Lisa stepped out of the car, accompanied by A. The soft glow of nearby streetlights cast a shimmering sheen on her Camry's sleek exterior. The atmosphere was almost dreamlike, standing in the heart of one of the most heavily fortified financial districts, on the brink of infiltrating a high-security building alongside a stranger wielding what appeared to be a military-grade weapon.

With practiced ease, A took the lead, his movements fluid and confident, like someone who had done this countless times before. As they neared the entrance, Lisa caught sight of the security personnel in the lobby. One guard was seated at a desk, engrossed in paperwork, while the other stood by the entrance, idly scanning the street.

So far, they were unnoticed. The street was dimly lit, but not entirely dark; the guards seemed too weary to pay much attention to their surroundings. Lisa and A quickly took cover behind a stone pillar near the glass entrance doors. They could easily incapacitate the guard and charge directly to the 57th floor, but doing so would undoubtedly trigger heightened security measures upstairs.

Then again, would their situation really change once they got into the elevator? They'd still be vulnerable targets, but A's heavy armor seemed formidable enough to withstand a variety of ballistic attacks. Indeed, the majority of his upper body was encased in thick, armor plating.

"Do we go around to the parking garage entrance, or do we just walk right in? They don't seem to be armed," A inquired.

"Let's just walk right in," Lisa replied.

"Sounds good to me. Follow my lead," A said, stepping out from behind the concrete pillar.

With his machine gun at the ready, A moved toward the sliding glass doors. Just as they began to part, he fired two expertly aimed shots. Each bullet found its mark, instantly killing both security guards before the doors had even fully opened. Lisa trailed closely behind him, stepping into the lobby.

Both Lisa and A dashed into the nearest elevator, barely a beat ahead of the echoing gunshots that filled the air. Lisa wondered if the building even had a security system capable of detecting such a disturbance. Sure, it was a commercial space full of rentable offices, but it was hardly a criminal lair. Why had A brought a machine gun? Unless it was intended for the security personnel on the 57th floor.

As they rose, the elevator's atmosphere was incongruously filled with the mellow notes of soft jazz, creating a surreal contrast to the adrenaline-pumping events that had just transpired. A was clearly no rookie; the deft way he'd wielded the PK machine gun against the guards spoke volumes.

Finally breaking the silence, Lisa queried, "Are you affiliated with the USRC?"

A replied in a curt tone, "That's not your concern."

Lisa shrugged her shoulders, lightening the mood. "Just making conversation, A. No need to be so serious," she said as the elevator steadily climbed.

The ride concluded with a soft "ping," and the elevator doors glided open. Directly ahead, two people were aimlessly wandering among a maze of office cubicles. At the sound of the elevator's arrival, they paused, turning their attention toward Lisa and A.

With swift precision, Lisa raised her rifle and fired two shots, each one finding its mark. Both individuals slumped to the ground, lifeless.

A looked at her, impressed. "Not bad," he remarked.

Lisa was the first to step onto the floor, immediately seeking the nearest cover. She had recognized her targets; these were not your run-of-the-mill security guards. Who wore casual attire while wielding submachine guns? According to the building's layout, they were in the section designated for upper-level staff, and the CEO's office lay just across the floor, accessible through hallways on either side of the elevator.

The hallways ahead were dim and unwelcoming, their shadowy lengths punctuated by artwork that now felt grotesquely out of place. Catching her eye was the cold, metallic gleam of incoming forces. The black-clad figures approaching them were difficult to discern from the shadows themselves. This was clearly not just a security detail; it was a high-threat response team armed with gear that was a cut above standard issue.

The guards sported full-faced, matte black helmets with slightly reflective visors, eliminating any trace of emotion. Their bodies were protected by overlapping ceramic plate armor, engineered to withstand high-caliber ammunition. These weren't the uniforms of mere security personnel; they were specialized, likely military-grade. The way they gripped their compact submachine guns, equipped with suppressors and reflex sights, spoke of rigorous training and discipline, or in other words, spec-ops.

