Everyone present on Paul and Vera's ship began donning dark camouflage suits, adjusting their weapons and accessories with precise and methodical movements. The atmosphere was thick with tension but also determination.
"In the end, we had to go with Plan B. We should have done it from the start," Paul muttered as he finished equipping himself with the last of the mission gear. His voice carried a barely concealed tone of frustration, as if internally grappling with the feeling of having lost control of the situation.
Meanwhile, at the orphanage, night slowly descended upon the building. The director, known to all as the Mother Superior, stood before the children, who were gathered in perfectly aligned rows. With her characteristic serenity, she spoke the phrase that always accompanied their nightly farewells:
"Everyone has the opportunity to have a new beginning. No matter where you are heading, if you move forward with love and happiness, you will always find a new dawn."
Her words resonated like a silent blessing, almost hypnotic, before the orphans were sent off to their rooms. Everyone moved quickly, obeying without hesitation. The nuns and novices guided the groups of children, ensuring each one reached their destination in an orderly fashion.
Once in their rooms, the children followed their usual routine: they brushed their teeth, put on their pajamas, and prepared for bed. The caretakers supervised closely, turning off the lights only after confirming everything was in order. On each floor, there was a designated warden whose shifts rotated strategically to prevent the boys from attempting to escape, as had happened with Aiden and two other companions some time ago. Additionally, they have installed bars on all the windows, replacing the old mesh that no longer provided sufficient security.
"Goodnight, everyone," came the voice from the hallway, followed by the soft click of switches as the lights were turned off.
However, in one of the rooms, some boys remained awake, whispering among themselves. It was the same room where Aiden and Billy had once shared dreams and late-night conversations. Now, the current occupants whispered curiously. What were their former companions doing now? What freedoms did they have outside these walls? Despite the restrictions, the orphanage wasn't such a bad place. They were given three meals a day, taught the basics, and, above all, had a bed to sleep in. But the restlessness to explore beyond those walls still lingered in their young hearts.
Suddenly, a sharp sound broke the silence. One of the windows shattered into a thousand pieces, leaving a small metallic ball that rolled slowly across the floor. The children, startled, exchanged confused glances. What was that? Before they could get too close, the sphere began emitting a thick, white smoke that quickly filled the room. One by one, the boys fell asleep, their bodies collapsing peacefully wherever they had been standing.
The floor guard, alerted by the noise, ran toward the room. But as soon as she opened the door, she felt a sharp sting at the back of her neck. Everything went black. A small bee-shaped robot, equipped with a tranquilizer dart launcher, had completed its mission.
Chaos began to spread throughout the orphanage. Everywhere, these tiny devices invaded the rooms, leaving behind a trail of deep sleep. Some children screamed, awakened by the commotion or the contact with the smoke, but it was too late. One by one, they all succumbed.
Elsa noticed the noise coming from the screams of the children and some of the nuns before silence fell like a heavy blanket, the result of the darts fired by the robotic bees. Alarmed, Elsa was about to shout to alert the Mother Superior when, suddenly, a brutal kick struck her face. The impact was so violent that it sent her flying several meters backwards. Dazed, Elsa turned her head just in time to see a tall, slender figure dressed in a dark suit. It was clear that it was a woman.
"This is for not minding your own business," the intruder said coldly before shooting a tranquilizer dart directly into Elsa's neck.
"Where's the other one?" Vera asked, having been the one responsible for neutralizing Elsa. Without wasting a moment, Vera burst into the Mother Superior's office, but the room was empty. She began searching every corner, rifling through papers and opening drawers, but found no trace of her.
"Damn it! Where is that…?" Vera muttered under her breath, frustrated, before being interrupted by a familiar voice.
"What are you doing here? We have work to do," Paul said, appearing behind her with his characteristic authoritative tone.
Vera looked at him with disdain, crossing her arms.
"You and I both have scores to settle with her, but this isn't the time or place," Paul responded, cutting off any potential retort.
