Black Dawn

I'm reposting the first 10 chapters of Black Dawn. One reason being that it's easier to find the previous chapters now, and the other reason being that I've slightly revised some of the parts, fixing typos, etc. The narrative is still the same, but some dialogue and whatnot has been changed. But for an old reader, there's little reason to re-read the old chapters, since the plot is still the same. I will now begin working on the new Chapter 11.

Chapter 1

The end of 2017 marked the end of an era. Nations worldwide agreed to the first global scale ceasefire, the first in recorded history. War not only changed, it stopped. This era has since become known as the Post War. Information had become readily available and easy to digest. News, stories, articles, content.. they all found their way to people in a millisecond from the time they were published. Truth was no longer scarce; there was an overabundance of it. Everybody had their own truth, tailor-made for them. The pen had finally become mightier than the sword. But what the wise men who first said that never accounted for was the control held by whoever held the pen. When truth was no longer scarce, there was no one to seek it. The pen is mightier than the sword, and whoever writes the past, writes the future.

May 22nd, 2022. 7:34am - Somewhere in Mexico.

Away from the busy life of the city exists the humbler side of Mexico. It's stayed that way throughout its existence; light brown and dark green dominate the scene, with a strong smell of sand dust, which you get used to after a while. There's no life here, except for those who seek to escape it.

One such man is sitting at the porch of his small house. The rugged, ageing man approaching his 40s is holding a gun, which is something he has been familiar with his whole life. Only this time he is not pointing it at other people. Today is the day, he feels, that he will finally point the gun at himself.

Though still in shape, he's not as young as he used to be, and the scars over his body, with the most visible one on his right cheek, make it obvious that he's been through a number of battles. His trademark black hair is something that he's been able to hold on to, and it's something that still connects his current self to that of his younger one.

The man is Adam Black, though Black is not his real name.

It is a codename given to him by the United States Special Forces, due to his past success as a soldier and black ops operative. And it wasn't just success; Adam was the best. The very best at what he did. Some say there has never been a soldier like Adam Black. Hero to some, even. A trained killer to others. The only other man to ever receive the codename Black was his father, and it was then passed on to Adam after his passing.

Ironically, that was not the only thing passed on from father to son.

Adam's father died a traitor to the United States. Branded a war criminal, which would become the faith of Adam, as well. Five years ago, to be exact.

Of course, what really happened on that day does differ from the official story.

Thrown away like yesterday's garbage by the very country he sacrificed everything to fight for, and one that could never begin to repay him for all he's done, the presumed dead Adam Black became a myth. A story passed on in numerous different ways, depending on the circles. Whether he was celebrated or vilified, the Legend of Adam Black became bigger than the man. A life form of its own.

Escaping the United States government and retreating to a life in Mexico was something that only a man of his skill set and perseverance could pull off.

Even though he doesn't own a television, or a computer, nor does he keep in touch with the outside world, Adam knows, or at least feels, that the world is not a world for him anymore. The world, or life in general, seems to lack purpose. Adam was a soldier, but he always fought with honor, and felt that there was honor in fighting for what's right. Was being a hired killer something he would wish for anyone? Not really. But at least he fought for what he believed in - and there's very little to believe in anymore. The world's no longer controlled by honor and values, but by algorithms, junk data and digital garbage.

The only thing that is more of a trusty friend to Adam than his weapon, is his lighter, which he decides to use one last time to light one last Lucky Strike. It's not like he has his health to worry about, he feels.

One cigarette then turns to two. Two turn to three.

What's really driving Adam to this point are perhaps not so much the reasons to do it, but rather the lack of reasons to not do it.

As the three cigarettes have finally turned into half a pack, Adam loads his weapon, and after pondering an 11th cigarette for a passing moment, he finally drops down to his knees and slowly but surely moves the gun to his mouth. As Adam closes his eyes, thinking it's the last time, his failures, disappointments, expectations, betrayals and tears rush through his mind, all the way from childhood to adulthood to the present day. The day he was betrayed by his brother. The moment he realized he's father was a traitor to the country he himself used to love. When he fell in love. And when he was forced to leave it all behind after his government turned on him, all because he opted to follow his conscious during war. When his own friends and team members were given the kill order.

It hasn't been the life Adam envisioned for himself.

Just as he's about to end it, with his finger hugging the trigger, tighter and tighter, there is an intervention Adam could never have prepared for.

He had heard the helicopter from afar, but it never occurred to him that it could have something to do with him. But as Adam could hear the sound get closer and closer, piercing through his ears, it started to seem like it would, in fact, have something to do with him. Adam recognizes the model, just from the sound. Ironically, it was a Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk, a model used by the US army. This was not a social call.

Adam slowly gets to a standing position, as he sees a familiar figure get out of the helicopter, which landed in front of his home, to a large grassy field, surrounded by little else than more grassy field. Adam has never been a people person.

Out of paranoia, Adam readies his weapon to the man getting out of the helicopter.

The aged man who gets out of the helicopter is Bruce Miller.

He is wearing army gear that he used to wear years ago when he worked as Adam's commander in the forces. Back in Adam's former life. Adam has no love for the government, or the military, but Bruce has remained a close friend. In fact, Bruce's contributions were a big reason why Adam was able to go undercover and be presumed dead after the incident five years ago. To Adam's knowledge, Bruce has been the only person from Adam's former life to know about his whereabouts.

