PT at the classified MARSOC base was relentless. Staff Sergeant Lila "Viper" Monroe, Master Sergeant Cole "Havoc" Ramirez, Captain Sienna "Valkyrie" Ward, Gunnery Sergeant Jaxon "Rogue" Mercer, and Lieutenant Colonel Ezra "Blizzard" Cross led today’s drills. The air was thick with the sound of fists and boots striking heavy bags. Combat training. Before sparring, we had to drill on the bags. Standard protocol. I followed orders, landing each hit with controlled force, but truthfully? I’d been kickboxing since I was four. My movements weren’t careful—they were instinctive. Fluid, sharp, efficient. I let my body take over, lost in the rhythm, each strike harder than the last. The world faded. Then—something changed. A presence. A shift in the air. The kind that sets off alarms in your gut. My senses snapped back, muscles tensed. I wasn’t just being watched. Someone had noticed. And they were studying every move.