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?
He starts to regret his decision to go with this plan, and now they are stuck in a cobra's nest without any help from the outside.
He remembered telling Chad that they would cease the operation and escape as soon as things starts going sideways.
But now, even if they want to, they can't escape. Neil has finally, run out of ideas, yet he continues to find just a single sight of hope even when it's hopeless, until...
"Wait, no way, no fucking way..."
Out of the blue, a person emerges from the same location, dressed casually in office attire with a tie and some blood stains instead of protective suits like the other terrorists.
As the man with the bushy beard steps out, Neil immediately recognizes him, an "old friend" he never thought he would never wish to meet again.
"Look who it is, my old friend, Neil Phildom. You haven't changed! You even brought young teenagers to die with you like last time!"
"You too, Gabriel. You didn't change either. Still the same attitude, the same job, the same douchebag, and the same beard. You must be missing me so much that you don't even shave your beard!"
"Thanks for your compliment. You know what? I always expect to see you again when I came to America, but I didn't think it would be a coincidence like this. How about we sit down and have a chat like last time?"
Neil turns at his students, who are showing puzzled looks.
"Sorry to disappoint you, Gabriel! I didn't know how you found us, but I and my team will get out of here and we will destroy your plan."
"You said that I found you? You must be mistaken."
"What... do you mean?"
Neil is currently in extreme confusion, as nothing he knows appears to fit together, but Gabriel keeps going.
"We didn't find you, nor any of your team members. Actually, none of us even knows about your presence."
"What? Then how-"
"Saiko, what are you doing?!"
Neil turned back to see what happened, and what he saw also shocked the terrorists.
Saiko is pointing his pistol at Chad.
"We know that you are here, because of your 'teammates'." Gabriel finishes.
"Saiko, don't tell me... you are a traitor?!" Chad asked in bewilderment.
"Have I told you already Chad? You were too naive, you don't understand the real consequences of your choices and actions."
"What are you saying?"
"Neil might have stopped them for now but what happens when we get lower, more and more of them will come to meet us because they already knew where we are, and soon Neil will be overwhelmed, not to say about the ones on the streets with bigger guns and even rockets when we get out of the building."
"But that doesn't mean you have to do this!"
"Do you really think that everybody would have the same thought as you?! How stupid! You didn't know anything about us, about the people who you work with, and that's why the plan failed.
I'm not here for your 'saving New York' shits, I'm here to polish my name, if the plan succeeds, I will be remembered as one of the heroes who save New York and have a chance to make my life better.
But since you failed, all I'm doing is trying to save myself before you get us all killed."
Saiko takes a deep breath.
"The plan would have been successful if everyone were you. But they aren't. You put too much trust in others even on the ones who are your rivals, thinking that they would do what they were told and have responsibility for it.
You understand so much about the laws of nature, but too little about the laws of society."
"And you!"
He points the handgun at Neil.
"Drop your weapons, and turn off the shield."
"Saiko, please don't do this. We could stil-"
BANG!!
Saiko fired a warning shot into the ceiling.
"DROP YOUR FUCKING WEAPONS, AND TURN OFF THE SHIELD!!"
With no other option and unable to escape, Neil chose to surrender. He set aside his weapon, deactivated the shield, and raised his hands.
The terrorists also ceased fire and started marching toward them without concern for Neil retaliating.
Saiko then returns to Chad.
"Good luck."
And it was the last thing Chad heard before Saiko hit him unconscious with the pistol.
-----At the same time at the Weapons Basement-----
"Ben! I'm finished my job! Let's go before they come- Ben?"
Ben is nowhere to be seen. Roy had just acquired a C4 as Ben yelled at him to do so moments after the voice on the speaker emerged, but when Roy went back to find Ben, he was gone.
Roy was left on his own, experiencing a mixture of feelings of dread, confusion, and disbelief, but mainly fear.
[I saw one of them went here!]
The basement door was wide open, allowing anyone outside to see directly inside, so Roy ducked into a dark spot as soon as he heard a man yell in an unknown language.
Roy understands that it was only a matter of time before he was caught when those terrorists arrived and he do nothing.
"Ben where are you?!"
He nonetheless made the decision to ask for help from his classmate. Someone who should have been there who should have watched over him, and who should have been in his rear.
"Stands up!"
But no matter how much hope Roy held, it all vanished when a squad of terrorists enters the basement and spots him. Four of them point their weapons in his direction and threaten to shoot if he disobeys.
"I SAID HANDS UP!!"
Leaving with other choices, he raises his hands and stands up slowly, while looking around in the hope of finding Ben.
Meanwhile, just a few meters behind the basement walls, Ben is lying, hiding, holding his breath, and agonizing in fear and guilt.