"There will be another chance," Vera replied, though her tone made it clear she wasn't satisfied. With a gesture of contained anger, she kicked the desk and left the room without saying another word.
Meanwhile, the rest of the team continued with the operation. On each floor, the nuns were quickly immobilized thanks to a turtle-shaped device that launched magnetic ropes. These ropes, upon detecting their target, attached two metallic pieces to each side of the victims' arms, forming a cord that bound them firmly to the wall.
With the help of advanced contact lenses, the soldiers already had an accurate count of how many people matched the desired profile. From the ship waiting outside, they begin retrieving capsules similar to the ones used to capture Aiden and his friends, but this time in greater numbers.
The soldiers deactivated their camouflage devices and began coordinating through communicator bracelets. The robots received specific orders for each floor, moving with mechanical precision. Quickly, they began gathering the boys one by one, placing them into the capsules and transporting them to the ship.
"How's the extraction going?" Paul asked through the communicator.
One of the assistants responded immediately:
"We're doing well, sir. Less than half remain to complete the load."
"Excellent. When you're done, let me know. I'm heading back to the ship," Paul ordered.
"Yes, sir," the soldier replied instantly.
Paul began heading toward the exit, but before boarding the ship, he turned to Vera.
"Follow me," he said firmly.
However, Vera refused outright.
"No. If she's not here, she must be somewhere else in the complex. I'll go look for her," she responded with determination, before walking away.
Paul let out an exasperated sigh as he watched her leave.
"That woman is more troublesome than I am," he muttered to himself before finally boarding the ship.
In another corner of the orphanage, the Mother Superior remained kneeling in the chapel, finishing her nightly prayers. In her trembling hands, she held an ancient, yellowed document, worn by time. Her lips moved silently as she prayed for forgiveness.
"Forgive me for not telling certain truths… like the one about the boy Aiden," she whispered in a broken voice. That paper contained crucial information about Aiden's origins: who his mother was and where he was supposed to go when he reached a certain age. That day, when they found him, they also discovered this document beside him. She should have given it to him earlier, but she never knew how he might react.
Suddenly, a sharp scream echoed through the air, breaking the silence of the night. It was Elsa, who succumbed moments later to the paralyzing effect of the tranquilizer dart. The Mother Superior closed her eyes tightly, knowing that something terrible was happening in the orphanage.
The Mother Superior tucked the document into a hidden pocket in her habit. Slowly, she rose from where she had been kneeling in prayer, opened the chapel door, and froze upon seeing a ship hovering in front of the orphanage entrance.
"Who could it be? Are we under attack?" she murmured to herself, her mind racing with terrible possibilities about what might be happening. She thought about the possibility of mafias dedicated to kidnapping children to sell them or, worse still, to traffic their organs. A shiver ran down her spine as she tried to maintain her composure.
Immediately, she pulled out her cellphone and dialed Jeff's number. The phone rang and rang until, finally, he answered.
"Hello? Jeff? Something's wrong…" she began to say urgently, but before she could explain what was happening, she felt a strong, cold hand wrap around her neck from behind, lifting her off the ground.
The cellphone fell to the floor with a dull thud. At the other end of the line, Jeff strained to hear something coherent.
"Hello? Hello? Ana, can you hear me?" Jeff asked, worried, just before a brutal stomp from Vera shattered the device, abruptly cutting off the call.
"Finally, we met," Vera said with disdain, tightening her grip on Mother Superior's neck even further. "So my performance didn't impress you, and you rejected my money, huh? Well, now you'll pay dearly for your righteousness."
At the police station, Tecro looked at Jeff with concern.
"Sir, what was that?" he asked, pointing to the phone still in his boss's hand.
"It was the Mother Superior, but I didn't understand what she was trying to say. The call got cut off… She sounded scared," Jeff replied, visibly shaken. Without wasting a second, he gave a sharp order:
"Tecro, we need to go. Sound the alarm, even if it's midnight."
Tecro obeyed immediately, knowing how important the Mother Superior was to Jeff. They had known each other since childhood, and their closeness made the police chief especially anxious to protect her.
