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 finds 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 moves to the corner of a right turn near him—
BANG!!
The terrorist fires a shot, but Neil is able to run for cover just in time to avoid being hit. However, the shot's tearing sound resonates 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 lowers 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 corners the terrorist and locks 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!
He shoots the terrorist twice in the head with it.
"..."
Neil steps back and releases the terrorist when he feels no more resistance from him; the terrorist then slides down the wall to the floor, leaving a trail of blood in his wake. This confirms that the terrorist is dead. However, Neil can't relax yet.
He may have eliminated one threat, but he has also created a ton of new ones. Sooner or later, more terrorists will flood into the area because of the loud gunshots, and he needs to act fast and regroup with the others.
Quickly moving his body again, he starts ascending the steps to return to where he left Chad and Saiko.
...
...
...
Rushing back to the top floor as fast as he can, with an AR-15 assault rifle in his hand to fight off any terrorist he encounters, Neil is praying that his two students are still okay.
During his sprint up through the floors, he engages with some more terrorists, the same ones he successfully avoided when coming down earlier.
Fear floods his mind when he thinks of the forcefield machine, knowing it will be the first thing the terrorists will check once they realize there are spies among them. But he doesn't have time to think; he needs to get there ASAP!
He refocuses 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 means all the terrorists on the lower floors will know where he is and start streaming into the area, he doesn't care. He just doesn'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's in isn't just similar—it haunts him. He fears that this plan to infiltrate the terrorist compound will go wrong, and Chad and the others will meet the same fate as his dead comrades in Afghanistan.
That is the real reason Neil didn't want to do this mission in the first place. He's sick of watching his friends die for him. All he's doing now is making sure that none of that will ever happen again.
"Mister Neil?!"
A voice rises from behind, and it's the voice Neil is glad to hear.
"Mister Neil! You came back!"
Just as Neil reaches the top, Chad and Saiko are 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 the—"
"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 needs 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 starts 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 lowers his head slightly, disappointed. He still wants 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 tries to contact Nick through the Walkie-Talkie he carries when they start descending. They've 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 storms out from a left hallway, catching Neil off guard. But even in surprise, Neil reacts fast, dropping into combat stance and raising his AR-15. In just under five seconds, three terrorists hit the ground, dead.
However, before he can catch his breath, five more come charging out from the same hallway. Neil immediately realizes this is no small patrol. He's up against a full squad. And worse, he can't just fight freely. He has Chad and Saiko behind him.
Without wasting a second, Neil reaches for something he almost forgets he has, a device he stole from a terrorist back at the museum. A device that once saved his life.
The terrorists raise their rifles, ready to fire. Neil slaps the button on the armband and thrusts his hand forward.
Instantly, a forcefield blooms out of the device, a shimmering dome with a curved hexagonal pattern, just big enough to cover him, Chad, and Saiko.
The terrorists' bullets slam into the shield, sparking and bouncing off harmlessly. However, Neil knows they can't stay in this narrow hallway forever. If the terrorists manage to circle around and approach them from behind, they'll be cornered in an instant.
"Mister Neil, we need to get out of here!"
"I know! Give me a second!"
Time is running out. Neil's mind races as he evaluates his options. They have to get rid of these terrorists, but the shield is a problem. While it protects them from the front, it also traps them.
He can't shoot, can't fight back. The barrier is a double-edged sword.
He has to find another way out. But where? The building is a labyrinth. He doesn't know where the other exits are. And who, in a skyscraper like this, relies on stairs anyway? There's a good chance the terrorists already set up an ambush on the lower floors.
Neil's mind flashes back to his time in Afghanistan. He can't afford to make another reckless mistake. Life isn't a video game. He doesn't have infinite ammo or energy. Every decision matters, and every second counts.
And worst of all, he's not just worried about himself. He's responsible for two teenagers with no combat experience. Getting them out alive is the priority, but how?
Neil starts to regret going through with this plan. Now they're stuck in a cobra's nest, completely cut off. No support, no backup. He remembers telling Chad they'd pull the plug and escape the moment things went sideways.
But now, even if they want to, they can't. They're too deep in enemy territory. Neil has officially run out of ideas. Still, he keeps 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 chuckles. "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 turns 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 raises an eyebrow. "You think I found you?"
"...What do you mean?" Neil's mind races. None of it makes sense, but Gabriel just keeps talking.
"We didn't find you. None of my men even knew you were here."
"What? Then how—"
"Saiko, what are you doing?"
Neil spins around. What he sees stuns not only him but the terrorists too.
Saiko is pointing his pistol at Chad.
Gabriel smirks. "We know you are here because of your 'comrades'."
"Saiko... don't tell me you're a traitor?"
Saiko looks 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 asks, 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 sharpens as he steps 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 looks Chad dead in the eye.
"But since you failed, I'm just trying to survive before you get us all killed."
He takes a deep breath and continues, 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 physics, Chad... but you know nothing about the laws of society."
"And you!" Saiko turns the gun toward Neil. "Drop your weapons. Turn off the shield."
"Saiko, please don't do this. We can still—"
BANG!
A warning shot explodes into the ceiling.
"DROP YOUR FUCKING WEAPONS AND TURN OFF THE SHIELD!!"
Neil has no choice. No cover, no escape route. Slowly, he sets his rifle on the floor, deactivates the shield, and raises his hands in surrender.
The terrorists, seeing the threat neutralized, stop shooting and begin to approach with confidence, weapons ready but lowered. Saiko turns back to Chad, his expression unreadable.
"Good luck."
It's the last thing Chad hears before Saiko strikes 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.
[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 intensively 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, 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 is right there... but did nothing.