Neil continues making his way down, gathering information from as many floors as he can, doing a good job, up until...
[Hey!]
While walking down a hallway, he comes across another terrorist. Dressed in a filthy, stinking suit, Neil tries to move past him quietly, hoping to avoid attention. But the terrorist still notices him.
[Why are you here?]
The man asks in an unfamiliar language. After a few seconds of silence, the terrorist starts to realize something.
"Are you one of the voluntary Americans? Which unit are you with?"
Neil stays completely still, saying nothing, not even turning to look at him.
"I repeat, which unit are you with?!"
Neil immediately understands, this is no longer a casual question. The situation has turned dangerous. If he refuses to respond or keeps ignoring the terrorist, it will definitely lead to violence.
Even though Neil possesses outstanding combat skills, he has no interest in starting a fight right now. Especially not when the terrorist is armed, and when staying low is still his top priority.
So, Neil decides to give in and slowly turns around. The terrorist, startled by Neil's careful movement, tightens his grip on the rifle and braces himself.
"..."
"..."
But nothing happens. The two just stand there, staring at each other, until Neil finally opens his mouth.
"I'm—"
A man's voice blares from a nearby speaker mounted in the corner, the announcement echoing across the entire floor. When the voice fades, the two are left in an awkward, frozen standoff, both now fully aware of the situation.
To the terrorist, the man in front of him is acting suspiciously, just like the spy the voice mentioned.
To Neil, this means that his team has been caught, and right before him is an armed terrorist who would immediately attack him the moment he found out Neil's true identity.
And now, both of them are waiting for the other to make the first move.
"..."
The terrorist grabs and aims his rifle at Neil, in response, Neil instantly moved to the corner of a right turn near him—
BANG!!
The terrorist fired a shot, but Neil was able to run for cover just in time to avoid being hit. However, the shot's tearing sound resonated throughout the building's floors.
[Floor 80! Floor 80! I repeat, a spy is on Floor 80! I need assistance immediately!]
The terrorist then takes the Walkie-Talkie and calls his commander to ask for help, but in a few seconds of doing so, he has lowered his gun just enough for Neil to jump out of the corner and seize it.
He grabs and pulls the rifle's handguard so that the barrel points away from him, and now they are both fighting each other with the terrorist unable to use his gun.
In this battle to the death, Neil cornered the terrorist and locked him by placing the terrorist's gun under his crotch and pushing the terrorist against the wall with his left hand.
Neil then reaches into his right pocket and pulls out a Glock G17 pistol with his free hand.
BANG! BANG!
And shot the terrorist twice in the head with it.
Neil stepped back and released the terrorist when he felt no more resistance from him; the terrorist then slid down the wall to the floor, leaving a trail of blood in his wake.
This confirmed that the terrorist was dead. However, Neil couldn't relax yet.
He may have eliminated one threat, but he had also created a ton of new ones. Sooner or later, more terrorists would flood into the area because of the loud gunshots, and he needed to act fast and regroup with the others.
Quickly moving his body again, he started ascending the steps to return to where he had left Chad and Saiko.
—— A few minutes later ——
Rushing back to the top floor as fast as he could, with an AR-15 assault rifle in his hand to fight off any terrorist he encountered, Neil was praying that his two students were still okay.
During his sprint up through the floors, he engaged with some more terrorists — the same ones he had successfully avoided when coming down earlier.
Fear flooded his mind when he thought of the forcefield machine, knowing it would be the first thing the terrorists would check once they knew there were spies among them.
But he doesn't have time to think — he needs to get there ASAP!
He refocused on killing the terrorists standing in his way, slaughtering them without mercy and filling the dark, silent floors of the Empire State Building at night with gunfire and flashes.
Even if it meant all the terrorists on the lower floors would know where he was and start streaming into the area, he didn't care.He just didn't want to repeat a mistake from his past.
It happened during his service in Afghanistan — during a secret infiltration mission just like this one.Back then, he thought everything would be easy because he had talent.But because of his miscalculations and selfishness, his entire squad was killed.
And right now, the situation he was in wasn't just similar — it haunted him.
He feared that this plan to infiltrate the terrorist compound would go wrong, and Chad and the others would meet the same fate as his dead comrades in Afghanistan.
That was the real reason Neil didn't want to do this mission in the first place; he was sick of watching his friends die for him.All he was doing now was making sure that none of that would ever happen again.
"Mister Neil?!"
A voice rose from behind — and it was the voice Neil was glad to hear.
"Mister Neil! You came back!"
Just as Neil reached the top, Chad and Saiko were hiding in a corner, gripping their handguns.
