After waking and washing up the next morning, Li Yun happened to pass Victor’s command tent and heard a furious argument raging inside.
“What?
You’re saying Gerard is compromised?
David Black betrayed CT.
That’s David Black’s problem.
What does that have to do with Gerard?”
“No—who the hell could’ve known David Black was still alive?
Do you know how long it’s been since that first operation?
We already declared him dead!”
“This has nothing to do with Gerard.
They were close in the past, that’s all.
Gerard is absolutely loyal to CT.
There is nothing wrong with him.”
Then came the sound of the call being terminated.
Every word from General Victor had been loaded with anger.
Standing outside, Li Yun did not know what to say.
The people upstairs really were something else.
Instead of suspecting Gerard, they would be better off sending someone to put David in the ground.
Inside the tent, Gerard stared at Victor, whose anger had not yet faded.
His own face was ashen.
He had never imagined things would come to this.
David was alive.
Worse, he had joined the T faction and betrayed a great deal of CT intelligence.
In a single stroke, he had dragged Gerard into the mess as well and turned the situation into this.
Yet in that short span of time, Gerard had already made up his mind.
The damage had been done.
All that remained was to do everything in his power to make it right.
He would deal with David Black himself—alive or dead.
“General, it’s time for me to leave.” Gerard said only that much, but Victor immediately understood.
Victor took a cigarette from his pocket, rose, walked over to Gerard, offered it to him, and personally lit it.
The two men stood smoking in the broad command tent.
Between drags, Victor asked, “So.
Once you leave CT—and leave the SAS—where are you planning to go?”
“I’ve got some friends in a PMC.
I’ll go to them first.
I doubt they’ll turn me away.
After that, I’ll start tracking David down little by little.” Gerard took a deep drag.
The harsh smoke helped dull the frustration inside him.
Victor could tell that Gerard had already planned his next step, so he did not try to stop him.
Before they parted, however, he said, “If it doesn’t work out, come back to CT.
As long as I’m here, those people can’t touch you.”
I’m going, General.
Take care of yourself.” Gerard dropped the cigarette butt and crushed it firmly beneath his boot.
He had something he needed to do.
When Gerard stepped out of the tent, he found Li Yun standing off to the side.
Li Yun’s face was expressionless, as though nothing he had overheard had disturbed him at all.
“I’m leaving.
This side of things is yours now.” Gerard smiled and clapped him on the shoulder.
The kid really had grown into an exceptional soldier.
Gerard used to think he still had another ten years of fighting in him, yet when they stormed Rex’s facility, it had been Li Yun and his team who came to the rescue.
Li Yun nodded to show he understood.
Gerard strode away.
He had his own business to settle, and once he said goodbye to Andrey, he could truly leave.
There was nothing else here that required his concern.
Li Yun watched Gerard’s retreating back in silence.
It was not that he felt nothing.
Gerard had watched him grow up and, as Andrey’s right-hand man, had always treated him well.
“Li Yun.
Come in.” Victor’s voice came from inside the tent, and Li Yun immediately entered.
The first thing he saw was Victor’s deeply troubled expression.
Problems kept arriving one after another while his own superiors seemed determined to dump every filthy job they could find onto him.
They had clearly been enjoying easy lives for far too long.
“Gerard chose to leave on his own.
Understood?”
“Understood, General.”
Victor nodded.
Li Yun had always possessed a steadiness far beyond his age.
It was one of the reasons Victor and Gerard had trusted him with serious missions from the moment he joined.
“Your team gets today off.
The second wave of cleanup units should already be deploying.
How has Natasha been lately?
You two getting along all right?” Victor lit another cigarette.
Drinking on duty was out of the question, so smoking would have to do.
“Very well.
She’s outstanding—an exceptionally capable second-in-command.
Give her a little more time and I believe she’ll be fully capable of leading a team on her own.” Li Yun stood at attention with his hands behind his back as he delivered the report.
Victor nodded.
Enough time had passed that, after spending so long around someone with Li Yun’s personality, Natasha probably was not as solitary as she used to be.
As for the others—Fernando, Keith, and Blair—they were all socially savvy veterans in their own ways.
“I put her under your command, so you make sure she comes back alive.
You know her circumstances.” Victor stubbed out his cigarette.
Talking about this finally restored a trace of a smile to his face.
Li Yun nodded.
He knew Natasha’s family situation. Visit g.com for the full chapter.
Her older brother had died ten years ago, and her parents had died even earlier.
The only family she had left was a sixteen-year-old younger sister.
Victor’s meaning was obvious: he wanted Li Yun to protect Natasha properly.
“Go on.
Get some real rest.
Tomorrow you’re heading back into the Lost City.” Victor waved him away.
A meeting was about to begin, and there was no reason for Li Yun to remain.
After leaving Victor’s command tent, Li Yun returned to the tent shared by the three men.
Before he even reached it, he could see the other four members of the team chatting nearby.
“Yo, boss.” Blair laughed and tossed him a piece of bread.
Li Yun caught it, tore open the wrapper, and immediately started eating.
Once he had finished and thrown the wrapper into the trash, Li Yun looked at Natasha.
“Free after this operation ends?
Want to go out somewhere together?”
Fernando’s and Keith’s eyes widened at once.
Huh?
Was the captain finally making a move?
No, wait—why did his tone sound so damn flat?
That did not sound remotely like a man asking a woman out.
“Mm.
I’m free.
Where?” Natasha’s voice was just as flat as Li Yun’s apart from the final question.
“Haven’t decided.
Anywhere you want to go?”
“There’s a shopping street near the branch office.
I like a few stores there.
Can we have pizza and pasta for lunch?”
“Sure.”
The two calmly planned out the entire day and even settled lunch without the slightest change in tone.
Fernando’s and Keith’s mouths twitched uncontrollably.
There had been no emotional fluctuation anywhere in that conversation.
They sounded nothing like a couple about to start dating and more like old companions who had somehow skipped the entire awkward stage.
Blair was practically choking with laughter off to the side.
These two were endless entertainment.
“Oh, right, Captain.
After this mission ends, I want to request some leave and go home.
It’s been a while since I’ve been back to Russia.” Natasha brought it up again, and after thinking for a moment Li Yun nodded.
Once the Lost City operation ended, they should have a relatively quiet few months anyway.
There was no reason Natasha could not return home for a visit.
Then, perhaps because his brain temporarily short-circuited, Li Yun suddenly said, “Want me to come with you?”
Natasha’s brow very visibly jumped.
Only after a moment did she answer, “Okay.”