"Yes, sir," Tecro responded as he activated the alarm and contacted other units.
"Quickly, Tecro. You're coming with me. We need to get to the orphanage right away," Jeff ordered, as both of them rushed into the police vehicle.
"Go, go, hurry! This is an emergency!" Jeff shouted, activating the sirens and speeding through red lights as they drove full-throttle toward the location. Over the radio, other officers reported that they were also on their way.
Meanwhile, back at the orphanage, Vera kept the Mother Superior suspended in the air, choking her with relentless force. The poor woman struggled desperately to breathe, but her face was beginning to turn blue from the lack of oxygen. Her eyes, filled with terror, reflected the helplessness of someone who knew she was living her final moments.
"You're going to die here, and no one will save you," Vera hissed coldly. "I put so much effort into giving a good performance, and nothing… Not even money could make you comply with my objective. You're too righteous, Mother. But no one survives on kindness alone. Pray to your God and see if He saves you."
The Mother Superior was already losing consciousness when, suddenly, the shrill sound of police sirens filled the air.
"Mr. Fernandez, it's the police," one of the soldiers informed him through the communicator.
Paul, who was coordinating the operation from another location, muttered a curse under his breath.
"Damn it! What have you done, Vera?" he said to himself, frustrated. Then, he activated his own communicator to check on the status of the mission.
"How's the extraction going?"
"Only this last floor remains," one of the soldiers responded.
"Good. Finish as quickly as possible and camouflage everything, including the ship. I have something to take care of," Paul ordered urgently. "And if I'm not back in five minutes, we'll meet at the rendezvous point."
"Yes, sir," the soldier replied instantly.
"No one tells me no. Not even that fool Paul," Vera muttered with disdain, as she kept the Mother Superior on the verge of unconsciousness. The woman was already nearly out of oxygen when, suddenly, an authoritative voice rang out in the air:
"Don't move! Release the woman, or we'll open fire!" one of the two newly arrived officers warned, their weapons aimed directly at her.
Vera slowly turned, still using the Mother Superior as a human shield. With a sadistic smile, she said:
"So this is what you want, huh? Then shoot if you can. I don't care."
Before the officers could react, Vera pulled a sharp object from her belt and, with a quick and precise motion, slashed deeply into the Mother Superior's abdomen. Then, with superhuman strength, she hurled the woman's limp body toward the officers, who barely had time to step aside to avoid being struck by the impact.
Both officers opened fire immediately, but Vera was fast and agile. She dodged the bullets with calculated movements, as if anticipating every shot. However, one of the bullets managed to hit the visor of her helmet, shattering it and revealing her face.
"Damn it!" Vera growled, raising a hand to her helmet as she tried to regain control of the situation. Frantically, she searched her pocket for the pill that would allow her to change her appearance and escape, but before she could do so, a car came speeding in, hitting her with brutal force.
The impact knocked her to the ground, leaving her vulnerable. Within seconds, several officers surrounded her and quickly handcuffed her. It was Jeff who had been driving the vehicle, accompanied by Tecro. Both jumped out of the car immediately upon seeing the Mother Superior lying on the ground, blood pouring from her abdomen and her vital signs alarmingly low.
"Quickly, call an ambulance!" Jeff ordered urgently, his voice trembling with fear and frustration as he pressed firmly on the wound to stop the bleeding. His tone revealed just how much this woman meant to him.
Tecro obeyed instantly, dialing emergency services while watching the scene unfold with a racing heart.
From a distance, Paul observed everything from the shadows, shaking his head with a mix of irritation and resignation.
"That fool… She's always impulsive and reckless when she doesn't get her way," he muttered to himself, crossing his arms. Then, he let out a heavy sigh. "Well, I'll let them take her. Though I see she didn't even wear her camouflage. What carelessness."
A small, ironic smile formed on his face as he watched more patrol cars arriving at the scene.
"Oh well, she brought this on herself," he said quietly, disappearing into the shadows as he began planning his next move.