“Still here,” Dave rasped, rolling to one knee. He squeezed off another round, the recoil jarring through his arm.
The camp was chaos now—Tatum’s men breaking formation, some scattering, others firing blind into the storm.
But Genesis didn’t scatter. They closed in, methodical, ruthless, pushing Tatum’s forces into the open.
Through the smoke, Dave caught a flash of movement—Tatum himself, retreating toward the far ridge.
“Stone—”
“I see him.”
They locked eyes across the chaos, the understanding instant.
Time to finish this.
Dave rose from cover, Stone matching his step for step. Together they advanced through the wreckage and fire, thedesert burning around them, the mission narrowing to one clear point—
Find Tatum.
End it.
Over the crest of the rise, Dave spotted Tatum and Viper locked in brutal hand-to-hand combat.
“Shit,” Winter hissed, moving forward.
Dave threw an arm out, stopping him. “I think this is one fight Viper needs.”
“Agreed,” Stone said beside him—voice low, steady—but his rifle was already up, ready if things went south.
Viper drove a heavy fist straight into Tatum’s mouth, dropping him hard. Dust and heat exploded around them. Tatum hit the ground grinning, his smile red with blood.
He rolled, lunged low, trying to sweep Viper’s legs. Viper dodged clean and countered—a brutal roundhouse to the gut. Tatum folded, air blasting from his lungs, and Viper’s next strike caught him square beneath the chin.
Tatum hit the ground hard.
Out cold.
Viper stood over Tatum’s prone body, chest heaving.
He spat blood into the dirt beside the man’s head, then turned toward where Stone and Dave stood a few paces back.
“Gun!” Sage shouted, voice cutting through the chaos.
Stone’s rifle cracked an instant later—sharp, close enough to jolt Dave’s nerves. Viper spun, weapon up.
“Fuck.”
He would’ve been too late anyway.
Tatum jerked back from the hit, blood blooming across his chest as the gun slipped from his hand. When he hit the dirt, the sand drank deep, turning dark beneath him. His eyes stayed open—empty, fixed on Stone—as the light bled out.
“He was aiming for Viper’s back,” Sage said, motioning toward where Tatum had fallen.
Stone gave a short nod. “You did good.”
Soldiers jogged down the embankment, boots sliding in the loose sand. The lead man knelt beside Tatum, pressed two fingers to his neck, and shook his head.
“He’s gone,” the soldier called.
