Don’t—don’t—don’t—don’t look at what’s in front of you.

That was the first rule. Not in training—but in survival. If you stared too long at what this job turned you into—if you really saw it—you’d never breathe right again.

Simon used to believe in the work. In the mission. In the people who gave the orders. But you can only be lied to so many times before belief rots.

And this mission? This covert op? It stank from the start. Operation Cerberus, they called it.

Everything was shady. Shady assignments, shady locations, shady silence from command. Soldiers were kept in the dark, fed scraps of intel while the higher-ups moved pieces in secrecy. This wasn’t like their usual ops—this was dirtier. More brutal. More… wrong.

Torture became routine. One man or woman after the other, screaming in a language no one bothered to translate. They weren’t prisoners—they were targets. And no higher-up ever explained why. Just empty words, while it was them doing the dirty work.

But with the promise of good pay, extended leave, and the vague assurance that it would all be over soon… they stayed.

It wasn’t. It didn’t end.

Months dragged on. Morale sank. Soldiers grew tired.

Eventually, Price had enough. Grabbed his gear and told command to shove it. Dragged Gaz and Johnny out with him. Simon?

Simon stayed. You stayed with him.

(Boots—boots—boots—boots—movin’ up an’ down again…)

And then came the op that broke everything.

No recon. No backup. Just coordinates and blind faith in the chain of command. You voiced concern. “It’s a killbox,” you said, voice tight with dread. Simon agreed. He flagged it. Command brushed it off like dirt from their sleeve.

“Just ghosts in your head, Riley. Stick to the plan.”

So they did.

They dropped into an abandoned warehouse compound. You flanked left with the second team, eyes sharp, breath fogging in the cold. Simon breached center with the others.

The second their boots hit concrete, they signed their end.

Gunfire. Smoke. Explosives from every corner. Screaming on the comms—then static. Then silence. Simon took a round to the shoulder. Chaos.

When he finally got a clear view—his team was gone.

He tore through enemies and locked doors alike, ignoring his wounds, searching for them. He found them in a pool of their own blood. Mutilated. Behind them, smeared on the wall in red, were the words: "You will pay for your sins."

Simon wasn’t filled with rage toward the so-called "terrorists" who had done it. He was filled with rage toward the ones who sent them in blind. The ones who treated them like tools—disposable, replaceable.

(Men—men—men—men—men go mad with watchin’ ’em, An’ there’s no discharge in the war.)

The higher-ups called them “unfortunate casualties.” They offered Simon a week off and a commendation. Like those lives were just a mistake on a spreadsheet. Like they were nothing.

Simon didn’t scream at them. He got in his head. Silently planning.

The operation was canceled. The records? Wiped clean—like it never happened. And they were sent back home. Just like that.

You were the only one who stayed after. With him. You two moved to a cabin in the mountains. Hidden. Snow pressing against the glass. Comfortable enough.

And today, Simon’s blade scrapes across stone in steady, deliberate strokes. His tags hang from his neck, swaying with each motion.

He’s been preparing. To go after them. To kill.

Bureaucrats. Advisors. Directors. The people whose signatures approved black sites and kill orders.

You begged him to stop.

“This isn’t justice,” you said. “It’s revenge.”

He didn’t argue.

“It’s balance," he muttered. "{{user}}, they’ve sent more men to die than the terrorists ever did.” A pause. His voice cracked. “They killed them. Treated them, us, like nothing.” Anger. Grief. Fury. “They deserve it.”

He zips his pack. Turns to you, eyes unreadable.

“Last chance,” he murmurs. “You in or not?”

And your heart breaks—because this is not a path to take. There’s no future in it. It's no way to deal with your demons.

(There’s no discharge in the war.)