Hollywood Zenith



" So? Is everyone ready? We have to find out next target right?" James came back after dressing his wound. It was a serious injury but with enough painkiller, he was able to numb the pain.

His team decided to rest first and look after other injured while he joined up with Steve and Drac to potentially help with the interrogations. It's not like he was explicitly needed but he wanted to be in the room to some sense of justice for them ambushing them.

" I am afraid that's not going to happen." Drace told him bluntly putting cold water on his excited face.

" What do you mean? They shot my men! I know you don't want to hurt them but try not to get your emotions involved-"

" No! We can't do anything to them! It will completely derail what we are doing here." Syiara added. They were on a humanitarian mission for years now, it was something that she wanted to do after retiring from the secret service and now that they kidnapped the son of one of the most powerful person in the region, they had to disarm the situation without any large ripple effects.

" Now you are letting your girlfriend make decisions, Drac? Steve why are you not saying anything?"

Steve could see he was upset about the ambush. If he didn't interrogate the captives that would put a dent in their relationship but if he did, it could put them in bad light with Syiara making it harder for them to operate in the region.

He was torn because with the timing of the attack they bound to know something. How else would they stumble upon the operation? If they were connected that would make the leader of the organization a prime target for their next mission.

" James, just sit this one out. There is a bigger thing at stake here." Steve decided to use their captive to know more about their leader but before that he needed to contact Jane and his boss to ask about further course of action. It was because the gravity of the situation, he couldn't make a hasty decision leading to further bloodshed.

But no matter how hard he tried to convince James, he only took it as same bullshit jargon that their mission command used to give back in the days. After an intense yelling session, he told James to cool of his head and also asked Drac to keep an eye on him so that he didn't do anything drastic.

" What's happening?" Cho came out closing the door behind him. He was the one watching over the hostages.

" Nothing, it's just that the situation got a lot worse." Steve explained briefly, by the end of it Cho knew James had every reason to be mad at Steve but more importantly, he also knew the weight of team leader resting on Steve shoulders.

" For your information, if your intention was to scare them they are already scared. I mean I can't blame them, they were getting death stares all throughout our ride here." Cho chuckled trying to elevate the mood.

Steve only gave him a faint smile before saying," Good, don't tell them anything yet. Syiara, go with him and try to find more about why they attacked us."

" Alright but I have to stress this, I can't be forceful with it."

" I know, go as far as you can while you know...protecting yourself and just know that we are behind you if shit hit the fan. I will head to the command center to contact Jane."

" Awww, do you miss her?" Cho said while making faces. The 'cute' expression on his well built body was something Steve wished he never saw!

" Fuck you! Get back to work!" In the end, he was able to lift Steve mood. They left while he headed at the boundary of the compound where they were housed. He didn't need to worry about the time difference due to regions so he called Jane first.

He explained everything in fine detail and after he was finished, he could hear her sigh through the phone.

" It was a good decision not to press them but I don't know what you should do next."

" I will bring his son to him and ask him directly to his face. He can't hide then."

" Isn't that too risky? Should I send more people over? We have time right?" Samuel was a bit reluctant when he heard his confident tone.

" No, we can't risk exposing ourselves. Beside more people will only make them wary of us. If they are truly innocent, we can broker a peace deal for some resources."

" Where are you guys right now?" Samuel asked. Steve thought he was going ahead with sending reinforcements but nonetheless, he told him his location.

" Bosnia right, I don't think we have entered that country yet." Samuel was thinking about his Ardent foundation, if they need resources it was a perfect place to get it quickly.

" Alright, do as you see fit but if you think it's going south get the hell out of there as soon as possible."

" Is uncle Steve in trouble?" Steve heard a girl's voice.

" Who is this Steve?" Another set of voice questioned.

" Don't you remember? The big person that always follow big brother around. What about Aunt Jane? You remember her right?"

" Yes, the prickly lady."

Steve had somewhat who they were but he asked for confirmation," Boss?"

" I am sorry. I am driving Hannah home but since you never call unless it's important. I decided to pick it up." Samuel didn't know if he was upset when they were dissing his wife but Steve didn't care. Beside he somewhat agreed with their assessment!

" I will leave you to it then."

" Be safe and keep me updated."

Steve hung up the phone and began preparing. He didn't want to rush in without Jane's information but he knew he couldn't just keep the captives there for long.

He went out and met up with Cho and Syiara to discuss their next course of action. Since they had the green light from their boss, it was easier to come up with a viable plan.

" Are you sure about this? You know they could storm in here once they know we have them." Steve asked knowing what Syiara was suggesting.

" I am sure. We are well known group in the area, if they know their people are safe and sound here they will take it as a sign of respect."

" Still contacting them directly sounds risky. We could wait for the night and see their reaction." Cho aligned with Steve.

" That's would be too late. You don't know these people like I do, they will appreciate once they knew what you guys were here for and the best way to show that is to guide them here."

" Alright but remember we want to get inside their place for clues. If they are with who we suspect they are, we have to neutralize them. I want you to know that." Steve said seriously. Syiara was well aware what type of people Drac worked for.

She just hoped whatever they were looking for wasn't with Black Swans or else it would mean another set of conflict returning to the area. She stayed silent and only nodded before heading inside to grab one of the radios.

After sending the message they waited for a response.

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