"Are you OK? Any injuries?"
"No, we're fine. We just came down a few minutes ago when the speaker—"
"Yeah, I know that. Are you done with the research?!"
"Yes— I mean, we did learn enough. We couldn't study the machine entirely, but we're sure that blowing it up won't cause any further damage because the machine works by itself and the electricity is only used to kick-start th—"
"Good! That's all I need to know. Let's go! We got no time to waste."
He's right.The longer they stay in this place, the more vulnerable — and the more dangerous — it becomes.Neil only needed to know two things: that the two of them are safe, and that they have the information they need.
Now, from 80 floors above the ground, he started escorting them down, passing the dead bodies of terrorists lying along the way.
"Once I get you two to Nick, he'll make sure you're safe. Then, I'll go find Ben and Roy and escort them out — and take the timed bomb they found... that is, if they found one.After that, I'll go and blow up the machine myself."
"But..."
"Don't worry about me. I can do this. I'm the guy who saved you all from the terrorists, remember?"
"Okay... but how did they even know about us?"
"I don't know. They didn't catch me or you guys, right?"
"Yeah, but... could it be that Ben and Roy have been exposed?!"
"It could be. If that's the case, the mission's over. But I still have to get you two out first."
Chad lowered his head slightly, disappointed.He still wanted to blow the place up — to get revenge for the innocent people, and for his friend.
-"Nick, do you copy? Hello? Nick, do you COPY?!"
Neil tried to contact Nick through the Walkie-Talkie he carried when they started descending.They had already made it down about three floors.
Nick should be waiting outside, keeping an eye on the building all night — ready to create a diversion if needed.But right now, nothing. No response.
-"Fuck! NICK, DO YOU HEAR ME?!"
"What's happening?"
"I don't know! I can't reach Nick. He should've been helping us out of here! Is this fucking radio broken?!"
"Mister Neil, WATCH OUT!!"
"Huh? Shit!"
A group of terrorists suddenly stormed out from a left hallway, catching Neil off guard.
But even in surprise, Neil reacted fast — dropping into combat stance and raising his AR-15.In just under five seconds, three terrorists hit the ground, dead.
However, before he could catch his breath, five more came charging out from the same hallway.
Neil immediately realized — this was no small patrol.He was up against a full squad, and worse — he couldn't just fight freely. He had Chad and Saiko behind him.
An impossible fight if he didn't change the game fast.
Without wasting a second, Neil reached for something he almost forgot he had — a device he had stolen from a terrorist back at the museum. A device that once saved his life.
The terrorists raised their rifles, ready to fire.
Neil slapped the button on the armband and thrust his hand forward.
Instantly, a forcefield bloomed out of the device — a shimmering dome with a curved hexagonal pattern, just big enough to cover him, Chad, and Saiko.
The terrorists' bullets slammed into the shield, sparking and bouncing off harmlessly.
However, Neil knew they couldn't stay in this narrow hallway forever. If the terrorists managed to circle around and approach them from behind, they'd be cornered in an instant.
"Mister Neil, we need to get out of here!"
"I know! Give me a second!"
Time was running out. Neil's mind raced as he evaluated his options. They had to get rid of these terrorists, but the shield was a problem — while it protected them from the front, it was also trapping them.
He couldn't shoot, couldn't fight back. The barrier was a double-edged sword.
He had to find another way out. But where?
The building was a labyrinth. He didn't know where the other exits were. And who, in a skyscraper like this, would rely on stairs anyway? There was a good chance the terrorists had already set up an ambush on lower floors.
Neil's mind flashed back to his time in Afghanistan — he couldn't afford to make another reckless mistake. Life wasn't a video game. He didn't have infinite ammo or energy. Every decision mattered, and every second counted.
And worst of all, he wasn't just worried about himself. He was responsible for two teenagers with no combat experience. Getting them out alive was the priority — but how?
Neil starts to regret going through with this plan. Now they were stuck in a cobra's nest, completely cut off, no support, no backup.
He remembered telling Chad they'd pull the plug and escape the moment things went sideways.
But now, even if they wanted to, they couldn't. They were too deep in enemy territory. Neil had officially run out of ideas. Still, he kept looking for even the smallest sliver of hope, anything to keep them going, until…
"Wait… no way. No fucking way..."
From the same hallway the terrorists came from, a new figure appeared. Not in combat gear, but dressed casually in office attire, blood-stained shirt, and a loosely hanging tie.
The moment Neil laid eyes on that bushy beard, he knew exactly who it was.
An "old friend." The last person he ever wanted to see again.
