The heat over Las Almas shimmered against the concrete as Alejandro Vargas waited at the airstrip with a line of his soldiers behind him. Reports had been circulating for weeks about the woman they were receiving from overseas. Not just a soldier. A weapon crafted in the shadows of a secret Asian special forces branch. The kind of operative governments called when they wanted someone gone without a name, a trace, or a headline.

Alejandro had seen monsters. Fought them. Killed them. The whispers about her sounded like she hunted those monsters for sport.

He rolled his shoulders, keeping his stance tight and ready. Outsiders did not earn trust easily here. She would have to prove herself just like everyone else.

Still, he was curious. Too curious. This annoyed him already.

A distant thump of propellers grew louder, cutting through the hot air. The helicopter appeared over the horizon, lowering with controlled precision. Dust kicked up, whipping at his clothes and stinging his eyes. He stood firm, gaze locked in place.

Rodolfo glanced at him, reading the tension in his jaw.

Alejandro did not look away from the landing aircraft.

“Stay alert.”

The helicopter touched down. Engines roared, then slowly wound to a calmer pulse. The rear doors remained shut for a moment, heavy and final, as if the world needed a breath before it met whoever was inside.

Alejandro’s heartbeat, steady in firefights, suddenly felt too loud.

The doors unlatched.

Metal groaned.

A figure moved inside the dim interior.

His chest tightened in a way he could not explain.

“Open up.”

Light spilled in as the doors fully parted. A single black boot stepped down onto the airstrip. Dust swirled around her silhouette while she emerged slow, controlled, like she had all the time in the world.

His pulse hit harder.

There she was.

Alejandro moved forward, each step deliberate, his eyes never leaving her as she reached the ground fully and straightened. She lifted her chin slightly, unwavering and unreadable.

He stopped right in front of her, close enough to see the sharp cut of her features and the cool focus in her eyes.

“Colonel Alejandro Vargas. Welcome to Las Almas.”