The following morning, noontime sun filtered through the floor to ceiling windows, illuminating Maxen and Olivia's bedroom. The rays were bright and warm enough to blind Olivia even with her eyes closed.

Pulling the duvet over her face to block the sunlight, Olivia sighed when darkness shrouded her. She had nothing to do today, so she intended on sleeping her hours away. 

She let the comfort of darkness under the duvet suck her back into sleep like quicksand in the desert. However, her senses heightened when she heard faint footsteps scuffle on the floor.

She was half awake and half asleep, so the noise confused her. It made her heart thump wildly in her c.h.e.s.t like a galloping horse in the meadow. In her fit of daze, her hand slid under the pillow, reaching out for her knife.

"It's me," Maxen whispered. He wrapped his hand on Olivia's wrist, calming her down. A smile crossed his face when Olivia pulled the duvet down to reveal her face. 

The scene wasn't new to Maxen, and how he wished that he could take her nightmares away. Like always, Maxen tried his best to do what he could to wash Olivia's anxiety away.

Maxen would go to great lengths to help Olivia fight the demons in her head. He even went as far as throwing Imman Han's d.i.c.k into a blender and watched the pervert cry as the blades shredded his balls into a mushy pile of flesh. 

Perching his b.u.t.t on the edge of the bed, Maxen tucked Olivia's loose hair behind her ear. "Nightmares?"

"No. You startled me, that's why." Olivia caught Maxen's wrist and planted a kiss on the ball of his hand. "What time is it?"

"One in the afternoon."

"Are you serious?"

"See it yourself." Maxen lifted his left hand and let Olivia read the time on his watch.

"Wooow. But I'm still sleepy. Oh, wait. Why are you still home?"

"I'm waiting for you. Thought you might want to watch our operation tonight."

Stretching her limbs like a cat, Olivia's eyes grew wide when Maxen's words sunk in. Did she hear him correctly? Did Maxen just invite her to spectate a classified operation? 

Searching Maxen's gaze to verify that her ears weren't playing tricks with her, Olivia's face broke out into a grin. "Are you serious?"

"Ask me one more time if I'm serious then I might change my mind."

"Of course you are serious!" Olivia swatted her hand. She pulled the duvet to her lips and bit down on it to keep herself from squealing like a highschool girl who was asked out as a date for prom.

Springing up to sit on the bed, Olivia tipped her head to the side and asked, "What operation is this again?"

"The Huks."

"What about the shipment?"

Maxen took a sharp breath in. His c.h.e.s.t swelled as air filled every stem in his lungs. 

"It was Nikolai," he trailed off, the corner of his eye wrinkled when he forced a small smile."We rescued girls… young ones, and we can say that it's a successful operation. But everyone knows it was far from over. So yeah..."

He peered at Olivia and saw an understanding swirl in her eyes. It was uncomfortable. 

He felt as if he didn't deserve any praise, not when the problem wasn't completely rooted from the source. So he slightly bowed his head and scratched the skin above his eyebrows.

"Don't be too hard on yourself, Max." Olivia's palm smoothened Maxen's back. "One small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind."

Maxen snorted. "Do you believe Neil Armstrong really went to the moon?"

Olivia shrugged. "I'm not a fan of space exploration, but his words had a nice ring to it."

Peeling the duvet off of Olivia, Maxen skimmed his hand on her caramel t.h.i.g.hs, hiking up her satin nightgown. 

Feral d.e.s.i.r.e blazed in his clear blue eyes when a mewl escaped Olivia's lips. "What else has a nice ring to it, Olivia?"

Meeting Maxen's gaze, Olivia inched her face closer to him. The tips of their noses brushed as she teased him. 

"I don't know, Max," she trailed off. Dusting her lips on his parted ones, Olivia spoke, "A smooch… perhaps?"

"Do you want to find out if it does?"

"Yes," came her breathy reply.

Moving his lips to her ears, Maxen whispered, "You have to ask me first, Olivia. Good girls know what they want and ask for it."

Olivia felt her n.i.p.p.l.es harden, and the air being pulled out of her lungs. L.i.c.k.i.n.g her lips, she breathed out the words, "Max, please ki—."

....

Heads turned to the door when it flung open, and though some were taken aback to see Olivia, those people managed to keep a straight face. Other officers were aware of Maxen and Olivia's marriage, but new faces in the room weren't given a heads up about that piece of information. 

Naturally, the spectators in the room flocked to Maxen's direction to greet him. "Hello. Good evening. Meet my wife Olivia," he announced to everyone he shook hands while his other hand rested on the small of Olivia's back. 

After all the pleasantries, Maxen and Olivia moved over to the far end of the room where King Alistair and Queen Isla sat.

"Mom. Dad," Olivia greeted, paying her respects to her in-laws. As usual, King Alistair responded with a curt nod.

"Omo. Sit beside mom, Livi darling." Queen Isla welcomed Olivia with a hug. She then patted the seat beside her. "Let's stay here in the shadows. They will be filming this operation so we shouldn't be seen by the cameras."

Olivia nodded in understanding. She perched herself on the seat and started scanning the area.

Unlike when she last visited the place when it was only her and Maxen, the War Room felt different when different personalities were present.

It was as if Olivia was watching a live recording of a James Bond movie, except at the moment, whatever she was witnessing was happening in real life.

The lights inside the War Room dimmed, and the room fell silent when the white screen turned green. One window was bigger than the other, while there were fourteen small thumbnails beside it.

"They're moving," Wyatt whispered, but the silence in the room was deafening. It sounded as if Wyatt screamed on top of his lungs.

Debris cleared, and the night vision camera served as everyone's eyes in the darkness that blanketed the forest. In the video feed, movements were seen, yet no noise could be heard. It was as if the Delta Force team were floating as they marched forward to the enemy lines.

Inching closer to Olivia, Queen Isla chattered, "Heol. Would you believe those men camouflaged in the forest bed for sixteen hours?"

Olivia briefly glanced at her mom and shook her head. She wanted to speak with Queen Isla more but like a cat drawn to a laserlight; she trained her gaze back on the screen and watched.

In all truth, she couldn't make out of what was going on in the live feed. She tried to squint as if it would help her see clearly, but all that was playing on the screen were shaky images and dancing laser lights.

Soon, not just a dozen soldiers swarmed the area, but a whole company emerged, ambushing and trapping the unaware rebels. An exchange of gunshots rang like firecrackers in the night, yet none in the room had a good visual of what transpired in ground zero. 

Slowly, the gunshots ceased, and the camera stabilized. It suspended everyone's breath inside the room, drawing out air from the spectator's lungs.

"Possible jackpot. Sending in ID. Over," a voice echoed in the comms. Soon, a head of an old man flashed on the screen. The dead was barely recognizable with all the bullet holes that pierced his skull, one of his ears even dangled as a bullet sliced it off.

A soldier entered the photo into the facial recognition system and in under a minute, the word "98% Match" flashed on the screen.

Bulus Gao.

Olivia's eyes darted to Maxen, and as if he could feel her staring at him, Maxen snapped out of his shock and returned Olivia's gaze. "One down," he mouthed, but neither of them smiled.

Maxen should be rejoicing that the elusive rebel leader was a casualty, yet he knew the truth: Everything was far from over.