That morning, the city center pulsated like a beehive that seemed ready to explode due to the peak activity in all corners. Traffic was stuck in heavy congestion at the main intersection not far from the grand shopping center, where the sound of horns echoed along with the hustle and bustle of street vendors offering their wares, as well as the ringing of cell phones belonging to pedestrians walking quickly to the office, wearing neatly tailored suits. According to the coordinates received from the mysterious message, the destination was the open plaza in front of the mall—a place that had become a regular venue for year-end promotional events, complete with a small stage, tall banners bearing the names of sponsors, and a crowd of hundreds of people consisting of early morning shoppers, families enjoying a picnic, and young people busy taking selfies with the bustle of the city in the background. The hot and humid city air carried a mixture of the aroma of coffee from takeaways and the pungent smell of fried food, while CCTV cameras in the plaza silently recorded every movement from the sturdy iron poles surrounding it, showing traffic police who seemed indifferent to the situation 50 meters away. The Bravo team was scattered in disguise: Rizal and Fauzan pretended to read newspapers on park benches, Maya watched from the roof of the building across the street with a sniper rifle, NVG position at the ready, Dito watched from a surveillance van 200 meters away, busy monitoring the radio and disconnecting the CCTV hack, while Sari and Fahri stood guard at the event booth, and Bima, Amira, and Tono were at a cafe on the edge of the plaza for tactical data analysis, and Hasan and Rangga pretended to be pedestrians while patrolling. The colonel controlled the mission from headquarters while observing the live feed display, and the task force was ready to block the entrance, standing by to maintain security.
In the quiet, anticipatory morning, Rizal whispered through the encrypted radio, his eyes narrowing at the crowd as he held a cup of cold coffee. "10:00 a.m.—the social foundation's promotional event is at those coordinates. They're luring us to a public place. Fauzan, do you see anything strange?"
Fauzan nodded tensely, his eyes fixed on the man in the gray suit carrying a small suitcase as he climbed onto the promotional stage. "That's an odd move. The suit looks identical to the one in the warehouse—the skull pin on the chest is a suspicious sign. The suitcase? Does it contain a bomb or someone who will become a victim? Maya, what's your visual confirmation?"
Maya, from her position on the roof, looked through the scope of her silenced zoom rifle. "Get confirmation. The black suitcase looks heavy and is moving slowly. Two bodyguards in tight-fitting clothes are still escorting him. The crowd around him has reached 300 people—and if there's an explosion, it could be a major disaster."
Dito suddenly spoke loudly over the radio from the van, "Hack CCTV: there is activity on the suit the man is wearing, sending a cell phone signal to an unknown number—using the code 'victim ready'. Meanwhile, there was a transfer of 100 million to a foundation two minutes ago!"
At the cafe, Bima stared intently at his open laptop screen as he checked the spreadsheet, while Amira busily wrote down every important name. "This promotional donation comes from Secure Frontier Company—the main sponsor of the event. Tono, did you find anything?"
Tono, who was focused on the digital map, replied, "This plaza is the third point on the secret warehouse map. The organization recruits ordinary people at social events like this, then they 'disappear' afterwards."
Sari and Fahri, who were still at the event booth, continued to hand out flyers that read "Cultural Preservation at the Border." Sari whispered cautiously, "Fahri, the teenage girl in the crowd seems to be wearing a small skull pin on her bag. She looks very anxious, her eyes busy searching for the figure in the suit on stage."
Fahri understood and remembered the therapy session, but his instincts grew stronger. "She is the target victim. Sari, approach her carefully—and report to Rizal via radio."
Hasan and Rangga walked leisurely down the alley next to the plaza, Rangga's pendant felt hot and piercing. "Looking at this situation, the girl is bait—the man in the suit wants to stage a public 'rescue' demonstration to recruit new supporters."
Rizal rose slowly, his voice tense over the radio. "Colonel, there is confirmation of a threat to the public. Do we evacuate quietly? Or arrest the man in the suit right now?"
The colonel replied quickly, "Wait until the visual evidence is clear. The task force has blocked the road. Target operation in 30 seconds—avoid panic in the crowd."
At 10:05, the man on stage began to take the mic to promote the event, his voice sounding very friendly through the speakers throughout the plaza. "Good morning, citizens! Our foundation aims to save people from poverty—please look at this girl!" The man pointed to the anxious-looking teenager, and the bodyguard roughly pulled the girl onto the stage. The crowd thought it was a social event and began to applaud.
The girl screamed softly, "Let go! I just want to sell!" The man in the suit smiled like a TV personality. "Look—we'll give you a safe job at the border!"
Fauzan couldn't hold back his emotions, whispering firmly, "Now! Flanking movement!" Rizal gave the signal, and the team moved quickly: Maya managed to shoot with a silenced rubber bullet at the bodyguard's hand, causing him to drop his cell phone. Fauzan quickly jumped over the fence to the left flank, and Hasan-Rangga opened the back door of the stage.
The crowd began to show signs of unrest, but the man in the suit suddenly took a folding knife out of his briefcase—not a bomb, but a quick ritual preparation: he scratched the girl's hand so that drops of blood fell onto the microphone as a symbol of 'Blood will strengthen the roots!' The crowd was shocked and began to scream in panic.
Rizal quickly fired a silenced shot into the sky, shouting, "Military! Everyone retreat!" The task force immediately stormed the plaza, arresting the man in the suit and his bodyguards. Sari quickly pulled the girl off the stage to safety.
However, the man in the suit laughed softly as he was handcuffed, "Too late. Skull Zero is watching the entire live stream. The first city victim is a success—the media will immediately broadcast this and it will go viral."
From the van, Dito shouted, "The confirmation is correct! The live TikTok video has gone viral with 10,000 views—the caption reads 'Social victim has been helped by the foundation'. Our framing perspective has been set as the criminals!"
The crowd panicked and ran, traffic police looked confused, while local journalists who arrived quickly recorded the chaos. The colonel immediately gave orders over the radio angrily, "Extract Team Bravo now! Spin the media—the syndicate is playing with public opinion!"
Rizal managed to bring the girl to safety, immediately asking quickly, "Who sent you?"
The girl replied, shivering, "My uncle... He said the foundation would give me a job. But they said 'blood to pay the debt'."
Rangga felt his pendant grow cold again. "They've backed off. But this viral story will be great bait—Skull Zero is trying to stir up public opinion against us."
At headquarters, the Colonel stared at the local TV screen: the latest news "The military has disrupted a social event—the foundation has accused this of being an act of repression!" A man in a suit was interviewed from inside a police car "We saved the girl, but the army blocked us!"
Fauzan slammed his fist against the wall in anger. "They've changed the narrative! Are we going to raid the city again tomorrow?"
Rizal stared at the map showing the viral developments. "A new mystery has emerged. Skull Zero is playing the media now. Should we pursue opinion or evidence?"
The city's sirens blared, and Team Bravo returned to tension—their raid had been successful, albeit small, but a new battle of opinion was about to begin with an even greater threat.
This story is a series full of public tension where syndicates operate behind the media's shadow, and Team Bravo must fight against an increasingly heated viral narrative.