There is a moment where the two men simply look at each other, with Adam slowly lowering his gun, as he trusts Bruce. Bruce knows Adam would never pull the trigger; they share a strong bond, the kind of love that can form between two people only in life threatening situations. Those that have never been in war would never understand.

They both see a different man from the one they knew years ago. They both see a man who is older, weaker, and clearly more sad, with the wear and tear of life slowly but surely getting the best of them.

But Bruce is not the only man getting out of the helicopter; three men, armed with rifles and in clear battle stances get out, with their weapons pointed Adam, clearly as a way to prevent Adam from escaping. From what, Adam has no idea.

Adam clutches at his weapon, as Bruce takes steps towards him.

Bruce finally manages to utter out words.

"Adam. We need to talk."

It's been weeks since Adam has said a single word. He is filled with conflicting thoughts and confusion. He trusts Bruce. Bruce has never let him down during the 15 year friendship the two have shared. But he is now standing in front of him, protected by armed men with their guns pointed directly at Adam, waiting for any sudden movements. Adam doesn't say anything. He is waiting for Bruce to makes his move, instead.

Bruce realizes he's not going to get a reply.

"Maybe we should go inside."

Bruce takes steps towards the front door, and basically invites himself in, as he carefully walks across the porch and steps inside, trusting that his friend won't shoot him in the back of his head.

It's only because of their friendship that Adam doesn't do just that. Were this anyone but Bruce Miller, their head would be splattered across the walls of Adam's modest housing right now.

Adam finally speaks, and lets out words in a raspy voice, and almost fails to finish the sentence due to the fact that he hasn't let out a sound in so long. It hurts to speak.

"I'm busy."

But there is a familiar sarcastic tone in Adam's words, one that Bruce recognizes and feels comfortable with. He is older, but this is still Adam Black. Bruce did notice the gun, and he did notice Bruce kneeling down on his porch, and Bruce knows Adam wasn't shooting rats. He's been around, he knows what's going on.

"I think you want to hear this."

Bruce has a tone of his own, and it's a tone that he has when he's serious. It's the tone he had during mission briefings with Adam. Adam instantly recognizes it.

Bruce waits for a response for a few seconds, but it quickly becomes clear that he's not going to get one. He spends another moment thinking of ways to say what he's about to say, until finally opting for the official way. It's the way they've always communicated with each other.

"About 7 hours ago, the United States government received trusted intel of a terrorist group in possession of a biochemical weapon. One that they are capable to launch."

Adam is disinterested in the mission brief talk. That's not him anymore. Years ago, he'd be ready to jump into action, but this information is of no value to him.

"You came here to tell me that?"

Adam finds the situation absurd. Adam is a wanted war criminal, and a few minutes ago he was preparing to blow his brains out. Now he's stuck in a time warp, and is receiving what seems like a mission briefing from decade ago. But Adam's not a stupid man.

"I'm sure you're not here just to gossip. This has something to do with me, right?"

"Yes. In addition to the biochemical threat, they have hostages. We received their demands seven hours ago in a crypted message, we have no information on their whereabouts."

Old habits die hard, and Adam does find himself asking further questions. It's distant, but there's a feeling of familiarity in all this, and Adam secretly wants to grasp on to that familiarity, even though a big part of him is telling him not to care.

"Since when did you guys negotiate with terrorists, anyway? What are the demands?"

Bruce looks Adam dead in the eye before taking a deep breath.

"You."

This fills Adam's head with a thousand questions. He's made his share of enemies in his line of work, but he had lived the past five years under the assumption that no one knew that he was alive. Not only did someone clearly know that he's still alive, apparently that someone wants his head.

"Me?"

Bruce's voice starts to weighs heavy, as even though he has had this conversation in his head several times during the past seven hours, actually saying is far more terrifying than anything he had envisioned.

"They specifically asked for Adam Black in exchange for the hostages, and the biochemical strike. Their demands are that you are delivered to them to a location where they will exchange you for selected hostages. The rest will be freed once you arrive to their base of operations. And the strike will be called off. They -- will do this in exchange for your life."

Adam, however, has been in this particular game before. He is not an easy person to lie to.

"What are you not telling me? You know these people can't be trusted. What are they holding over your head, Bruce?"

"The government is not holding anything over my head, Adam. Not this time. It's.."

"What?"

Bruce knows the ramifications of what he's about to say, and hesitates for a little. But he also knows that Adam will then understand.

"One of the hostages is Maria."

That name hits Adam harder than anything in the past five years. The fact that he feels something is like an electric shock going through his body. Feeling to him has become so foreign. But the mention of Bruce's daughter, Maria, who Adam was deeply in love with, and was going to marry, right before everything went to hell, is something that finally makes Adam care. For the first time since the last time he saw Maria.

Adam raises his voice and his calm demeanor completely breaks down completely, as he demands to know what his former fiancée has to do with this, grabbing Bruce and demanding to know everything, but he struggles to form complete sentences, and resorts to stuttering out questions he can't finish.

"Maria?! How? Bruce!"

Bruce hands Adam a phone, and on the phone is a picture of a woman, bloodied and tied up, scared for her life.

"I received this the same time the government received the demands. It hasn't been doctored, and it's recent. We -- couldn't decipher the sender."

