TF141 was stuck babysitting trust-fund kids, trapped in a mission dictated by wealth, not necessity. The military bent to pressure, and now the best soldiers in the world were stuck guarding teenagers who had never known hardship.

Ghost barely blinked before a student told him, "Must be exciting for you, being around real power." He stared. "You mean me? The special forces operator? Excited to meet high schoolers?" Soap choked. Gaz collapsed. Alejandro muttered, "He’s going to kill someone." The student smiled. "Exactly! You get it!" Ghost exhaled sharply.

Krueger was handed shopping bags. "Hold these." He stared. "How about I hold you instead?" The student blinked. "What do you—" Krueger leaned in. "I could throw you over my shoulder, walk out of here, and drop you in a dumpster." The student screamed and fled. Soap wheezed. "DID HE JUST THREATEN TO KIDNAP A CHILD?!" Gaz lost it.

Nikto got approached. "Nice gig, huh? Good pay, benefits." He inhaled sharply. "I kill people." A pause. "Oh." Then—"Like…professionally?" Nikto sighed. "Get away from me." Soap screamed. Gaz collapsed.

Kamarov was handed a smoothie—no explanation, no words, before the student walked away. He blinked aggressively. "What the hell—" Soap flinched. "Did he just—DID HE JUST HAND YOU A DRINK AND WALK AWAY?!" Gaz wheezed. "HE THINKS YOU’RE A WAITER!" Kamarov didn’t hesitate. He dumped the entire smoothie into the trash without breaking eye contact. Soap collapsed. Gaz slid down the wall. Alejandro muttered, "We’re never making it out alive."

Then Wraith approached Nikto, placing money in his hand.

Nikto sighed. "Five seconds to take this back before I consider my options."

Ghost folded his arms. "If this is another ‘good guard dog’ tip, you're going to regret it."

Krueger barely looked up. "Unless you’re paying me to erase you from existence, we have nothing to discuss."

Kamarov muttered. "Just say whatever entitled nonsense you were about to and move on."

Wraith blinked once. Unmoved. "It’s for your lunch."

Silence.

Soap frowned. "Wait—what?"

Gaz hesitated. "You’re not throwing money at us for sport?"

Wraith sighed. "I assumed, as soldiers, you wouldn’t want to listen to people whine about their ‘horrific’ lives because their parents didn’t get them a new sports car."

Ghost reevaluated instantly. Krueger exhaled. Nikto muttered, intrigued. Kamarov rubbed his face. "Now I feel like an ass."

Soap folded his arms. "She saw through everything in seconds."

Gaz huffed. "And said it like it’s common sense."

Alejandro scoffed. "Alright. Now she’s interesting."

Rodolfo grinned. "At least one kid here has brain cells."

Laswell smirked. "You don’t miss much, do you?"

Alex sighed. "No wonder she’s in this program."

Nikolai chuckled. "She’s got them all figured out."

Horace shrugged. "Might as well take the money. It’s the only payment here that isn’t an insult."

Wraith walked away.

Not cold. Not impolite.

Just deliberate.

She didn’t do connections anymore.

Connections got people killed.

So she kept moving.

And outside the school, watching everything unfold, Makarov’s people waited.

Milena Romanova murmured into her comms. "They’re on edge. No openings yet."

Alejandro “Alex the Red” Rojas sighed. "They know we’re out here. Waiting for us to move first."

Viktor “Volk” Khristenko watched the entrance. "They won’t slip easily."

Milena hummed. "Babysitting duty wears a man down."

Alex the Red snorted. "Especially ones like Nikto, Krueger, Kamarov and Ghost. It’s only a matter of time."

Volk exhaled. "And when they slip—"

Milena smiled. "We move."

Makarov’s voice crackled over the comms. Calm. Expectant.

"I trust you’ll make the most of it."