Chapter 485: Gone Like A Dream
Ashley’s crew came like the wind, finished the job as quickly as they could, and left just as fast. Like a dream, they were gone.
Those left behind at the cabin simply stared at the now-empty clearing.
No one spoke.
They only looked at the emptiness; even the clutter was gone.
"Huh?"
One of the children sitting beside the dying bonfire looked up.
He squinted as the sun peeked through the clouds.
As rays of sunlight slowly broke through the overcast sky, the distant thrum of helicopter rotors echoed overhead.
The helicopters looked like birds from where they stood, so no one paid them any mind.
Instead, everyone simply looked around.
The towering walls that had greeted them every morning were gone. The screams and barking orders that had served as their daily alarm no longer echoed through the air.
There was only silence.
Soon, the helicopters landed a short distance away.
Men wearing tactical vests, body armor, and agency badges quickly spread throughout the area, tending to the visibly malnourished survivors.
There weren’t many of them, but it was enough.
"Anything?" Julius asked one of the approaching agents.
"Same story," the man replied with a defeated shrug. "A rebellion broke out, everything went wrong, and these people managed to escape. That’s all they’ll say."
"They didn’t tell you anything else?" Julius pressed.
The agent shook his head. "Some of them don’t even remember their own names anymore. All they remember are the numbers they were assigned. We’ll run IDs on those who still know their names and see if we can learn anything."
He stepped closer and lowered his voice.
"Jul, I don’t care whether they’re lying or whether your hunch is right. These people have been through hell." He nodded toward the survivors. "We’re taking them to the hospital first. We can question them after they’re physically and mentally stable."
Julius let out a slow breath as he watched the other agents assist the survivors.
"What a tragedy," the man muttered before glancing back at Julius. "No more wild theories, Jul. It was a rebellion that got out of hand. Leave these people out of it."
He leaned in slightly. "And besides... even if another force attacked this place, they’d deserve a medal for it."
"You don’t understand." Julius frowned. "Every base we’ve seized since yesterday has been connected to the Di Carpio mafia. If another organization is wiping them out, it could ignite an underground war."
His expression darkened. "And if those bastards start fighting... innocent civilians will die."
Besides, they had already seen the aerial images.
The destruction didn’t look like a fire that spread from the ground. It looked as though someone had obliterated the compound from the air.
"We’ll know once we finish clearing the site."
Julius looked at him. "You’ll see," he said. "Soon enough, they’ll find missile casings."
The other agent simply shrugged and patted him on the shoulder.
It wasn’t that he thought Julius was wrong. It was just that very few people would lose sleep over a mafia stronghold being destroyed.
Another sigh escaped Julius as his gaze drifted back to the survivors. Some of the children looked about Elliot’s age.
"Maybe..." he whispered as he studied their condition. "It wasn’t entirely a bad thing."
"Julius." Another agent hurried over. "We’ve got clearer aerial photos of the compound. Take a look at this."
He held out a tablet.
Julius studied the image of the pulverized base. His brows slowly knitted together as he pulled the tablet closer.
Then he looked up at the agent. The man gave him a grim nod.
"You were right," he said. "This wasn’t a rebellion."
"It was an attack."
The two stared silently at the screen.
Now that the smoke had begun to clear, the true extent of the destruction was visible. The compound had been reduced to rubble. But what caught their attention wasn’t the devastation.
It was the pattern.
The scorched craters and collapsed structures formed something unmistakable.
A skull.
The blackened impact zones resembled hollow eyes and an open mouth, while the surrounding ash formed the outline of the face.
It could have been a coincidence, but coincidences didn’t leave signatures.
Julius slowly exhaled. "It’s Ghost."
"But why?" the other agent blurted out. "Ghost and Marshal Di Carpio were allies. Do you think they had a falling-out?"
"Maybe." Julius never took his eyes off the screen.
"But whatever happened..." His voice turned quiet. "It was personal."
*****
Meanwhile...
Ashley and her crew left the country aboard the same helicopter they had arrived in.
Since they couldn’t take the rescued prisoners with them, they had sent them elsewhere. Ashley had already arranged for someone to meet them at the port where they would eventually arrive.
Five hours later, the helicopter landed in a neighboring country.
Now they were riding inside a van, heading toward another safe house where they planned to rest before deciding their next move.
Seated in the front passenger seat, Ashley frowned as she lowered her phone from her ear.
"What is wrong with him?" she muttered. "He’s not answering."
Khan glanced at her from behind the wheel. "Try calling Gustav. He might pick up."
"Why would I call Gustav when I’m trying to reach my husband?" Ashley shot back, her expression souring. "Duh? Of course I’ve already called him. Lukas too. Neither of them is answering."
She clicked her tongue before trying Lucian’s number once more. The call failed again, and her irritation only grew.
"Did something happen to them?" she murmured, then she frowned even harder. "I swear, if something happened to him and I come home a widow, I’m going to curse him every single day."
Khan raised an eyebrow before returning his attention to the road.
As Ashley continued muttering under her breath—equal parts annoyed and worried—something else lingered in his mind.
"By the way..." he said.
Ashley stopped redialing and looked at him.
"Why did you tell me to focus on only a few specific points in the compound?"
She had deliberately instructed him to concentrate the missile strikes on certain locations.
"Ah..." Ashley leaned back in her seat and looked out the window.
The scenery had become nothing but dense forest as they drove deeper into a secluded area.
"I was giving the operation a name," she said.
Khan frowned. "A name?"
"Mhm." She turned to him with a faint smile. "So nobody interferes."