Adam simply stares at the picture. There are so many things in his head that can't formulate a single clear thought, as Bruce continues his briefing. The beautiful, red-haired woman is definitely Maria in the picture. Adam had always considered Maria so beautiful that he was sometimes scared to touch her, in fear of "breaking" her; and now he's looking at a picture of her, battered and broken.

"It's clear that someone wants to lure you out. Someone who knows you're still alive. I simply had no choice, Adam. I had to reveal your location. I'm sorry."

"No, it's.. it's okay, Bruce. How do you we.. how do we know we can trust them?"

"We don't. But we have no other choice. Adam, I.. there's no one I respect more as a man than you. No one. I know you don't believe in the government I work for, but I always believed in you. I think you did the right thing five years ago, you know that. I would never betray your trust for anything, and we both know this is a trap. We've both been in this game for long enough. But I can't take a risk, not with Maria. Not with my daughter."

Adam also realizes that it's a trap. He's sure whoever laid down the trap also knew that Adam would realize it. But they clearly also knew that Adam couldn't, and wouldn't, risk Maria, either. This makes Adam wonder. Who could it be? Who could know Adam was alive, who could know Adam this well, and why would he want Adam dead. For real, this time.

"I understand."

Adam takes a look at the gun in his hand, the gun that just a few moments ago occupied his mouth, and he realizes that at least he can die for something, instead of dying for nothing.

"Take me to her."

Adam and Bruce step outside, as Bruce regrets to tell Adam to leave his gun behind.

"Adam, I'm sorry. The gun."

Adam hesitates, but lets go of his gun and places it on a table. As he does this, he is approached by the soldiers, who tell him to reach out his hands in order to be handcuffed. Adam doesn't feel that this is necessary, but won't fight it out of respect for Bruce. He does take offense to a bunch of what are clearly rookies pointing their guns at him. Especially since Adam knows full well that if he wanted to kill them on the spot, he could.

"Tell these kids to stop pointing those things at me."

Bruce doesn't say anything, but he nods at the soldiers who lower their weapons in compliance. Bruce knows that while Adam's never been too proud of his former occupation as a soldier, he still has a warrior's pride about him.

The men step inside the helicopter, and as Bruce sits next to the handcuffed Adam, he lays his hand on top of his shoulder.

"My country owes you more than I can say. I just.."

"Save it. I'm doing this for Maria."

The helicopter takes off, and Adam is being transported to what he clearly understands is a trap, and a surefire death sentence. But he can't help but wonder why.

Chapter 2

The two men sitting side by side in the helicopter are battle worn warriors. Both know what is going on. Both know the stakes, and understand the situation. Bruce knows that Adam is cooperating according to his own free will. Adam knows Bruce has no other choice. Despite that, the atmosphere is awkward, to say the least.

Five years ago, Bruce helped Adam escape the fate of a war criminal by helping him fake his death. He had gained Adam's trust as his commander during their time as black ops operatives. Adam was never good at taking orders, and Bruce Miller was the one man who knew enough to trust Adam's judgement calls in various situations. Even though Bruce has always been a by the book type of soldier, he had immense respect for Adam's tendency to follow his conscious and make judgement calls - it usually was the right thing to do in the end. In a way, Bruce might have admired this trait because he himself was often too afraid to challenge the government, and those above him. He did trust the system, but he also appreciated job security.

Adam never did.

On the surface, Adam was always extremely rough around the edges, but his heart was always in the right place. This is what mattered to Bruce, and this is what made Bruce give his blessings to Adam dating his daughter. The same daughter that has drawn them together one final time.

As he views the world below him through the window of the helicopter, Adam can't help but think about Maria. The mistakes made, as well as the good times. There was never another woman for Adam. This was clear to him the first time they met. Maria always had this unique way to make Adam forget what he did for a living; that he was basically a killer for hire. Yes, he hopes, every day, that he only killed people who deserved it, and only to save the lives of many, but the more time he spent serving the government, the more he saw it for what it was: a deeply corrupted cesspool. At least that's how he started to feel. The more disillusioned he grew, the more he questioned. And the more he questioned, the more he became a threat - to the point of eventually becoming an enemy.

But Maria was the person who could make Adam stop all the endless what ifs. At least for a while. Whenever they were together, Adam managed to strip away the role of Adam Black, and be Adam Callaway - the man, not the soldier.

Adam interrupts his own reminiscing with an attempt at small talk.

"Does she know?"

Ironically, Bruce is the more uncomfortable of the two, even though Adam is the one being sent to slaughter. Bruce is relieved that the silence is finally broken.

"That you're alive? No. I never told her. She looked for you for two years. For two years, she never gave up on you. It broke my heart to see her like that. But I never told a soul."

Bruce gets noticeably choked up thinking about her daughter, and what she must be going through. Adam notices this, and shares the same feelings, even though he's keeping a calmer demeanor.

"Bruce. I'll get her out of there."

Adam's words are reassuring to Bruce, as always.

"I know you will."

The guilt trip that Adam himself is on is immense.

"She deserves more than to die because of me. I've put her through enough already."

"You did what you had to protect her. You know that as well as I do."

"So, what do we know about these terrorists exactly?"

As soon as Adam starts to ask questions, he's interrupted by the sound of Bruce's phone. There is no caller ID, and both men know what the call is about. Their heart rates go up as they realize they're about to hear from the people behind this. Bruce has already had these calls, but Adam is eager to hear the voice of the person doing this. Bruce quickly picks up the call and puts it on speaker.

