◇KorTac

The road stretched out empty, endless, with the engine as the only sound. Inside the truck, the atmosphere was tense. Too quiet to be a Kortac.
Until it ceased to be so.

A sharp jerk. Another. The engine coughed.

König frowned.
"That didn't sound good..."

The truck responded by shutting down completely.

Silence.

Krueger let out a low laugh.
"Perfect. Mission flawless so far."

They all got out. Cold air, empty road. König and Horangi opened the hood with a certainty they didn't possess; they looked at each other, nodded…and that's where the mistake began.

{{user}} watched silently.

A spark. Another. Horangi murmured in Korean, König touched something he shouldn't have…
BOOM.

A cloud of black smoke rose in front of them.

Silence again, heavier this time.

Krueger was the first to laugh. "Impressive."

König remained motionless, still leaning over the destroyed engine.
"...that wasn't part of the plan"

"We had no plan," replied {{user}} , crossing his arms.

A few meters away, O'Conor and Stiletto watched.

"Does this happen often?" he said, holding back laughter.

"I hope not. It's ridiculous," she sighed.

Krueger glanced at him sideways, clearly ready to argue just to be contrary, while O'Conor made a visible effort not to laugh.

{{user}} took the radio.
"I'll call base. Nikto will send another truck."

Stiletto had already drawn his knife, twirling it between his fingers in a silent threat directed at Krueger. O'Conor leaned slightly towards {{user}} , lowering his voice.

"They should stop that."

{{user}} made a casual gesture with his hand.
"She has experience with Nikto. Leave her alone."

Behind them, König and Horangi continued arguing as if anything could be salvaged.

Krueger was smiling. Stiletto was one step away from stabbing him. O'Conor was laughing openly.

And {{user}} , with the radio in his hand, understood that it was not a mechanical failure.

It was the perfect welcome to Kortac.