Hunt

 17:55, Target Area — Rooftop Overwatch

The sky had begun to dim, the sun bleeding behind the distant mountain range, casting long shadows across the concrete landscape. On top of a nearby hotel, Price stood behind a parapet wall, wind tousling his gray-streaked hair. He glanced at his watch. Five minutes until 18:00.

"Status," he said into the holobuds.

"West gate in sight. Foot traffic thinning," Soap reported, voice low and focused.

"East gate quiet. Two guards, casual stance. No patrol shift yet," Price added.

"Watching the approach roads. Nothing so far," Nikolai's voice cut in calmly.

"I've got a visual grid of the upper floor. Looks like twelve heat signatures on the top level," Ghost said, positioned inside a repurposed comms tower nearly two klicks away.

Price sighed, glancing again at the time. "Five minutes."

Inside his holobud feed, a red dot blinked at the center of the facility, unmoving.

"John?" Price asked. "You ready?"

No reply at first.

Then: "I'm already in position. Initiating blackout... now."

18:00

A pulse of invisible light radiated across the city.

Buildings flickered. Then went dark.

Streetlamps died.

The humming generators of backup systems cut out seconds later, fried.

A silence fell over the skyline—unnatural and deep. The air was still, as though the world was holding its breath.

"EMP detonation confirmed," Ghost reported, his screen momentarily distorting. "City grid's gone. No comms, no surveillance, no alarms."

"Copy," Price said, leaning over the ledge and watching the darkened facility.

John's voice buzzed through the channel, low and composed.

"Starting the hunt."

"You're insane," Soap muttered.

Price smirked faintly. "Good luck, Reaper."

John's POV

My boots barely made a sound as I walked through the shadowed corridor, my body low, movements fluid. The hallway was empty—metal walls bathed in darkness, security lights snuffed out like candles in a storm.

The holobuds displayed red dots—heartbeats—scattered across the holographic projection before my eyes. The facility had more layers than we thought. Three levels underground, 700 meters across. A labyrinth buried beneath concrete and steel.

And nearly 200 lives pulsing below.

I activated my Observation Haki, and the world lit up like embers in my mind.

Every footstep.

Every breath.

Every twitch of a trigger finger.

I saw them.

"Keep your eyes on the clock," I said to the others, voice a whisper over the channel.

Ghost replied first. "Watching your dot. You've got thirty."

Soap added, "And we ain't dragging your corpse out if you screw up, just so you know."

I smiled faintly. "Noted."

18:03 — Level B1

I dropped silently into the first sub-level, using the darkness as my ally. Two guards turned the corner, flashlights dead, confused by the sudden power loss.

They didn't see me until it was far too late.

Shick.

The blade slid across the first man's neck as I darted forward, my left hand slamming the second's mouth shut before he could cry out. My combat knife buried into his chest with a muted crunch.

Two heartbeats vanished from the holomap.

One of them had a keycard. I took it.

"First hallway cleared," I whispered.

Overwatch - 18:04

"Bloody hell," Soap muttered, watching another two red dots vanish from the map.

"He's slicing through 'em," Price said grimly. "Like a goddamn ghost."

"No, I'm the ghost," came Ghost's dry voice.

"You're the pretty ghost. He's the nightmare," Nikolai chuckled.

John's POV - 18:07

The second level was tighter. Narrower halls. Closer rooms. And the smell—industrial oil and sterilized blood.

I found the first lab.

The glass walls were empty now, probably due to the power shutdown.

I peered in. Three scientists huddled near their terminals, manually checking servers.

Target #6, #9, and #12.

I didn't hesitate.

With the door override fried, I used the keycard and slipped in. My knife struck first—silent, clinical. I moved like smoke.

Three more dots gone.

"Three down in Lab A," I reported.

18:10

"He's ahead of pace," Price murmured, watching the feed. "Still got twenty minutes."

Ghost replied, "Still in quadrant one. He'll have to pick up the pace once he hits the dense area."

Nikolai said nothing. Just watched.

Soap leaned against a rail, heartbeat calm. "I don't know if I should be impressed or worried."

"Both," Price said.

John's POV - 18:14

Deeper. Always deeper.

I moved to the third floor. The final level.

It was massive.

A maze of server rooms, sleeping quarters, and testing chambers. My haki shimmered with incoming movement.

I ducked behind cover.

Five guards approached from different sides, flashlights and rifles raised. They knew someone was here now. Their tension was like a hum in the air.

I breathed in.

And then I moved.

The first died before the others noticed—the flick of my throwing knife hitting the base of his skull. The others reacted.

Too slowly.

I was already behind the second before he turned, and the third caught his friend's limp body before my boot slammed into his chest, driving him back.

Gunfire erupted, blind shots in the dark.

But they weren't shooting at me. They were shooting at where I had been.

The last guard started to run. My second knife silenced him.

I exhaled. Five more gone.

"Ghost," I whispered. "They're aware."

18:15 - Overwatch

"He just cleared an entire patrol team," Ghost reported. "Heat patterns confirm."

Soap whistled. "Okay, now I'm impressed."

"Keep your eyes sharp," Price snapped. "He's only halfway done."

John's POV

I saw the command lab.

A red circle of thirteen heartbeats, all huddled together.

The main targets.

The scientists.

I ghosted along the corridor until I found the ventilation hatch. Cramped but useful.

I crawled above them.

They were arguing, panicking, unaware.

I dropped into their room like a hammer.

Silenced pistol. Precision.

One. Two. Three.

A scream. Another falls. Chaos.

I ducked low and moved like water between them. My knife bit skin, sliced arteries, carved out silence.

Thirty seconds later—only I remained standing.

18:21

"Command lab cleared," I reported.

Price looked down at the monitor. "Goddamn…"

Soap whispered, "Fifteen minutes left."

Nikolai checked the vehicle fuel levels. "Prepped for evac."

Ghost, as always, silent. Watching.

John's POV - 18:24

I found the bomb vault.

Security codes wouldn't matter. I had Great Sage.

"Override encryption. Begin disarm."

Yes, Master.

Data flooded my vision, control systems displayed. My hands moved rapidly, disabling failsafes.

"Ghost," I said. "You should see a secondary door light up."

"Got it," he replied.

"That's your entry point for the fallback demolition. Leave two C4 charges there."

"Copy."

18:27

Only three red dots remained.

Three final guards.

I let them run, terrified, searching for a way out.

I cornered them in the elevator shaft.

Their screams never left the shadows.

"Facility cleared," I whispered. "Only us five remaining."

18:30 - Overwatch

Price saw it.

All other red dots—gone.

"Holy hell..." he said, staring at the feed.

Soap looked stunned. "He did it…"

"Timer's up," Nikolai confirmed.

Price activated his comm.

"Reaper, this is Captain Price. Status?"

Silence for a moment.

Then: "Hunt complete. Targets neutralized. Meet at fallback point. Begin demolition sequence."

A quiet moment passed.

Then Price said with a chuckle, "You sick bastard."