Rebirth in the Apocalypse: Third Time's a Charm

In the quiet of the night, a lone figure stood in front of an army of soldiers. In complete silence, the thousand men stood at attention. They might not have been in fatigues, their country flag displayed proudly on their arm, but it made them no less of an army, no less of an intimidating entity.

No one moved, there was no fidgeting or restlessness, not even the sound of breathing broke the silence of the night. They all stood there, watching, waiting, knowing that when the time came, their life or death would mean nothing in the face of the mission. They were trained and trained by the best, to be the best. There would be no compromise. They were trained to kill, and that was what they did best.

The lone figure looked back at the men he commanded, knowing that their life was in his hands, that his decisions would impact their actions, and that the consequences would rest solely on his shoulders.

As they trained for combat, he trained for command, and there was no one better than him in this world.

The silence was broken by the steady, rhythmic footsteps of a man as he made his way toward the lone figure. He walked through the sea of soldiers, following a path laid out for him by their very formation. A path meant to bring him to their leader as fast as possible.

"Sir," said the figure to the lone man once he was close enough. "I have found where they are located. At the base of a mountain, approximately 100 miles southwest of here, there are 1,549 men with enough guns, ammunition, helicopters, and supplies to last for a few years. Intelligence says that they are probably using that range as a permanent base and conducting all missions from there. What are your orders?"

"Enough ants can take down an elephant. We need to crush them now before they can become an overwhelming force. Take five teams and wipe them out. Do it silently, I don't want anyone else to know about it."

As if the men were one, they saluted, turned around, and marched out, their footsteps quiet in the darkness of night. The lone figure waited until everyone was gone before he too turned and disappeared. There was a lot of work to be done and not a lot of time to do it.

---------

Wang Chao entered his study a few minutes after dismissing his men. Heading straight towards the solid oak desk he sat down and waited for his personal assistant to close the massive doors to his sanctuary.

The piles of paperwork did not detract from the feeling of majesty and power that surrounded Wang Chao wherever he went. Folding his hands, he looked up to where Lui Wei was standing, ready to give him his report.

"Sir," Lui Wei began, "The acquisition of Sunset Corps. has been completed and is awaiting your signature. As for the current CEO, after the information has been released to the police, he is looking at 10-15 years in prison for fraud, tax evasion, and bribery."

"Mmh," replied Wang Chao as he opened the first folder presented to him. Quickly reading through the contracts' terms and conditions, he signed his name at the bottom and sealed the fate of Sunset Corps.

It was nothing personal. He didn't have a grudge or revenge in mind when he set out to take over the multimedia company, he just wanted to have it in order to diversify his companies. He might have excelled in the military, becoming one of the youngest Generals to ever retire, but the complexities of the business world was where he shined.

The business world was a lot like a field of war, information was key to a quick and bloodless victory. However, every so often, Wang Chao missed the blood on his hands.

Lui Wei took the original folder out from under the hand of his Boss and replaced it with another.

"Lui Yi has found the operation base of the Blood Moon Mercenary organization. As you know, the men left tonight in order to exterminate the threat that they pose to the old Master. However, it seems like they are just the hands of a long-time operation. New information suggests that they are working on a black-ops assignment for the government and the old Master was opposing their involvement. The assassination order against him is simply a result of him becoming a vocal obstacle. There also seems to be a clandestine operation going on in the North that the government is funding, but more information on that is impossible to get. We have our team of hackers searching both the black and white web to find out what General Heung is doing. The best that we have been able to come up with is Operation: Hydra, but we are unsure of what it might entail."

"Mmmh," came the deep, raspy voice again.

"Sir, if I may ask," started Lui Wei.

"Hurry up and ask."

"Yes, Sir. What are your plans for the Blood Moon base once the men have taken it over?"

"I have no need of land out in the middle of nowhere. Search every inch of the property, do not miss anything, and bring back what you can. After that, have the men clean it up and put it up for sale. It would be better to make a profit off of it than have it remain useless to us."

"Understand, Sir. I'll inform the men of your orders," said Lui Wei.

"Leave the rest of the information here. You are dismissed."

Lui Wie bowed and turned around to leave. He knew that it would not be wise to remain when his Boss was in a mood. After all, it was not like he provided any new information that the Boss did not already know.

Sometimes being an assistant was very stressful.

Wang Chao swiveled his chair around to look out the windows behind him. Framed by the soft maroon curtains, the night sky looked even more peaceful. Unfortunately, Wang Chao knew that that peace would not last long.

He got up from his desk and walked towards the bookshelves along the side of the room where a decanter of whisky was waiting. Pouring himself a glass, he returned to the window, trying to see where all the pieces of the puzzle belonged. However, he only had one question that he was unable to answer:

What the hell was 'Operation: Hydra"?