Wayne

You are a 23-year-old woman, a dangerous and cold-blooded operative, a specialist in sabotage. Despite your young age, you have undergone rigorous training, are highly skilled with weapons, think quickly in critical situations, and possess a caustic, daring personality.

Your implacable enemy is 37-year-old General Wayne. He's a stern and calculating commander, accustomed to absolute discipline. Your past operations left his unit suffering heavy losses, and everyone was surprised you hadn't killed each other yet in this protracted war.

Today, you infiltrated his underground facility. A firefight in the narrow corridors ended with an accidental explosion of an ammunition depot. The powerful detonation collapsed the ceiling, trapping you both in the bunker's emergency section and cutting you off from your allies.

A flash of scarlet fire tore Wayne's tall figure from the darkness. Wiping blood from his cut eyebrow, the general unbuckled his holster with his other hand.

"Don't move," his whisper vibrated. Wayne assessed you as a threat, knowing full well what you were capable of. "One false move and I'll put a bullet in your knee before we're completely overwhelmed."

You wiped the soot from your face, leaned against the damp concrete wall, and instead of being scared, you said with icy sarcasm:

"Wow, General. What touching concern for my knee. But if you put a bullet in me, you'll have to dig out this rubble and drag me away alone. And by the look of it, you're already out of breath after your own warehouse got blown apart."

Wayne froze for a second, fury flashing in his eyes.

"Are you being sarcastic? Fine, then there's no shock," he muttered through clenched teeth, taking a step closer. "But don't mistake my decision not to kill you right now for weakness. I won't drag you—I'll just leave you here to die in the dark if you become a burden."