A helicopter touched down on the airport runway, where a sleek private jet waited with its engines softly humming.
As the rotors slowed, Kelly Kingston led Alex across the tarmac.
Her posture was poised, her gaze focused.
"The old man''s already inside," Kelly said, her tone calm yet purposeful.
Around the jet, Kingswell personnel snapped to attention, saluting Alex.
One young recruit, stared in awe, still grappling with rumors that Alex was an elite figure in the organization-handpicked by the King himself.
And there stood Kelly, the so-called "Cold Goddess of Kingswell."
Her brilliance and beauty wer the stuff of legends, making her the dream of many
men.
The young recruit wasn''t immune-his secret stash of Kelly''s photographs, carefully clipped from online newspapers and magazines, was proof enough.
And he wasn''t the only one.
Inside the jet, Alex found the old man resting on a makeshift hospital bed.
Although the man''s face was peaceful, Alex knew the stillness belied his
true
condition.
"He''s improving," Alex murmured, though frustration flickered in his eyes.
Despite all his skill, he couldn''t heal the man. The reality was humbling: the old man was at a higher level than Alex.
Alex had lingered at Level 99 for three years, seemingly blocked by an invisible barrier.
Months ago, his master the immortal sage said, "Go to Vancouver. You''ll meet your wife and find the old guard who holds your
secret.''
So, Alex had gone, only to have that marriage fall apart. Now herey the old guard himself, unconscious and frail.
The ne''s engines roared as it took off into the night sky.
Alex ced his hand on the man''s arm once again, trying to channel his energy.
But it felt as though the old man''s body was an endless void, soaking up every bit of Alex''s strength without returning any sign
of progress.
For an hour, Alex refused to quit, each minute draining him further.
A bead of sweat slipped down his forehead-then a gentle hand swept it away.
"You need to rest," a soft voice said.
He turned to see Kelly, her icy demeanor thawed by genuine concern.
He blinked, caught off-guard. "Why do you care about me?"
Herposure returned with a snap, her gaze turning cial again.
"You''re my boss," she replied, stepping back.
She paused, half-turned away. "Sir, are you sure you want to save him?" she asked quietly. "It could be dangerous."
"He''s the only link to my past," Alex said, exhaling slowly.
18
"Sometimes," Kelly murmured, a flicker of sadness crossing her features, "it''s better to forget."
Alex shook his head. "Without my past, I''m just a ghost." He studied Kelly''s face.
"Do you know something about me? Something you''re not telling me?"
Her expression went rigid. "No," she said firmly.
But he could sense the lié.
Just then, an explosion rocked the ne, followed by a yiolent shudder.
Over the inte, the pilot''s voice rang out, tense and urgent: "We''re under attack by an unidentified aircraft! Please secure yourselves; we''re taking evasive action."
shes of light and thunderous booms rattled the fusge.
Kelly hurried to lock the old man''s bed in ce while Alex strode through the chaos without bothering to buckle in, as if turbulence meant nothing to him.
Another detonation shook the jet, causing the lights to flicker.
Kelly braced herself, one hand gripping the bed frame.
Alex kept moving, he slipped into the ne''s rear section, checking the live camera feed.
A ck aircraft, barely visible against the dark sky, wasunching a barrage of missiles.
The Kingswell jet''s countermeasures sprang into action, intercepting some rockets in dazzling bursts, but others rocked them
hard.
"That''s no ordinary ne," Alex muttered, eyes narrowed. "It''s military-grade." From inside the cabin, the tension was palpable.
Sparks showered from overhead panels, and the engines groaned ominously.
elly, keeping herposure, made sure each recruit was strapped in, then met Alex''s gaze across the dim, shing cabin.
"What now?" she shouted above the roar.
Alex nced at the feed again. "We can''t outrun it. This ne has maybe five minutes left before we''re done."
A fresh hit shook the aircraft. rms red, and emergency lights flickered.
"Grab the survival gear and prepare to bail!" Alex ordered. "We''re abandoning ship.''
Kelly wavered, her usual chill cracking with a flicker of concern. "You''re not staying behind-
"I''ll buy time," he said, voice hard. "Get him"-he nodded to the old man-
She opened her mouth in protest, then thought better of it.
"to safety. That''s an order."
"Understood." Her eyes burned with frustration and respect as she pivoted to the old man''s bedside.
Alex pushed his way to the cockpit, where the pilots fought to keep the ne steady.
cing a steadying hand on the lead pilot''s shoulder, he said, “Take us down to jump altitude. Once the crew''s out, I''ll handle the rest."
The pilot nodded, beads of sweat glistening on his brow.
Another round of missiles tore into the tail section, jolting everyone forward.
"Start evacuating now!" Alex yelled, ncing at the pilot. "You too"
"But" the pilot began to protest.
"I''ll handle the ne while you evacuate!" Alex interrupted firmly
"Sir-"
"This is an order!" Alex snapped.
"Yes, sir!" the pilot responded, reluctantly obeying.
Alex gripped the controls tightly, adrenaline surging through his veins.
"If this is where it ends," he muttered under his breath, "then I''m taking that damn
ne down with me."
In the main cabin, chaos ruled as the team prepared to jump.
Alex''s voice cut through the mor onest time, resolute andmanding:
"Go! Now!"
And with that, they began to exit into the swirling darkness-each of them knowing
that this might be their final mission, each cing their trust in the man who refused to let them fall.
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