Chapter 1: The Big Fish

10 years had passed. 

"Sergeant, are you heading back? We have a big fish to protect here in Koplin. The big fish is holding a groundbreaking ceremony for a residential building," one of Lily's private said through her Bluetooth earpiece. 

Lily shamelessly yawned without covering her mouth as she exited the private car that drove her to the airport. She was about to take a business flight home after a week of service at Koplin Troop Command. 

She replied to the person on the phone, "Is this a Black Hawk Mission? I don't remember being notified."

Lily was talking to one of her underlings, Gunner, a National Guard like her, but of lower rank. 

"Ah, No, Sergeant. It's an MVM mission, but they sought our help because of its complexity. Since we have a partnership agreement with MVM, here we are," Gunner revealed. 

MVM was a local security agency in Koplin, but they had partnered with The Black Hawk in order to provide top-level security to high-end clients. In return, Black Hawk is obliged to offer their employees to MVM. 

"Well, as long as they pay us good?" Lily mumbled. 

"Oh, yeah. Pay is big, Sergeant. It's three times the usual," Gunner revealed. 

"What? How am I not part of this mission?" Lily groaned. She clenched her jaws and claimed, "I could use the extra cash!"

Gunner laughed in response. He answered, "You are not lacking of any money, Sergeant. Sometimes, I wonder why you even enlisted for the military in the first place."

"Yeah, well, kicking ass is what I do best. I was a tomboy then, and I guess that part of me will never change," Lily said before chuckling. "Anyway, I'm about to check in for my flight. Be safe and tell the team to do the same."

Just before putting the phone down, Lily asked, "By the way, how complex is the mission?"

"Level three assassination threat," Gunner replied. 

"What!" Lily screamed. Her face flushed when she heard her subordinate's reply. "Level three?"

They rarely dealt with a level-three assassination threat. This meant a private and illegal dispatch group was coming after the "big fish."

"Who the heck is this big fish?" Lily asked, still shocked by the discovery. "Is he a politician? Of royal blood? Or a prosecutor?"

"Haha!" Gunner laughed. "No, just a big businessman. He probably made a lot of enemies, but, strangely, he just took over the company three months ago."

"Must be a big business," Lily remarked. 

"Yeah, it's a conglomerate, the Thompson Group of Companies," Gunner replied. 

Hearing the company name, Lily stilled. It had been a long time since she heard of it. She stuttered while asking, "The - the Thompson Group of Companies. Who - who is the big fish?"

"Lucas Thompson, the new CEO. Gotta go, Sarge, duty calls," Gunner hung up the phone before Lily could react. 

Lucas Thompson. How could Lily forget that name? 

Her throat felt paper dry, and her face became white as a ghost. The people in line at the check-in counter overtook her, but she remained unconcerned.

"Lucas," she muttered under her breath. "So the bastard is alive after all."

Chills ran down her spine, and Lily felt her eyeballs were about to pop out of anger. She clenched her jaws, thinking of the man who shattered her heart into a million pieces. 

'How long has it been?' Nine? No, ten years,' she mused. It had been ten years since Lucas Thompson vanished into thin air. 

Lucas was not just any other man. This man was also her best friend. 

She and Lucas were together for five years, and she used to believe they were meant to be. She gave her all to Lucas but he left. He only gave her a note that vaguely ended their relationship. He never called nor hinted if he was alive.

“So, he is back,” Lily muttered.

Lily recounted the first year of Lucas' disappearance. She went through all the stages of rejection, from hurt to denial and acceptance, but truthfully, because Lily never had the chance to confront Lucas, she never had full closure. At the back of her head, she had always wondered why he left.

"Miss, are you in line or what?" A young man distracted Lily from dwelling on the past. She ignored the man and went back in line to check in for her flight.  

Through security checks and walking to the airport's VIP lounge, she was absent-minded the whole time. 

It was an hour before boarding time when Lily's phone rang again. Gunner was calling.

"Sarge! We have been ambushed! We are stuck at freeway thirty-five. Are you still interested in some extra cash?" Gunner loudly asked on the phone.

Lily froze. Anger swept across her face. Why would she want to save the big fish who stomped on her heart?

Her hands turned frosty as she held the phone tightly against her ears. 

On the other line, she could still make out the mechanical noise of silenced firearms. A silencer never truly eradicated the sound of gunshots; it only suppressed it. 

"Gia is hit! I repeat, Gia's it!" The voice of Lily’s colleague brought her back to her senses. 

She stood up abruptly and said on the phone, "I'm coming. Hold your position, private."

"S-sure, Sarge. We will try to stay alive," Gunner said nervously. 

After hanging up the phone, Lily ran to the airport's exit, leaving most of her belongings in the VIP lounge. She only carried her phone, her wallet in her trouser pocket, her Bluetooth earpiece on her ear, and a Glock 22 pistol underneath her leather jacket. 

As she sped, she was on the phone with her contacts in Koplin City, "I need the fastest motorcycle you can get me nearest to the airport and a clearance to freeway thirty-five."

From the airport road to the main highway, Lily's frame dashed like lightning. Her determined eyes focused on the path ahead, her long, light brown hair flying with her every step. 

Finally, a police motorcycle found her along the way. The officer on it called, "Sergeant, Lily Wright? Your ride."

She hopped in without saying a word, put on the helmet, and drove off. 

The motorcycle sliced through the street like an arrow in flight. As Lily maneuvered her ride, she leaned in between turns. With each throttle twist, she synchronized her response—hands gripping, fingers adjusting, and subtle weight shifting.

Lily arrived at the scene in ten minutes, cutting more than half the time. She saw two vehicles that entrapped three Lexus cars. One was a blue SUV, and the other was a ten-wheeler truck deliberately blocking the freeway exit. 

All in all, she saw ten men shooting at the three Lexus cars that carried her team and the "big fish."

She targeted the truck and drove past the SUV, evading the flying bullets her way. Lily accelerated before sliding the bike down and rolled off it. 

After the bike collided with the truck, the attackers came out of hiding in a panic. Lily's associates immediately covered for her as she got up in a kneeling position. She reached for her pistol, and after pointing at the assailants, she pulled the trigger. 

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! 

Five shots.

Five targets down, both alive and unknown. 

When Sergeant Lily Wright would set on a prey, she would never miss.