Sancho's message echoed through all the communication channels, it reached me with a mix of relief and concern. How can he allow himself to be shot? How did he lose all those men after we had warned him that the Contractor’s men were on their way? Couldn’t he have laid an ambush? What happened to attacking the men in a diamond formation after using a bombing device? All these questions ran through my head, and it gave me great concern because we lost very good men.

Larry and I were pleased with the report of Sancho's successful defense against the Contractor's men, but the cost of victory was evident in the toll it took on the Martinez Gang. Sancho had not given us what men were left, but he had said it took almost all of them.

"Sancho! Sancho! How bad were you hit?" I asked. I wanted him to know I was going to get his family for him, and that he had to hang in there as I did not like the sound of his voice. "Sancho, please talk to me," I said.

"Kill the bastard and get my family for me, Cassie, promise me you will do that," he said.

"I give my word before today gives birth to another day. The contractor is going down, and your family will be with you. Nothing is stopping that from happening,” I said with some certain form of assurance.

Sancho's detailed report on the intense firefight that unfolded at his location made me annoyed. He was shot, and could not protect his men with whatever strategy he had used. I thought he had been emotional about the whole thing.

The loss of several gang members and Sancho's own injury cast a somber shadow over the atmosphere, emphasizing the sacrifices made in their relentless pursuit to get the Contractor. I reached out for my phone.

"Sancho, you did well. We'll get you the medical attention you need," I assured him as my voice projected a sense of determination amidst the challenges we faced.

“Thank you, Cassie,” Sancho said, his voice growing weaker as we spoke.

“Can your men hear me, Sancho?” I asked.

“Yes, they are all on the channel,” he replied.

My mind was already strategizing our future plans and next moves. I said over the radio, "We will expose the Contractor's operations and let the world see the atrocities everyone associated with the Contractor has committed. We fight not just for ourselves but for everyone killed by the Contractor, just to get what he wants."

The gang members, despite the losses suffered, rallied behind my words. I could hear their cheers even in their pain. We had before been formulating a plan to expose the Contractor on a global scale and I know that after now, there will be a lot of discussions, as we hope to be displaying a united front against the common enemy.

The battle against the Contractor had entered a critical phase, and the gang was determined to emerge victorious, no matter the sacrifices required. We had just witnessed one victory after executing our first move. Now it is left to me and Larry to complete the puzzle and do what was necessary.

Standing by my side, Larry added, "We need to regroup and strengthen our defenses. The Contractor won't stop until we are all taken down for good."

"We do not need any reinforcement, Larry. I told them they did not have the skills or what it took to face the Contractor or do you guys think I was joking? Today we will take down that fool,” I said in annoyance.

"Okay, Cassie, I trust you know what you are doing, but please be careful and remember you are with child," Larry said.

"If you don't stop reminding me that I am pregnant, I will shoot you first," I said.

"I am sorry boss, I got your back," was his reply and we both laughed.

I called Marvin, who had somewhat waited for any type of news as he had been left in the dark.

"Cassie, are you alright?" His voice was shaky, and I knew it showed that he was nervous.

"Marvin, please you need to get to Sancho and take him to Doctor Jake, he has been shot. Please hurry," I said. I needed Sancho alive. I wanted him to see his family. I had given him that assurance, and I was going to fulfill it as I wanted to see the smile on his face when he unites with his family.

"Okay, my love. I will do just that," he said.

Just as he was about to hang up the phone, I called out, "Marvin, I want you to relax okay, I am not dying today. The only person dying today is the Contractor."

For the sake of the twins in my womb, I knew I had to either kill the contractor or die trying. They were not going to have a great future with him being around and tormenting me at every stage of their growth.

The night was cloaked in darkness as Larry and I executed our plan, a daring assault on the Contractor's training facility. We had counted the men and the entrance. We would have to take out the men one after the other with either knives or silencers.

It was two against thirty-five, and we had planned to place a bomb and black oil on all three exits so that no one of them would escape our onslaught. We knew we did not need to make any mistakes in our plan. If not, we would be facing thirty-five guns to our two.

When it was time for us to move, I placed every weapon I needed for the operation as Larry watched on. Knives here and there, packs of bullets in eight bullet pouches around my waist, guns hanging from my shoulders, and two tied to my laps.

“Isn’t that too heavy for you? Are you sure you would move easily with that?” asked Larry, showing some concern.

Larry was just being overly careful, and I always loved him for that. Yes, I was carrying too many things as I was already with two babies inside of me, but today I will carry every burden and every weight until the weight after our lives is no longer on us.

“You had better be in your fast mode today. I do not want you slowing us down and if you do slow me down, I am leaving you behind,” I said.

“You do not mean that Cassie, that I am sure,” he said.

“Try me and see,” I said, smiling as we hugged for a long moment, encouraging each other with unspoken words but smiles that just showed how far we had come.

Stealthily moving through the shadows, our precise and lethal actions left a trail of subdued enemies in their wake. They did not see us coming, and we did not intend to change that. One after the other, all three guards and six watchmen were dead.

The element of surprise, coupled with our unparalleled skills, turned the tide in favor of Larry and me. It was that simple, we were either stabbing and gunning down every man as we accessed their rooms or their watching positions.

The training ground, once a hub of clandestine activities, became a battlefield where I and Larry systematically incapacitated the Contractor's recruits. The echoing sounds of suppressed gunfire and the occasional clash of hand-to-hand combat reverberated through the abandoned warehouse.

Room after room, my knife knew no mercy, I was either cutting or slicing throats with so much venom and anger. Also, you could hear the subtle noise of Larry’s silencer piecing through the quietness of the night.

Two of the men woke up confused and ran toward the entrance that triggered the bomb and, because of the black oil, there was a mighty fire, but it was too late. We were already in the last set of rooms.

I went to the room where the Contractor was while Larry took out his machine gun and ensured none of the men came out of their room alive.

“You can come out now, you old fool,” I said as I aimed my gun at the open door of the room where the Contractor was.

“Finally, you have eventually found me out,” said the Contractor in his usual husky voice.

“Today is going to be the last time you talk to me. It has all been easy and I do not intend to make this hard. I said, moving closer to the door. “ Come out, and face your death,” I shouted.

“How does it feel knowing that today one of us would be gone, Cassie?” the Contractor asked.

“The only person dying today is you. You either come out and place your hands on your head or I bomb you out of your shelf,” I said. This time I was really annoyed that he was toying with me.

“Ha ha ha ha ha ha,” he laughed.

And that really got to me as my annoyance moved, my gun blazing through the night shooting in every direction I could hear him move. I took out the second gun and with two guns I knew he had no chance.

We were shooting at ourselves and suddenly something or someone hit me and there was this sudden quietness that surrounded the darkness. I found myself.