"Your time is almost up, Miller. I hope you have what I need."

The voice is distorted, and there's no hope of making it out who the male person is, though both men do find the speech pattern somewhat familiar.

"Yes. Adam Black is here with me. We are on our way to the drop off point to make the exchange, as discussed."

"I'm glad. I just wanted to make sure you realize that if we even suspect that we're being followed, you no longer have a daughter, Miller."

Adam showed restraint to this point, but the mention of Maria is too much for him to take.

"And I hope you realize that if you harm her, you no longer have a head attached to your torso."

"Adam. You sure haven't changed one bit. At least I now know I'm getting the right man."

Adam knows he's not getting an answer, but simply wants to continue the dialogue with the man who has orchestrated this whole thing seemingly for the sole purpose of wanting him dead.

"What do you want from me? Revenge? What's this about?"

"You'll know soon enough. Miller, do your part, and your daughter will be fine. And don't try to trace this, because I'll know."

The call ends.

Adam knows he knows the caller. The voice was distorted, but the way he spoke was familiar. The way he pronounced things. There was certain eloquence about it. It was showman like.

There's very little they can do right now. One wrong move could mean Maria's death, and even though the entire thing is a clearly a trap, risking Maria's life is something neither can afford to do. The feeling of guilt for having Maria dragged into this starts to overtake Adam. This is exactly the type of thing Adam wanted to protect Maria from. Adam's made a ton of enemies, and knows full well he has a target on his back. It's the curse of a hero: the bad guys always target the ones you love. Adam himself despises the word hero.

Bruce decides to fill Adam in on what he knows.

"They call themselves the Founding Fathers. There's very little we know of them, there's no mention of them in any previous case files. But they know how we operate. They've managed to orchestrate this thing because they seem to know the system inside and out. This leads me to believe that they are former insiders, or at least the leader is."

"The Founding Fathers? Corny."

"The Post War era has seen a rise of constitionalist groups, but most of them have been minor. They tend to fly off the radar."

The mention of "Post War" sparks a sarcastic reaction in Adam. He hates this type of elitist government newspeak, and knows it holds no value.

"The Post War. Protected by soldiers, with weapons. I guess no one talks about the proxy wars breaking out every day, the child soldiers still being utilized. It's not reported because 'war' is a banned word now, right? You used to stand for something, you know."

Bruce realizes the slight jab thrown at his way.

"It's not perfect. But the number of major conflicts, and threats of which, has been zero since 2017. Not to mention.."

Adam is quick to interrupt.

"Not to mention this is about Maria. I'm not here to argue politics with you. And I'm not here to help you out, either. You, or the government. It's hard to tell who the terrorists are these days, anyway."

Bruce knows better than to challenge Adam on his beliefs, so he opts to leave it at that. As another silence between the two men takes place, the helicopter continues its flight to the agreed spot, which is located in DC.

Time passes, and no more words between the two men are exchanged, until the helicopter lands on a rainy and stormy DC. Adam is taken to the side of town, which reminds Adam of his previous surroundings, since there's very little there. It's time. Bruce follows his instructions, and leaves Adam handcuffed to await his fate. They haven't been close for the past five years, but time does slow for just a moment, as he realizes he will most likely be seeing his old friend for the last time.

"No matter how you may feel about me, or who I work for, or this country, and whatever the official record books say about you, I know the truth about you, and I want you to know that what you've done, and what you're doing right now is not in vain. You're a good man, Adam."

Adam's never been one for soft words, but he admittedly has a place for Bruce in his heart, and does owe him his life for an incident, or two.

"You too, Bruce."

Bruce releases one of Adam's hands from the handcuff, the two have a firm handshake, and Bruce then proceeds to handcuff Adam's hands behind his back. This was also instructed.

Adam says one last thing to his friend.

"Maria's gonna be alright. I promise."

Bruce appreciates the gesture, and finally turns his back to leave. As soon as this happens, a black van approaches, and Adam knows that it's showtime. Out of the van, four men wearing all black and ski masks, armed with high tech rifles, come out. Adam instantly notices that they are professionals; their stances, the way they hold their weapons, the way they communicate. All professionals. These men know that they're doing. Adam is kind of hoping to deal with a bunch of rookies, but realizes that there's no such luck at play.

One of the men opens up the back door of the van, releasing some of the hostages, as they promised. So, so far they're sticking to their end of the bargain. The hostages are taken in by Bruce's men, as the terrorists wait for Bruce and his mean to leave, and not follow them.

After they are alone, the terrorists slowly approach Adam. Adam can hear them say things like "That's him" and "Be careful, he's really good".

One of the men grabs Adam's attention, however. He has a slightly different way of moving, a slightly different way of pointing his gun. Adam always notices things like this. They're all good, but this guy seems really good. He also seems familiar. The man also looks at Adam a bit differently from the others. There's something about him, but Adam can't quite put his finger on it.

And he doesn't have the time to, either, since as soon as the terrorists get close enough, he is blindfolded, and knocked out by a rifle to the back of the head.

The terrorists make sure they're not being followed, and drag Adam to the back of the van, and drive off.

