their attention. Petrov. Ghost in every file, slippery in every op. A rogue asset with a kill list longer than a Bible.

“Same playbook?” asks Corporal Jameson, ever sharp, eyes already scanning the photos.

“Modified,” I say. “We go quiet, we go fast, and if he so much as sneezes wrong, we bag and drag.”

Murmurs of agreement circle the room.

“And what about extraction?” asks Diaz, flipping through the dossier.

“Colonel has a chopper on standby. Dual rotors. Low altitude in and out. If we need ground evac, I’ll have Sergeant Maynard ready with the rover two clicks out.”

A hand raises. Private Lee. Young but competent.

“Ma’am, what about support from Alpha Squad?”

I shake my head. “No backup. Alpha’s covering a decoy op across the border. This one’s ours.”

The room settles into a focused hum. My team knows the weight of this kind of op—and they trust me to carry it. I didn’t earn that with rank or medals. I earned it by dragging half of them through hell and back.

The next hour is filled with logistics, route mapping, infrared overlays, and equipment checks. Every detail matters. By the time I dismiss them, it’s after 2100. They scatter to prep—some to clean their rifles, others to load their kits. Me? I head back to the bar.

Not for the food. Not even for revenge.

I left my damn phone on the table.

When I walk in, the bartender nearly jumps.

“Captain! I—uh—I didn’t know if you were coming back.”

“Relax,” I say. “Just need my phone.”

He slides it across the bar, careful not to look me in the eye too long. “Those guys… they left in a hurry. Didn’t even pay.”

I glance at the sticky mess on the floor. My boots still smell like beer.

“They’ll be back,” I say, tucking the phone in my jacket. “Just not here.”

As I turn to leave again, a voice stops me.

“Captain?”

It’s a woman—mid-forties, tough build, standing by the jukebox with a pool cue in her hand. I recognize her. Navy vet. Owns the small mechanic shop near the base.

“You handled them good,” she says. “Real good. We’ve had trouble with their kind before.”

I nod once. “They’ll learn.”

“Hope so,” she says. “Some of us locals don’t forget what respect looks like.”

I let that hang there for a second, then offer her a faint smile. “Neither do I.”

I step outside into the cold night air. My boots crunch against the gravel as I make my way toward the barracks. The wind picks up, carrying the smell of pine and diesel, and somewhere deep in the distance, I hear the low rumble of a chopper doing nighttime drills. Good. Let them keep flying. We’ll need every edge we can get.

I reach the barracks and head for my office. Lights still on. Papers still spread across my desk. A photo of my last team sits in the corner—faces I can’t forget. Some still breathing. Some not.

I drop into the chair and let my body rest for a moment.

The phone buzzes.

A text from the Colonel: “Update—Petrov just changed location again. New coordinates uploaded. Confirm receipt.”

I tap the file open. My eyes scan the map. He’s moving faster than we thought.

I grab my radio.

“All team leads—report to briefing room. We’ve got a shift.”

Voices crackle back. “On our way.”

I don’t bother to change clothes. I grab my notepad, pull up the digital map, and by the time they arrive, I’ve already rewritten our infiltration route.

Petrov thinks he’s slippery.

He hasn’t met me.

By midnight, the team is back in formation, eyes sharper than before. The game just got real.

“New location puts him in a decommissioned water treatment plant on grid Delta-Two. It’s isolated. Easy to defend. Harder to escape. That means we go in heavy but silent. Think ghost mode with teeth.”

They nod.

“Lee, Diaz—you’re breaching. Jameson, take high cover. Simmons, you’re with me on rear sweep. Drones will fly overhead, but EM pulse zones mean we’ll lose signal near the core, so stay tight. No heroes.”

They know the rules. Petrov doesn’t take prisoners. He leaves warnings.

I finish the briefing and dismiss them again. As they file out, Simmons lingers.

“You think he knows we’re coming?”

I stare at the satellite image. The darkness around the structure looks hungry.

“I hope so,” I say. “I want him scared.”

Simmons nods, then disappears into the hall.

By 0430, we’re loaded. Gear checked. Transport idling. We move like shadows through the pre-dawn light. The road to Delta-Two is old and cracked, overgrown in places, but the tension keeps us alert. No one speaks. The only sound is the rustle of gear and the steady beat of our hearts.

When we reach the ridge, the facility looms below. Crumbling concrete. Broken windows. Rusted fences. But power still hums faintly from somewhere inside.

Infrared shows three guards. No sign of Petrov.

I give the signal.

Lee and Diaz go first—cutting through the fence, ghosting past the outer yard. Jameson climbs to the high perch with barely a sound. Simmons and I take the south flank, eyes peeled.

The first guard drops with a soft grunt.

Second follows moments later.

The third… never sees it coming.

We breach the door. The hallway inside stinks of mildew and oil. Darkness wraps around us, thick and sticky.

We clear room after room—nothing but rats and broken furniture—until a faint light flickers ahead.

Then we hear it. A voice.

“I was wondering how long you’d take.”

Petrov.

He stands in the center of a control room, hands raised, a pistol at his feet.

I freeze. It’s too easy.

Simmons lowers his weapon just a hair.

“Don’t,” I whisper.

“Smart,” Petrov says, smiling. “I’ve got charges rigged through the whole building. Kill me, and boom.”

He holds up a small detonator.

I glance at Simmons. I can see the muscles in his jaw tighten.

I step forward, slow and steady.

“You’re bluffing.”

Petrov shrugs. “Maybe. Maybe not. You want to test me?”

I smile, cold and dangerous. “I already did.”

Then I tap my comms.

“Alpha, confirm.”

A voice crackles through.

“Charges neutralized. He’s lying.”

Petrov’s face twists.

I close the distance and slam him to the ground, pinning his arm before he can move. Simmons cuffs him while I retrieve the detonator and crush it beneath my boot.

“Tell your ghosts to dig a new grave,” I whisper in his ear. “Because you’re done haunting mine.”

We drag him out as the sun begins to rise.

By the time we reach the ridge, the chopper’s waiting, blades slicing the morning air.

As we lift off, I look down at the broken shell of the facility below us, shrinking into the mist.

Another mission closed.

Another war survived.

And back at base, four drunken fools will be scrubbing toilets with toothbrushes for weeks.

Some things have a way of coming full circle.