The commander's quarters sat in the heart of the compound—a bunker of steel and concrete, relic of a world that refused to die. The hum of old power still lingered in the walls, faint and uneven.
24's boots made almost no sound as he moved through the corridor. The guards posted at the door shifted when he approached, rifles half-raised. But one look at his eyes—cold, unreadable—made them hesitate. They stepped aside.
He entered without knocking.
The commander was hunched over a table littered with maps and radio equipment, lamplight cutting through the smoke curling from the ashtray beside him. His eyes narrowed.
"You don't make a habit of introductions, do you?"24 closed the door behind him."We had a deal."The commander leaned back slowly, studying him.
"A deal?"
"You gave us a place to stay," 24 said evenly. "No surveillance. No interruptions. Yet I found a camera in the ceiling of our training room."
The commander's expression barely shifted, though his fingers drummed once against the table.
"I have a duty to protect this camp. To know who I'm letting in."
"You have a duty to honor your word," 24 replied. His voice was quiet—steady—but it carried a weight that filled the room. "You break that, you lose more than trust."
"I'm not your enemy," the commander said. "But you don't exactly make it easy to feel safe around you."
"Then stop trying," 24 answered. "You don't have to feel safe. You just have to stay honest."
They stared at each other for a long, silent moment. The only sound was the soft hum of the generator in the walls.
Finally, the commander sighed, leaning forward.
"I'll have the camera removed."
"Good," 24 said. "We keep to our side. You keep to yours."
He turned toward the door, the tension hanging heavy in the stale air.
The commander opened his mouth as if to speak again—when the radio on his desk crackled to life, sharp and urgent.
"Commander," a voice barked through static. "We've got a situation—fight just broke out near the west yard!"
The room went still.
The commander's hand froze over the receiver, his eyes narrowing as the signal hissed and popped.
"Repeat that," he said into the mic.
"Multiple people involved—looks bad, sir."
The static swallowed the rest of the words.
The commander exhaled slowly, gaze flicking toward 24—who hadn't moved, standing silent and unreadable in the low light.The air between them thickened.
Then the radio went dead.
And the chapter ended in silence.