Chapter 3

Adam comes to in the back of the van in the hopes of catching the terrorists talking. He remains blindfolded, with his hands cuffed behind his back, but senses two people in the back with him. He's developed a sort of sixth sense of knowing when a gun is pointed at him - and now there definitely are two guns pointed at his direction. He doesn't even attempt at making a move. The two soldiers talk, and they're definitely American. They are in the middle of a discussion.

"Well, we have the girl. She's the daughter of that commander guy -- Miller. Boss said she's the ace in our sleeve, they won't be coming after us. Besides, the stealth van won't show up on the radar."

"Washington won't know what hit 'em. And it won't be just the EMP bomb."

Adam tries to make sense of this.

"EMP bomb? Bruce said nothing about an EMP bomb. What's their endgame."

"So, once we get back to base, we'll release the hostages?"

"Not all of them. Boss said to keep the girl. She's important to his guy here. And the Chief of Staff. Boss wasn't able to get everything he wanted out of him yet."

"Heenan? I'm surprised that such a weasel could withstand the torture. I wonder if Boss tried the almighty green."

The terrorists chuckle at this attempt at humor. Adam is shocked to hear that name. But he is sure that he knows who they are talking about, since the Chief of Staff Lloyd Heenan sure is a weasel. He is of short stature, and lacks any and all characteristics of an honorable man, always trying to lie and scheme his way out of things. Always looking out for himself with no loyalty to anything except his personal bank account.

Adam and him have never gotten along in any of the interactions they've had. In fact, Adam knows for a fact that Heenan was instrumental in issuing Adam's proverbial death sentence five years ago. Heenan always had it out for Adam, and as his power grew in 2017 by becoming the Chief of Staff of the President, he wasted almost no time in attempting to eliminate Adam.

"Lloyd Heenan? What's that weasel's involvement in this?"

As Adam ponders these questions, the van stops. There is a sound of some sort of a hatch opening, followed by the van taking a steep downward turn, and entering a tunnel by the sounds of it. The outside sounds echo more. Adam tries to put together the distance they've traveled since he was knocked out, to try and come up with some sort of an idea of where they are.

This is quickly interrupted, however, by the van stopping and Adam being pulled to his feet and dragged out of the van.

One of the men grabs Adam by the left hand, while the other three march onward. Adam has no intentions of cooperating further after hearing that the terrorists have no intentions of letting Maria go. But there's very little he can do blindfolded with his hands cuffed, and with no weapon.

Then he notices how the terrorist slowly pulls him closer, and a voice whispers in his ear.

"Adam, don't say or do anything, until I say so."

Adam notices how something snaps off his cuffs, but he doesn't immediately react to it.

"The guy at two'o clock is carrying an M16A2 rifle, standard model. Grab the rifle. There are more guys at twelve o'clock, so be quick. After you take out the guy at two o'clock, there's cover behind a pile of boxes at eight o'clock. In five."

Adam doesn't know what's going on, but doesn't exactly see a better alternative.

One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Five.

In lightning quick fashion, Adam removes the blindfold, tackles the terrorist to his right, grabs his rifle, and as if a day had not gone by since the last time he held one, he fires the rifle, taking down the guard. He notices that he's standing in inside the gates of a gigantic courtyard of what seems to be an underground base. It consists of several buildings within a larger facility. Adam then turns to his left takes notice of the man who released him.

There's only ever been one man to handle two handguns in such a talented fashion as the man who just released him is doing. The style is unique and distinct. The man takes out more heavily armed guards with his two automatic pistols, and there's no doubt in Adam's mind who it is.

"Kev! What the hell?!"

"Long story, Adam! Shut up while I cover for you!"

The man is Kevin Reese, Adam's former protege and spiritual little brother. He was a few years younger than Adam, and Adam took him under his wings back in the military. They both joined the special forces team, and when together, they were unstoppable. They operate like brothers: they know what the other is thinking before he thinks it, they share an unbreakable bond of trust and loyalty. So much so that people have joked about them being each other's war wives.

Even now, after five years of having no interaction with each other, the magic is still there.

Kevin covers for Adam as the two men jump behind the boxes.

What the men also share in common is their sense of humor - especially in the most inappropriate of situations.

"You know, Kev, we have to stop meeting like this."

"Yeah, I know, but you owe me 20 bucks, remember? See that door on northwest side? I know the layout, we can lose 'em if we make a break for it. I'll explain what's going on once we lose these guys. You loaded?"

Adam reloads his weapon.

"Yeah, I'm good."

"Okay, let's go."

"Hey, Kev."

Adam knows they have no time to waste, but he grabs Kevin by the hand and tightly squeezes it.

"It's damn good to see you."

"You, too. Now let's go."

The two friends get younger by a decade once they find each other on the battlefield, laughing death in the face. Adam won't admit it to himself, but the fear of death, the adrenaline rush, him sharing that experience with his best friend, it's his home.

The two friends have not missed a beat, their teamwork is flawless, and they clear their path to run the door on the northwest.

---

Unbeknownst to them, they are being watched by a man in a room filled with monitors and all sorts of cutting edge technological equipment. The man has a mysterious demeanor, a sophisticated way of carrying himself, with all of the little movements he does being very careful and precise. He is of older age, but his full, long, gray hair is tied up in a braid that makes him look somewhat younger than he is. The events taking place are being watched closely, while the man is talking on a headset.

"They're in. Let the show begin."