From her position, Lisa saw at least one guard down each hallway and surmised there would be additional forces guarding the CEO's office. They moved in pairs, each one covering the other's back with a level of coordination that could only come from rigorous training.

"Contact!" One of the guards yelled as his eyes met Lisa's.

Wasting no time, Lisa unleashed a burst of bullets from her assault rifle, targeting the guard's knee. He dropped to the ground, howling in agony. Quickly shifting her aim to his vulnerable, unarmored lower body, she let loose another spray of bullets until he lay still. His high-tech, ballistic visor had done little to save him.

A took up a position near the corner of the other hallway. "Engaging targets!" he called out, his weapon spewing 7.62x54mm rounds at the oncoming guards. Lisa seized the moment, sprinting down her chosen hallway with her rifle aimed ahead. She quickly ducked behind one of the ornamental pillars lining the walls, using it as cover.

"Our radios are jammed!" shouted one of the mercenaries, his voice tinged with desperation.

As Lisa hunkered down behind the pillar, poised to fire, A lobbed a grenade down the length of the opposite hallway. The sound of it clattering across the floor reached her ears, and she braced for the impending blast. The explosion went off with a deafening roar, shattering the glass walls of the CEO's office. Miraculously, the computer on the far side of the room remained untouched.

Seizing the moment, Lisa bolted down the hallway while the guards were still disoriented from the blast. Reaching the end, she encountered five guards sprawled out on the floor, victims of the grenade's shrapnel and concussive force. To ensure they posed no further risk, Lisa methodically placed a single bullet in each of their heads. She had neutralized the immediate threat, making it safer—for the moment—for her and A to proceed.

"That was almost too easy," Lisa remarked, bending down to inspect one of the fallen guards.

None of them carried any identification, but their gear was a patchwork of various military-grade items—MP5s, MP7s, AR-15s and other weapons lay scattered next to their lifeless bodies. This assortment led Lisa to suspect that these weren't mafia enforcers but more likely hired mercenaries.

A set his PK machine gun down on a table and began interfacing with a computer. "I'm going to hack into their system. While I do that, why don't you go through their gear? You might find something useful. Just toss anything you want to keep into your backpack. It'll go straight into your personal inventory."

With that, A turned his attention to hacking, and Lisa began the grim task of sifting through the belongings of the recently deceased, wondering what else they might uncover in this increasingly complex situation.

The dim lighting, punctuated by the occasional flicker of broken lights overhead, cast an eerie glow over the scene. A's device emitted soft clicks and beeps as he worked to infiltrate the building's security system. Lisa moved methodically from guard to guard, rifling through their gear.

The first guard had an MP5, which she quickly added to her backpack. The second yielded a leather pouch filled with various foreign currencies and a security ID card. The pockets of the third contained a high-end multitool and a set of keys that likely unlocked various doors in the building. One of the guards sported a tattoo on his wrist: a snake wrapped around a dagger, a symbol unfamiliar to Lisa.

Upon reaching the last fallen operative, Lisa noticed his helmet seemed undamaged by the recent skirmish. She took off her own ULACH helmet and replaced it with the high-tech one equipped with a ballistic visor. It was clearly of superior quality and likely far more expensive. She also grabbed the guard's military-grade radio, anticipating it might come in handy.

Just then, a chilling transmission broke through—not from the radio she'd just acquired, but as though someone were speaking directly into her ear.

“Attention all officer, we have report of gunfire on Luminaris Office Tower. Sending officers to investigate.”

[⋆⋆ | 2-Star Threat Level]

“Right, I heard the sirens already,” A commented as he typed.

“You’re too calm for what we’ll face,” Lisa rolled her eyes.

A unplugged a hard drive from the computer. “We got what we come for, let’s exfil.”

“Lead the way.”