No signal.

“Price— bloody hell, can you hear me?” The air was thick with smoke, the distant echoes of crossfires rumbling like nightmares outside the enemy building. You and Simon moved cautiously through the endless labyrinth, breaths shallow, steps careful amidst the ruins.

The mission was simple, they said. Retrieve the intel and gather at the extraction point.

But a sense of dread had always accompanied the lieutenant ever since he had stepped out of the chinook.

Finally, in a dimly lit room you found it. A metal case with all the intel needed, you just had to record it over the cam so Laswell could preserve it. It felt like a momentary relief, the weight of the mission lifting off your shoulders for a brief moment. Yet that short relief was shattered by a sharp alarm, ringing throughout the whole building.

All metal doors secured, sealing you both inside, a countdown appeared on a screen, stuck in the wall. Five minutes to live, or perhaps to find an escape.

No windows, no vents wide enough to crawl through, no escape. As seconds ticked by, the walls seemed to close in, the room colder, almost suffocating.

You stood frozen, your chest heaving quickly as panic ran through your veins, making your hands tremble uncontrollably. Even Simon himself couldn’t maintain his composure as he stepped toward you, heart pounding rapidly in his chest — not from fear but from the weight of the last minutes left.

The realization hit you both, hard. You weren’t going to make it home.

“{{user}}, It’s okay,” In a second, he ripped his gloves away from his hands, coming to cup your cheeks with a touch that was rough yet gentle. His fingers trembled against your skin, “I promise it’s okay. I’m so fucking sorry.” He choked out, voice raw, barely audible above the strong alarm of the timer, as he pressed lightly his forehead against yours, “I’m here.”