"Look who it is," the man said with a smug grin. "Neil Phildom. Still alive, huh? Dragging teenagers to their deaths again, just like last time."
"You too, Gabriel," Neil spat. "Still the same arrogant bastard. Same job, same attitude, same filthy beard. What, miss me so much you didn't bother to shave?"
Gabriel chuckled. "Aww, thanks for the compliment. You know, I always figured we'd meet again once I came to America. Didn't expect it to be like this though. How about we sit down and have a nice little chat, like old times?"
Neil turned to his students, both of them showing puzzled looks.
"Sorry to disappoint you, Gabriel. I don't know how you found us, but me and my team are getting out of here. And we're going to destroy whatever plan you're running."
Gabriel raised an eyebrow. "You think I found you? You're mistaken."
"...What do you mean?"
Neil's mind raced. None of this made sense. But Gabriel just kept talking.
"We didn't find you. None of my men even knew you were here."
"What? Then how—"
"Saiko, what are you doing?"
Neil spun around. What he saw stunned not only him but the terrorists too.
Saiko was pointing his pistol at Chad.
Gabriel smirked. "We knew you were here because of your teammates."
"Saiko... don't tell me you're a traitor?" Chad stammered, shocked.
Saiko looked coldly at him. "I told you already, Chad. You're too naive. You don't understand the real consequences of your choices or your actions."
"What are you saying?" Chad asked, his voice shaking.
"Neil might have held them off for now, but what happens when we get lower? More and more of them will come. They already know where we are, and soon Neil will be overwhelmed. Not to mention the ones waiting outside, with bigger guns and even rockets. What do you think happens when we try to leave the building?"
"But that doesn't mean you have to do this!"
"Do you really think everyone thinks like you? How stupid. You know nothing about us, about the people you work with. That's why the plan failed."
Saiko's voice sharpened as he stepped forward.
"I'm not here for your 'saving New York' crap. I'm here to polish my name. If the plan worked, I'd be remembered as a hero, one of the people who saved this city. Maybe I'd finally get a chance to turn my life around."
He looked Chad dead in the eye.
"But since you failed, I'm just trying to survive before you get us all killed."
He took a deep breath and continued, colder than before.
"The plan could've worked—if everyone were like you. But they're not. You trust too easily. You believe rivals will act responsibly just because they're told to. You understand the laws of nature, Chad... but you know nothing about the laws of people."
"And you!"Saiko turned the gun toward Neil."Drop your weapons. Turn off the shield."
"Saiko, please don't do this. We can still—"
BANG!A warning shot exploded into the ceiling.
"DROP YOUR FUCKING WEAPONS AND TURN OFF THE SHIELD!!"
Neil had no choice. No cover, no escape route. Slowly, he set his rifle on the floor, deactivated the shield, and raised his hands in surrender.
The terrorists, seeing the threat neutralized, stopped shooting and began to approach with confidence, weapons ready but lowered.
Saiko turned back to Chad, his expression unreadable.
"Good luck."
It was the last thing Chad heard before Saiko struck him across the head with the pistol grip, knocking him out cold.
At the same time, in the Weapons Basement...
"Ben! I'm done with my part! Let's go before they—"
Roy froze mid-sentence. Ben was gone.
He'd just grabbed the C4, hearing Ben shout at him to hurry up after the voice on the speaker echoed through the building. But now, when he turned to find Ben, he was nowhere to be seen.
Roy stood there, the C4 in his hands, a knot of dread forming in his stomach. Fear gnawed at him—Ben was gone. Left behind. Alone.
Then he heard it.[I saw one of them go here!]
The basement door hung wide open, and Roy instinctively ducked into a dark corner as the shout rang out in an unfamiliar language. His heart pounded in his chest.
The situation was escalating. It was only a matter of time before the terrorists reached him, and if they did... there would be no escape.
"Ben... where the hell are you?!" he whispered to himself, trying to steady his breathing. But the words seemed useless against the tension mounting in his chest. Time was running out.
He still chose to call out for help—to the one person who was supposed to have his back. The one who should've been there. The one who should've watched over him.
"Stand up!"
But hope vanished the second a squad of terrorists stormed into the basement and spotted him. Four rifles snapped in his direction.
"I SAID HANDS UP!!"
With no way out, Roy slowly raised his hands. His eyes darted around, desperate to catch even a glimpse of Ben. Maybe he was nearby. Maybe he'd help.
But just a few meters away, hidden behind a concrete wall, Ben lay frozen—curled up, silent, holding his breath. Fear gripped him, and guilt tore at his insides. He couldn't move. He couldn't look.
He was right there... but he stayed hidden.