Chapter 4

Adam and Kevin manage to run away from the guards, and make their way through the door. The facility is clearly a military base, and a maze. Long corridors, tons of doors and stairs. The interior has a dark green tone, and nothing about it to make you feel comfortable. It's definitely not meant for social cocktails and hangouts. Kevin seems to know his way around the base, and leads the way.

"This way, we're not out of the woods yet."

"At some point you're gonna have to tell me what's going on."

"Let's find a place to hide first."

The two men run through the corridors, until they spot a guard patrol, but stop before their spotted and hide behind a corner. This clearly screws up the way Kevin had planned.

"Damn it! There's no way for us to make it through them without attracting the rest. We're gonna have to think of something else. Maria's being held in the detention area, building 2. We're gonna have to get through this building, enter the second courtyard and then bust our way to the second building to the north."

"You know about Maria? And how do you know your way around this place? I love you, Kev, but I need some answers."

"This way."

Kevin avoids the question and once again leads the way to another route, until they run into an individual guard with his back turned. Kevin wastes no time snapping his neck from behind. Even though Adam has done it himself in the past numerous times, and was just involved in a gun fight that got his adrenaline running, it still serves as a gruesome reminder of what he's in the middle of again.

"You sure haven't lost a beat."

"Well, you taught me that."

"I think I did."

They finally find a safe place in what looks like a storage room, and are reasonably sure they're not followed, and it's time for a chat. Kevin removes his ski mask, and reveals what the years have done to him. Kevin used to be something of a pretty boy, but the past years have seemingly caused a scar or two. He also sports a buzzed hairstyle, which is new. Adam quickly realizes that time forgets no one. Adam is in desperate need of some answers, but first.

"Kev."

Adam grabs Kevin to a tight brohug and the two men embrace. No words are needed. Adam and Kev have gone to hell and back together. Multiple times. Even though this reunion with his best friend is the last thing Adam was expecting a few hours ago, he is happy that it happened. Nothing else makes sense, but he's in this with his best friend.

"Now. I need some answers. What the hell is going on here?"

"First, if I know you, you didn't come here to die without a pack of Lucky Strikes, did you?"

Adam lets out the first genuine smile in months. It's that dark humour that made the men friends in the first place. There's something very special and unexplainable about facing death with a smile on your face. It can even make death nervous enough to run away. At least that's what Adam always told himself on the battlefield. This isn't because he's confident. Quite the contrary, wisecracks keep the fear away. The very real fear that comes with life or death battle situations. Adam's good, but he's human. And humans get afraid. But Adam learned long ago that laughter can fool you to fear less. Adam offers Kevin a cigarette, lights it and lights one up himself.

"After I left the military, I've worked for an organization called Chameleon. A private CTO (counterterrorism organization). We've been tracking this group down for six months since we first received intel about them. I infiltrated a subgroup and worked undercover to find out about this place and worked my way through here. We had a plan to bring them down, and when I got here, I learned about them bringing you in. I never thought you were dead for a second, by the way. The guys running this place call themselves the Founding Fathers."

"Bruce filled me in, but who are they?"

*"They're former special forces soldiers who went rogue against the government, not unlike you, really. They're the result of the Supersoldier Experiment.

"So, the government went along with it, after all?"

"Yeah, it's the experiment you opted out of. What they wanted you to be the poster boy of. But they went along with it. Experimented with soldiers like test animals. Enhancements, augmentations.. sick stuff. It was abandoned, but suddenly revived, and received funding from an outside source. Unknown."

All of a sudden, Adam is reminded of why he was disgusted by the government in the first place, all those years ago.

"Jesus Christ."

"The soldiers we faced just now, they're a part of a PMC (Private Military Company) that's working with the Founding Fathers. Anti-government extremists. This is an old, secret underground military base, and bomb shelter for VIPs. The public doesn't know about this, and not even everyone in the government does. An old Pentagon project. It was abandoned when the Post War started."

Adam's faced with a dilemma: he has no interest in serving the best interest of the government, and he's not sure who the bad guy here truly is. But then again, when someone points a gun at you, it's easy to spot the enemy.

"I'm not too concerned with the criminals in the White House, honestly, I'm here to get Maria out. She was used to lure me in. Why?"

Kevin doesn't reply immediately, but instead takes in the cigarette, and slowly blows the smoke out before continuing.

"Their leader wants you dead."

"You know who it is, don't you?"

"Yeah. The Founding Fathers are Derek's organization."

The mention of that name leaves Adam shocked. Kevin expected nothing less.

"Derek?! This is my brother's doing?!"

---

The sudden appearance of Kevin Reese, as well as Adam's escape, has not escaped the attention of Adam's twin brother, Derek, who is less than happy at this recent setback in his plans. Derek and Adam bear a strong resemblance, with both sporting similar black hair, and scarred faces, only Derek's hair is slicked back.

Derek is scolding members of the PMC he has hired to work on his operation.

"You incompetent fools! That man was Kevin Reese! The one man who should not be interfering with this. Those two together can take out a small army, and they have, believe me. I've worked far too long and far too hard for this revolution to let Kevin Reese infiltrate my ranks and ruin everything! Someone needs to be held responsible."

The three men in the room with him are scared for their lives, as they know what those words mean. Derek is not a man of mercy. Even though they know it would in vain anyway, all three attempt to get words of apology out, but before that happens, Derek draws his weapon and shoots one of three mean in the head, point blank.

"May that serve as a lesson to the rest of you. Tell your men that I want Kevin Reese dead."

