Ryan sat there for a second, catching his breath. His body ached from multiple contusions, cuts, and the impact from the blast that had thrown him across the street.
His chest rose and fell hard, each inhale tight, each exhale controlled as he forced himself to steady it.
Small debris continued to fall around him, ticking softly against the pavent and the crumpled car beside him.
He wiped his face with the back of his hand.
Blood.
Not all of it his.
"Ryan, talk to ," Adrian said over comms.
He pushed one hand against the ground and forced himself upright, shifting into a seated position first, then bracing a knee under him.
"I’m up," he said finally. His voice ca out rough but stable. "Still here."
Inside the command center, Adrian exhaled quietly.
"Copy," he said. "Hunter is confird neutralized. No additional movent in your imdiate area."
"I hope that’s true this ti..." Ryan chuckled. "When is the extraction coming?"
"It’s two minutes out of your position and Ryan... the whole squad is dead," Adrian said, his voice dropping.
Ryan didn’t respond imdiately.
He stayed where he was, one knee on the ground, rifle resting against his shoulder as he looked at the street around him. The broken concrete. The collapsed wall. The dented car where he had landed.
"...Copy," he said.
Silence followed.
Then Adrian spoke again.
"This is on ," he said. "I pushed that search. I made you stay longer than necessary. If we had pulled out earlier, they would still be alive."
Ryan shifted slightly, adjusting his posture as he forced himself fully upright. His body protested, but he ignored it.
"That was my call," Adrian continued. "Search and rescue for my parents... I put all of you in that situation."
Ryan picked up his rifle and checked it again out of habit, then slung it back across his chest.
"No," he said.
Adrian paused.
Ryan took a step forward, steady now, scanning the area one last ti.
"There’s nothing to apologize for, sir," he continued. "That’s the job."
Ryan kept talking.
"You gave an order. We followed it," he said. "That’s what we’re here for. To serve you and be of best use."
He adjusted his grip on the sling and glanced once more at the direction where the Hunter had been.
"We knew the risk going in," he added. "No one here expected it to be safe."
Inside the command center, Adrian leaned back slightly, eyes still fixed on the screen.
"They died because of my decision," he said.
Ryan shook his head once, even though Adrian couldn’t see it.
"They died doing exactly what they were ant to do," Ryan replied. "Just like I would’ve."
Another pause.
The sound of rotor blades started to build in the distance.
Ryan looked up.
"Extraction’s here," he said.
The Black Hawk ca into view, dropping low over the street, kicking up dust as it lined up for pickup.
A rope dropped from the cabin, and a soldier rappelled down fast, boots hitting the pavent in a controlled landing before he imdiately unhooked and moved toward Ryan.
"Stay still," the dic said, already pulling a folded stretcher from his back.
Ryan didn’t argue.
He lowered himself back down onto one knee, then sat, letting the dic work.
The stretcher snapped open.
Rigid fra.
Straps already hanging loose.
"Arms in," the dic said.
Ryan shifted, wincing slightly as he brought his arms across his chest. The dic guided him down onto the stretcher, adjusting his position.
"Any loss of consciousness?"
"No."
"Copy."
The dic secured the straps—chest first, then waist, then legs—tight enough to hold him in place for lift.
"Command, patient secured," the dic said into his mic.
"Copy," Adrian replied.
Above them, the helicopter hovered steady.
The hoist line dropped.
The hook swayed slightly in the rotor wash before the dic caught it and locked it onto the stretcher’s harness.
He gave it a firm tug.
"Hooked."
Ryan exhaled once, eyes briefly closing as the noise of the rotors pressed down around him.
"You’re going up first," the dic said.
Ryan gave a small nod.
"Send it."
The line tightened.
The stretcher lifted.
Slow at first, then steady.
Ryan rose off the ground, the street falling away beneath him as he was pulled upward through the swirling dust and debris.
Everything shrinking as he ascended.
He didn’t look away.
Not until the cabin edge ca into view.
Hands reached down.
"Got you."
They pulled the stretcher in, sliding it across the floor and locking it into place inside the helicopter.
Ryan felt the shift as the aircraft adjusted.
The dic climbed up next, hooking in and pulling himself inside before securing the line.
"Clear below," he called.
"Roger," the pilot replied.
The rope retracted.
The helicopter banked slightly, gaining altitude.
Ryan lay there, strapped down, staring out the open door as the street below shrank into a grid of broken concrete and collapsed structures. The wind pushed through the cabin, carrying dust and heat with it.
"Heading out," the pilot said.
The aircraft began to veer away from the sector, nose turning toward open water.
"Hold," the crew chief said, leaning toward the door.
Ryan followed his line of sight.
A bright streak cut through the air.
It burned red against the sky, climbing before it arced and began to fall.
"Contact flare," the crew chief said. "Bearing one-one-zero."
The pilot adjusted slightly.
"Distance?"
"Roughly one klick," the gunner answered, already leaning out to get a better visual.
Ryan pushed slightly against the straps, angling his head to see.
The flare dropped behind a cluster of buildings inland.
"Command, Eagle," the pilot transmitted. "We have visual on a flare, approximately one kiloter east of current position. Possible survivors."
Inside the command center, Adrian snapped his attention back to the screen.
"Confirm origin," he said.
The drone feed shifted.
Zooming.
Searching.
The flare’s trail still hung faintly in the air.
"Visual confird," the operator said. "It ca from the rooftop level. Likely civilians."
"Civilians..." Adrian looked closely at the screen and there were indeed civilians, waving their hands as they jumped to get the attention of the Blackhawk pilot.
Wait, if there are civilians, it ans his parents could be there.
"Send the helicopter to that building, now!"
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