<h4>Chapter 266 Stand Down</h4>


    As the sun dipped below the horizon, Mako grew increasingly worried. Hours had passed since hest heard from Bill, Erin, and Iris. It wasn''t like them to be out of contact for so long, especially on a mission of this importance. Mako had been pacing back and forth in the hotel room, anxiously waiting for their return.


    He had tried calling them repeatedly, but there was no response.


    By nighttime, his concern had escted into a gnawing fear. Something had definitely gone wrong, and Mako couldn''t sit idly any longer. He mainly had fully recovered at this point and was ready for action. He picked up hismunication device and reached out to Nathan and Leon, his voice filled with anxiety.


    "Guys, it''s been hours, and I still haven''t heard from Bill, Erin, and Iris. I''m really starting to worry. We need to do something."


    Leon''s face appeared on the screen, his expression mirroring Mako''s concern. "When did youst hear from them?"


    "I message them at 3:30, telling them toe back to the hotel after you guys shared that EMP info with me, but they still haven''t returned and aren''t answering any of my calls."


    "Hmm... that is worrisome," Nathan said as his holographic image joined Leon. "Maybe, they had discovered something and were following up on it," he suggested.


    "I don''t know... they must have still informed me if they were going after a clue but I didn''t receive any info. I think my guess was right and whoever is doing this must be operating within the vige and must have known that they were with me which is why when they spotted them today, they strike." Mako thorized.


    The holographic images of Nathan and Leon looked at each other anxiously before turning back towards Mako.


    "Well, about that... I wanted to believe that it wasn''t true but we did find something and from the looks of it, I''m confident that we have identified who is behind all of this." Nathan said.


    Mako''s eyes widened with shock and anticipation as this was huge. If they were able to identify who they were up against they could n ordingly and rescue Bil and others before it was toote.


    "Go on, tell me then... who is it?" Mako said with anticipation and curiosity.


    *click*


    Mako''s perception kicked in as soon as he heard a faint click sound right by the main door. He didn''t know what it was but his body felt a sudden urge to move.


    Nathan and Leon watched as Mako suddenly flinched in front of them which was from hearing the initial click sound and after that, he quickly stood up from the couch and made a run for it towards the giant ss window in the hotel room.


    "Mako! What are you doing!?" Nathan shouted in confusion as he saw Mako''s figure take equip his gauntlets smash the window and then fall out of it.


    Both Nathan and Leon were left in shock as they had just watched Mako jump out of the building, but before any of them could react or even utter a single word literally seconds after Mako had jumped out, the entire hotel room had exploded.


    *BOOM!*


    A loud explosion appeared on the feed in front of Nathan and Leon apanied by a very loud boom sound whichsted for just a second before the connection was cut off.


    *****************


    [Mako''s perspective]


    Mako''s perception had picked up the disturbance outside of his room just in time as his mind received warning signals from his own body to get away as far as possible immediately. Without thinking, he instinctively moved toward the window.


    He was already getting ready to leave to search for Bill and the others after finishing the call with Nathan and Leon so he had all of his important items on him already.


    He quickly equipped his gauntlets and using all of his strength, smashed right through the window before jumping out of it himself.


    Only a second after he had jumped, the room he was just in exploded.


    *BOOM!*


    The explosion was deafening, and it sent a shockwave of heat and pressure through the room. Shards of ss and debris flew in all directions as the st ripped through the hotel room.


    Mako hadn''t even fallen aplete story yet and the shockwave of the explosion still managed to st him further away with shards of ss embedding into his back.


    It was a miracle that Mako had reacted in time, narrowly escaping the deadly trap.


    As he fell through the air, having sted out of the window, Mako realized that someone had meticulously rigged his room to explode. His heart raced as he understood the intent behind this attack – to eliminate him.


    Falling toward the ground, Mako knew he needed to act quickly. He summoned his Fire ability, creating a jet of mes that erupted from his arms, acting as a thruster to slow his descent. With the mes guiding him, he managed to control his fall, aiming for a patch of ground where he could safelynd.


    With his heart pounding in his chest, he called upon his Earth ability, shaping the ground beneath him to form a makeshift cushion. The earth shifted and molded itself to catch him like a protective embrace. He hit the ground with a controlled thud, the impact absorbed by the earth''s surface.


    Breathing heavily, Mako took a moment to assess his surroundings. It was clear that nowhere in the vige was safe for him now. He couldn''t risk staying in one ce for too long.


    ******************


    Nathan and Leon turned to look at each other in pure shock and disbelief at what they had just witnessed.


    However, before their emotion could control their next set of actions, themunication device in front of them started to ping again as it was receiving a call from an unknown frequency.


    Leon skeptically answered the call which was voice only and heard a sound he was all too familiar with.


    The sound of the wind rushing past your face as you run through it at high speeds.


    "Guys! I''m Okay!" Mako''s voice resounded through all the static.