The two men are shocked by their fallen comrade, but know better than to defy Derek at this point. They simply nod their heads and leave.

An irate Derek is then approached by two beautiful young women, both carrying high tech sniper rifles. The women, Liza and Mona, are called Heart and Spade. They are identical twins, known by their distinguishable heavy white make up, with the only way of differentiating them being that Liza has a tattoo of Heart on her cheek, while Mona sports a Spade. With their half black, half red hairs tied up in pigtails, and the skin tight sexy outfits they both sport, they can fool one to thinking they are something less than merciless killers. That assumption is a deadly one, since when it comes to snipers, Heart and Spade are at the top of their craft. This is also why Derek recruited them to Founding Fathers.

The girls speak to Derek in a flirtatious manner.

"Oh, Derek. If you want someone taken.. care of. You should never send boys to do a girls' job."

Despite his frustations, Derek does have a rather warm attitude towards the girls, who are among his most trusted recruits. Derek has also always been good with the ladies. He is arguably more charming than his more serious, straightforward brother. Some say it's due to psychopathy, Derek simply considers it charisma.

Mona and Liza were born and raised to be killers. Recruited at an early age as child soldiers. A childhood spent on the battlefield has molded the girls into twisted murderers who find it a fun hobby to play with people, and kill them. Anyone would find it tragic, but Derek sees nothing wrong with taking full advantage of their undisputed skill in the art of murder. The three also share a weird almost romantic relationship, even though none of the three have the capabilities for genuine love.

"Now, my favorite girls wouldn't have something devious in mind, would they?"

"Oh, just some fun. We saw you get really sad, and we really don't want our Derek to be sad, so we came up with a plan to make you happy."

Derek wants to know more of what Kevin is doing interfering with his operation, and starts a thorough background check on Kevin on his laptop to see what he's been up to.

"I'll run a background check on him before you go out and play. Let's see if there's something we can use on one Mr. Reese."

---

Adam is processing the revelation of his brother being the person behind the incident. Adam wants to be more shocked than he is, but in a really twisted sense, it unfortunately kind of makes sense. Adam and Derek were always far from loving brothers. Despite being twins, bitter jealousy and competition soured their relationship already at a very early age. They competed at everything, but most of all, in combat. Ever since they were physically able to, they exchanged holds and strikes, and trained in various combat sports - with the ultimate test being the other brother.

Derek was always the more competitive of the two, and always took a loss harder. This fueled Derek to get better at everything Adam was good at; everything Adam did, Derek could do just a little bit better. Slowly, but surely Derek started getting the upperhand in combat practice. But what Derek excelled at in fighting skills, he lacked in Adam's genuine heroism, and this earned Adam more respect than his twin - and it never sat well with Derek, who held on to this hatred into his adult years. Judging by what's happened today, that anger hasn't ceased.

Still, the situation is anything but clear to Adam.

"So, you're telling me Derek orchestrated this whole thing to get to me?"

"No, I don't think that's it. I know for a fact that they're in possession of an EMP bomb, and a class G nerve agent. They're planning to use both on Washington, pulling the state offline, and launching the nerve gas, so that no one has a chance to react. We're talking thousands dead in less than an hour. It'd be impossible to contain, and in a few hours, it'd be a widespread epidemic that grows exponentially. And that's been the plan all along. Why, I don't know. I guess he has other reasons for wanting you here. Again, I don't know."

This is a lot for Adam to take in, but tries to piece together the puzzle.

"They wouldn't be doing something like this for shits and giggles, there's something big going on here. They never made any ransom demands? My brother's a lot of things, but he wouldn't kill innocent people just for fun."

"That's all I know. Heenan's being held here, too."

Both men share the same contempt for Lloyd Heenan. Again that name makes Adam's skin crawl. To Adam, he is truly the worst of the worst. No ideology, no backbone, nothing. Just a loyalty for sale for the highest bidder. The worst kind of worthless bureaucrat.

"Heenan. I heard the guards talking about him. You know damn well I'm not saving his worthless ass."

"I don't care for him, either, but I know he's been tortured for information, so he knows something. I don't know where he's being held, but we need to find him if we want to get to the bottom of this."

"But we're gonna get to Maria first."

"Right. We should get going. She's my friend, too."

Kevin, Adam, Maria and Kevin's late wife were a close group. Kevin and Adam were like brothers, and Maria and Jessica were like sisters. This reminds Adam of Jessica's passing four years ago. He was underground at the time, but the terrorist strike was publicized.

"I'm sorry about Jess."

"Yeah.. Let's make sure it doesn't happen to Maria. Let's go."

Adam and Kevin manage to sneak through the first building, making their way to a corridor in between the two buildings, whuch surrounded by walls with narrow alcoves that go inside the walls that can just about fit an adult male inside them. The corridor is empty with no guards posted, and everything seems a bit too easy.

The thought of it being too easy also enters Adam's mind just about when they're halfway through the corridor, and as soon as it does, he notices a red laser pointing at Kevin. Immediately, he pushes Kevin to the left, and quickly rolls to the right.

"Look out, it's a damn sniper!"

But it's not just a sniper, there are two sniper shots, one from the north end, and one from the south end of the corridor, both just barely missing.

Kevin and Adam take cover at opposite sides of the corridor, inside the blind spots of the walls' alcoves.

