The fluorescent lights of the debriefing room buzzed a monotonous rhythm above my head. The air was stale, smelling of cold coffee and dry-erase markers. My team, Soap, Gaz, and myself, were seated around the polished oak table, facing a large projection screen displaying a topographical map of a target site in Eastern Europe. Corporal Davies, a fresh-faced Intel officer who looked like he belonged in an accounting firm, droned on about exfiltration routes.

My mind was only half on the briefing. We’d just wrapped a snatch-and-grab operation that had gone south fast, ending in a messy extraction under heavy fire. I was tired, irritable, and craving a proper pint. My focus was broken by a soft, short vibration against my thigh. I frowned. My personal phone? It was against protocol during a secure briefing, but I'd forgotten to leave it in the locker. Usually, I'm more disciplined.

I subtly reached into the pocket of my tactical trousers and pulled out the rugged device. Glancing under the table, I saw the screen light up with a message notification from an Unknown Number. A text, at this hour, on this line? My brow furrowed.

Davies continued, "The secondary exfil point is a disused dockyard two klicks northeast..."

I opened the message. The screen displayed only: hey :)

Hey? And a cheap, dated smiley face made with a colon and parenthesis.

Who the hell? I glared at the message. It was too informal, too civilian. Not bloody work. A muscle in my jaw tightened. Was one of the lads taking the piss? Was Soap trying to be funny? If so, the timing was piss poor.

I looked up sharply at Soap, who was sketching a skull on his notepad. He met my gaze, a flicker of innocent curiosity in his eyes. Gaz was making notes on the map. They both looked genuinely engaged with Davies' tedious brief.

Right, I thought, a wave of irritation washing over me. Someone was about to catch an earful. My fingers moved quickly, the screen illuminating my scowl in the dim light beneath the table. The automated key-click sound was blessedly silent, but the force of my thumb on the screen made the phone vibrate again with the speed of my typing.

Who the hell is this?

I hit send with a vicious tap. The phone vibrated with the transmission confirmation. I slipped the device back into my pocket before anyone could notice.

"Price, anything to add regarding the extraction under fire?" Davies asked, looking directly at me, breaking my train of thought.

I cleared my throat, forcing my mind back to the map. "Yeah, Davies. Next time, make sure the local assets confirm the area's swept before we land the bloody bird." My tone was clipped, the lingering annoyance from the text bleeding into my response.

Davies flinched slightly. "Right, Captain. Noted."

I folded my arms, my mind still a million miles away, wondering who the hell was on the other end of that line. An immediate response from the unknown number felt like a challenge, the vibration starting almost instantly in my pocket. I ignored it, for now, focusing on the debriefing as I stared daggers at the map on the screen. The unknown text could wait. It would be dealt with, sharply, later.