    It was Mako! As soon as he hadnded on the ground he activated sprint and was now zooming through different alleyways, a technique he learned from Bill to make sure nobody could trail him.


    While he was sprinting, he essed his inventory and brought out his own personal homophone which he quickly connected to the military server using his ess card.


    Luckily, his sharp memory was able to remember the frequency line that he was using to contact Nathan and Leon and was able to quickly call them back before they made any irrational decisions toe look for him and reveal themselves to the enemy that could jeopardize the mission.


    "What just happened!? How are you okay?!" Leon asked still shaken up from all the emotions he just experienced in thest few moments.


    "I''ll exin once I reach you guys. Don''t move from your spot, I''ll be there soon!" Mako said through all the static and ended the call.


    After zipping through some more random alleys, Mako made sure that nobody could see him. He even double-checked by using Energy Sensing and Analyze before finally dashing into the forest and making his way over to Nathan and Leon.


    Mako moved swiftly through the dense underbrush, the darkness of the night concealing his presence. Every rustle of leaves and every snap of twigs heightened his senses as he remained vignt for any signs of pursuit.


    After about a couple minutes of sprinting through the forest, Mako was finally able to spot light which came from the campfire Nathan and Leon had made.


    "NATHAN! LEON! I''M HERE!" He called out to them to announce his arrival so that there wouldn''t be a repeat of what happenedst night when he had mistaken them for the potential enemy.


    Nathan and Leon who were hiding on top of the trees quickly jumped down to find an exhausted Mako who was bleeding from his back.


    *****************


    Mako recounted the harrowing incident to Nathan and Leon as they helped remove the shards of ss from his back. Their faces mirrored his shock and concern as they absorbed the gravity of the situation. It was clear that Bill, Erin, and Iris were in grave danger, and time was of the essence.


    Luckily, his fortitude was able to stop all the shards from prating deep into his body and doing any real damage so after they had removed thest piece, Mako quickly began to heal after consuming another healing pill.


    As the trio discussed their next moves, Leon and Nathan finally shared the information they had gathered about the potential identity of their assant. Mako''s hunch about a connection between the EMP attack and the use of BWD weapons led to a breakthrough in their investigation.


    Nathan exined, "We filtered the criminal database for cases involving EMP attacks and BWD weapons, just as you suggested. Surprisingly, there was only one match, and it fits the description of our assant. It''s a gang known for conducting illegal activities for confidential clients. Their modus operandi involves using BWD weapons for psychological maniption and EMP weapons to destroy evidence."


    Mako''s heart sank as the puzzle pieces began to fall into ce. When he had ordered Nathan and Leon to search for EMP cases, he had remembered reading up on a weapon that was simr to the EMP back at the Library in Emerald City before any of this started.


    BDWs were short for Brain Wave Disruptors which were a range of different weapons that generated different brain waves to inflict physiological damage in a multitude of ways.


    Mako had a hunch that this was what might have caused that static that he saw when he used his Energy Sensing right after the shadow had disappeared. But looking back at it now, the static could have been caused by the EMP weapons instead as its whole purpose was to produce an electromaic pulse to disrupt all the energies around him.


    "And get this, there has been a report for a stolen BWD weapon two months ago that can quote, ''visualize a subject''s worst fears into reality''. We still didn''t know if this was in rtion to the shadow as funny enough we still couldn''t find anything in rtion to it, but after you mentioned Bill and other''s disappearance, there was doubt that it was them." Leon added.


    "How was that?" Mako asked.


    "Meet the leader of this small gang, Victor Voss," Leon said as he pulled an image of the person who had taken down Bill and the others.


    Victor was an average-looking man with an average physique and height with no decerning features that would indicate that the man was a ruthless hitman.


    "His innocent appearance has led to the downfall of many as he is a skilled hitman and trained sniper. His favorite way of taking down enemies is to shoot them with a tranquilizer rifle while they get distracted by a little kid that leads them into a secluded area." Nathan said.


    With their newfound information, they formed a clearer picture of the adversary they were up against. It seemed increasingly likely that Bill, Erin, and Iris had encountered this dangerous gang leader. The urgency of their situation multiplied.


    Determined to take action, Mako quickly contacted Commander Sable to provide an update on their dire situation and to ask for assistance on what to do next.


    **************


    Minutester, Commander Sable had a contemtive expression as he received thest of Mako''s report.


    "We still don''t know their agenda for doing all this but there is no doubt about this, this is their doing," Mako concluded.


    Commander Sable thought for a few seconds with a quite scary and serious expression.


    His voice on the other end of the line was firm and decisive as he proceeded to give Mako his next order, "Mako, this has escted into a genuine D-tier mission now that a D-tier criminal is involved. You and your team are ordered to stand down. I will dispatch a team from the base that will infiltrate the vige and sunrise. They will handle things from there."