The first explosion shook the night air.
The grand Direndra Mansion was now filled with smoke and the deafening sound of gunfire. The front glass doors shattered into pieces, shards scattering across the marble floor.
"Protect Alana!" Alaska shouted, firing toward the yard.
"Don't let them get inside!"
Kenan moved quickly to the right side of the building, leading the remaining small squad.
Manda, Vina, and Eca hid behind a large table, holding their breath, while Alana stood in the middle of the room, her face tense but her eyes sharp, unafraid.
"I'm not hiding!" she shouted.
"I can help you!"
"Do you think this is a game?" Alaska glared at her, pulling her back.
"This isn't a motorcycle race, Alana!"
"Exactly because of that, I can't stay still!"
"I can't watch you bleed while I just stand here!"
For a moment, Alaska's eyes met hers not with anger, but with fear.
"You have no idea what it's like to lose someone you love right in front of your eyes…"
His voice lowered, almost trembling.
"And I won't feel that again."
Shots in the East Corridor
Kenan ducked, firing at two Rave operatives trying to breach the back fence.
The sound of automatic weapons echoed loudly.
Blood splattered against the walls.
"They're too many!" shouted one of the men.
"It's like they know all our routes!"
Kenan looked at the digital map on his wristband the mansion's defense system had been hacked.
"Damn… Rico must have infiltrated a tracking chip from inside."
"So Kira…."
"Don't blame her yet," Kenan cut him off.
"What we're facing isn't ordinary. Rico has a shadow army."
Confrontation on the Rooftop
Elsewhere, Alaska climbed the fire escape toward the mansion roof.
There, a figure in black waited part of their face hidden by a metal mask, a long-barreled rifle still smoking in their hands.
"Rico."
Alaska's voice was heavy, tense.
"You finally show yourself."
The figure removed the mask revealing a middle-aged man with dark, wounded eyes.
"You've been hiding too long behind the name Direndra, Al."
"You attack my home, destroy my people, just for the past?"
"Not just the past," Rico replied coldly.
"I attacked to reclaim what should have been mine."
"Yours?" Alaska snorted lightly.
"Your family killed Aksa."
"And who ordered them?" Rico smirked sinisterly.
"You think you're the victim? No, Alaska. You were part of that command yourself."
Alaska froze, staring at him.
"What are you saying?"
Rico pulled a small drive from his jacket pocket and tossed it toward Alaska.
"Open this, and you'll see who the real mastermind is. But be careful the truth can be more toxic than bullets."
Before Alaska could respond, Rico took two steps back and leapt off the roof into a waiting black helicopter below.
Alaska fired but the bullets hit only empty air.
The helicopter shot away, leaving a storm of dust and burning hatred behind.
After the Attack
The flames began to die down.
Bumi and his team secured the area, though several men were severely injured.
Alana approached Alaska, who was still standing on the roof, his eyes blankly staring at the crimson sky.
"You're hurt?" Alana asked softly.
"No." But the blood on his fingertips told a different story.
"Rico gave me something," he said, holding up the small drive.
"He said… the truth is in here."
Alana held his hand gentle but firm.
"Whatever's inside, you're not alone anymore."
For the first time that night, Alaska bowed his head.
He looked at Alana not as someone he had to protect, but as the only reason he hadn't completely fallen apart.
End of Chapter
Kenan appeared from the rooftop door, his face covered in blood but his eyes steadfast.
"We lost three people."
Alaska looked at the drive in his hand and said flatly.
"Tomorrow morning, we open every file in here."
"If Rico wants a war, I'll give him hell."
Alana stared at the red sky above them.
Rain began to fall, bringing a chill that contrasted with the heat in everyone's chest.
And among the rolling thunder, one thing was clear the war had just begun.