Adam considers taking a chance with his rifle, but realizes that he'd be a sitting duck.

"We fucking walked right into it! We're trapped!"

In perfect position, Heart and Spade are at balconies with their sniper rifles at opposite sides of the corridor, with perfect vision throughout the corridor. As soon as they even attempt at showing themselves, they're dead.

Both twins say pretty much the same thing to themselves.

"Those were just warning shots. We like it when it lasts longer. Now, be good boys and come out to play with us."

Chapter 5

Adam and Kevin are both mad at themselves for walking into such an obvious sniper trap. They're professionals, but apparently they've been out of the game for too long. They're well aware that had the snipers wanted it, they'd be dead right now. But instead they decided to play with the men a little before sending love letters to their hearts in the form of precise bullets.

Kevin knows right away who they're dealing with since he was briefed prior to infiltrating the group. Adam and Kevin stand in the niches at the opposite sides of the wall, trying not to move too much, since one slight wrong move would attract a sniper shot, and Kevin knows the shot would we well aimed.

"I know who they are, they're called Heart and Spade -- twin snipers. Damn it, I really should have seen this coming, this is how they operate: they trap their target and aim at opposite sides."

Adam tries to assess the situation.

"Have you dealt with them before?"

"No, but I've heard of 'em. They've never missed a target. They're young, but they're good. They've been killing since they were kids."

"Child soldiers?"

"Yeah. If they wanted it, we'd be dead already. They're just playing with us. They want us to try something, and then kill us. Killing for them is like a hobby. They do it for fun."

As Kevin is talking, he notices his communicator beeping. It's the communicator he had while working undercover as a terrorist. He can guess what it's about, and he's correct: he's getting a transmission to his ear bud by Mona and Liza.

"Kevin, Kevin, Kevin.. it seems like you've been a really bad boy. You're trying to ruin Derek's plans, and that makes Derek really sad. And when Derek gets sad, we get angry. But we know your little secret! We know who you are. So, why don't you come out and play, and your handsome friend doesn't have to know what you're really doing here. Besides, hiding behind a corner doesn't fit such a strong man like yourself."

Kevin doesn't react to the call, but does get nervous about what he just heard. Mona and Liza need to be taken out, somehow.

"I'm going in!"

Adam can't believe what he's hearing. He knows Kevin to be enough of a professional to know that it'd be suicide.

"Are you out of your mind?! They're aiming at your from both sides, you'd be a sitting duck, don't be an idiot!"

"You there are guards after us right now, we don't have time! Do you have a better idea?!"

Adam takes a time to think.

"Maybe."

---

The situation is being observed through a monitor by a mysterious man talking to a headset.

"No, not to worry. Adam Black is very much a warrior. Well worthy of the codename Black. I know for a fact he's been in tougher situations. Mona and Liza are good, but Adam Black is every bit the soldier that his father was. And I'm sure Derek wants him alive. The plan is proceeding as planned, Sir."

The room seems to have a monitor for pretty much every room in the facility. Everything is being watched.

---

Adam has an idea. Not necessarily a good one, but the only one at the moment. He tries to picture what the area looked like before they were forced into hiding inside the walls.

"Kev! Is there a canister next to the wall to the north of me? I think I saw a canister of what looked like gasoline. Do you see it?"

"Yeah! About 20 feet from you."

"I can't reach it from here, if I stick my gun out, I don't have a hand anymore. You need to knock it down. Do you use copper bullets?"

"Yeah, what are you planning?"

"Just do it!"

Kevin does indeed use copper bullets in his gun, and realizes that the significance of that is that a copper bullet does not make sparks when they impact a steel cylinder, so Adam would have to light a fire himself. So, what Adam clearly has in mind is to have the gasoline pour down from the bullet hole to his reach. Kevin is not thrilled at Adam taking such a risk, but the options are extremely slim. So he takes his gun, aims and shoots a bullet hole to the gasoline tank, which then starts pouring gasoline that makes its way down the ground to where Adam is standing.

"Promise me you don't do anything stupid, Adam!"

"Who me?"

Adam waits for a little bit, and then goes through his pockets to find his lighter and a cigarette. Adam lights the cigarette, but before throwing it, decides to take one puff.

"Okay, here goes.."

Adam throws the cigarette sideways to where the gasoline has poured, causing the gas to catch fire, which quickly spreads to gasoline tank, causing a small explosion and fire that produces smoke.

The smoke starts to fill the room and makes its way up to both balconies where Mona and Liza are at their sniping positions. The girls realize what's going on, but now it becomes a game of who blinks first.

Adam, however, decides it's going to be him.

"Kev! Derek didn't lure me all the way out here to have his henchmen kill me. There's no way he doesn't want to do it himself. They can't stand the smoke for much longer, so now's the chance. I'll use myself as bait, and you make the run for it."

"I'm not letting you sacrifice yourself on your own!"

"Shut the fuck up, Maria's still a hostage! Someone needs to get to her! If I shoot at the one on the south balcony, she can't aim at you, and the one on the north balcony can't see you through the smoke. We don't have another choice, got it? And we can't stand the smoke for too much, either."

Kevin doesn't respond, but understands that Adam's proposal is the only viable course of action. Adam takes a moment, then jumps out of hiding with his rifle aimed at the south balcony.

---

The man monitoring the situation is still on his headset.

"Get ready for a show because this is where it gets good."