“Sarge, thank god you came!” Gunner said while approaching Lily.

“Of course, I came,” Lily replied.

With Lily reinforcing the squad, teamwork picked up a notch. Gunner and his colleagues were more confident under Lily’s presence and command. They managed to immobilize most of the attackers, and with the police arriving for backup, the crossfire eventually ceased.

Lily studied the damage to the three bulletproof Lexus cars in the middle of the crossfire. The first car’s windshield had been shattered due to the number of shots incurred. Lily assumed that was how Gia got shot.

Around them were police officers questioning members of her team, paramedics taking the wounded attackers to the ambulance, and crime scene investigators taking pictures and collecting pieces of evidence.

“Anyone else hurt?” Lily asked Gunner.

“Gia is already headed to the hospital. Nolan only got an abrasion. He will be fine,” Gunner reported. “Johnson and Rick are unharmed.”

“And - the client?” Lily paused, finally remembering the “big fish.”

“Mister Thompson is fine. His car’s windshields did not break, and his personal bodyguard and driver instructed him to remain inside,” Gunner said. “MVM has sent another two Lexus cars to pick him up. The ones that are here must remain for evidence collection.”

Lily tried to avert her gaze from the cars that had arrived. She knew Lucas would be moving into one of them, and she could not bear to see him. She was afraid she might end up killing the client herself.

Instead, she said to Gunner, “Then, I guess I’ll be leaving now -”

“Ah!” Gunner raised his brow, asking, “Aren’t you going to meet the client? Technically, you are our boss. Shouldn’t you talk to him?”

“I have nothing to say to him. Continue to escort him as planned. I’ll call MVM to send in more men from their side to protect the big fish until he leaves Koplin,” Lily responded before turning on her heel and approaching the detective in charge of the investigation.

Gunner had to chase after her and asked, “Wait. Wait. Wait. What’s with the rush, Sarge?”

Shifting to Gunner, Lily reminded, “I gotta get home, remember?”

Lily went ahead and gave her testimony to the lead detective. Afterward, the officer studied her identification and expressed, “An exciting job you got here, Sergeant: a part-time National Guard and a full-time private military contractor for Black Hawk. Any openings for Black Hawk?”

“You are free to apply anytime, Detective,” Lily said casually.

“I probably will do that, Sergeant. I always thought all members of Black Hawk were cool,” the detective said with a laugh. “We are all good here. You may go, but we will be in touch.”

“I’m not hard to find, Detective,” Lily responded.

Just as Lily went past the police officer, she realized that she did not have a car or a bike for that matter! She had wrecked the police motorcycle when she had let it crash against the ten-wheeler truck.

She was about to ask for a ride from one of the police officers when Gunner called from behind, “Sarge! Sarge, Mister Thompson would like to take you to the airport!”

Lily became rooted in place. It took her seconds to get back to her senses, and she continued to walk, pretending not to hear anything. However, Gunner could not take a hint and kept calling her, “Sergeant! Lily! Boss!”

A black, armored Lexus 500 pulled over and blocked her path. Gunner stepped out of the car and said, “Boss.” He leaned his head to the vehicle, saying, “Mister Thompson would like to speak with you and take you to the airport. The ground-breaking ceremony has been re-scheduled due to the attack.”

Lily saw the confusion in Gunner’s expression. He gave her that look that screamed, ‘Be professional, Boss! What the F are you doing?’

Left with no choice, Lily unwillingly entered the car and immediately felt the man’s presence from inside. The energy from Lucas seemed to be eating her whole, yet she refused to look at him as she settled in the backseat.

Gunner had taken the front seat opposite to Lucas’ driver. She noticed the other Lexus car drove past them, taking the lead. After which, they all drove away.

“Mister Thompson, this is our operations director, Sergeant Lily Wright. Like me, she is a National Guard,” Gunner introduced.

Lily remained silent and stared only at the front. Beside her, she heard the man say in a deep voice, “It’s nice to meet you, Sergeant Wright.”