I Have Returned, but I Cannot Lay down My Gun-Chapter 781: Washington D.C (3)

"Blizzard’s pretty intense. It’s almost like this horrible weather always seems to align perfectly."

"Don’t worry, operators. We’re not crazy enough to fly a Blackhawk from the Pentagon to the White House for such a short distance."

"I’m not worried about that part, haha."

At 1:45 AM, above Washington D.C.,

To prepare for any possible situations, Surkins, Carmen, and the Eagle team left, and the remaining Dagger team, barely under ten members, took a helicopter across just a 3km distance.

Outside, a blizzard raged so fiercely that the surroundings were almost impossible to see. A once-in-a-century blizzard had cruelly struck the northeastern United States for the second consecutive year, and the capital was no exception.

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However, the two pilots, using advanced HMDs and electronics, paid little attention to the weather and continued flying without concern. There was no real need for worry. In fact, it wasn’t even a long flight.

As they descended a bit, they saw lights from the ground. The White House operation base, with all lights off except for the minimum necessary lighting, stood stark against the storm.

Meanwhile, the Dagger team was reviewing the various devices within the White House they had been checking for hours earlier, familiarizing themselves with the functions of secret passages. Naturally, these were top-secret details, completely classified.

The pilots paid no attention to them. Even if they knew what the team was doing, they would likely guess it was for securing possible escape routes in case things went wrong.

And that assumption wasn’t far from the truth.

—Thud!

"The weather’s really not great. How long do you think this will take?"

"Three kilometers should be fine. We should be able to return to the Pentagon without issue. Once we land, please head back to HQ."

"...Is that really okay?"

"Yes. If you insist, we’ll consider it a direct order. Today just doesn’t feel right. We’ll take care of the aftermath, so let’s meet again at the Pentagon."

"..."

The pilot’s expression shifted awkwardly in an instant, but the Dagger team didn’t pay it much attention.

The Blackhawk helicopter landed on the helipad, and as soon as the doors opened, the Dagger team, dressed in winter gear, exited.

Due to the snow and wind, the heavy footsteps of the Dagger team hitting the ground were inaudible to the pilots.

"Be careful then."

"Thanks for your hard work."

Once the doors closed, the team watched as the helicopter ascended back into the sky, and they descended the stairs to the area beneath the helipad.

Despite the blizzard, the scorch marks on the White House were unmistakable. The snow had piled up several meters high around the helipad, covering supplies wrapped in plastic.

Armored vehicles lined the area, and people moved around busily even in the early hours, a clear sign of the ongoing activity.

Having received the map of the White House perimeter from the Pentagon, the Dagger team surveyed the surroundings.

"The perimeter is surrounded by high fences, guard posts, and gates... It looks like the temporary buildings in the park and the federal offices around here are being used as barracks for soldiers."

"I’ve heard that too. But when things hit the fan, I’m not sure how we’re going to wake those guys up. We can’t exactly notify them of an attack ahead of time."

"That’s not a problem. By the time we landed, I had already secured the alarm control authority for the White House operation base."

"What about the metal detectors?"

"Don’t even need to ask."

The combined sound of crunching snow and creaking boots faded as they approached the entrance to the White House operation base.

To enter, they needed to go through a disinfection process and be checked for weapons—although most personnel registered on the White House network carried pistols in case of emergencies, those authorized to carry weapons were allowed to do so.

The Dagger team, as external visitors, couldn’t bring weapons inside for now.

As instructed earlier, the eight members approached the entrance. The guard post near the disinfectant and metal detector had two fully armed soldiers.

After a brief silence, the speaker in the guard post crackled to life.

"Welcome, Dagger Team. Secretary Janet is waiting for you on the third floor of the Central Residence."

"Thank you."

The team passed through the gate one by one. A fine mist of disinfectant sprayed, and they passed through with their hands raised. A beeping sound echoed, but only a watch appeared as a metallic object to the staff manning the scanner.

Once all eight had entered, they began making their way up to the upper floors where Secretary Janet was supposed to be waiting—at least, that’s what the internal staff thought.

However, this wasn’t the case.

As soon as they entered, the Dagger team activated floating holograms, and except for the four mutagens, half of them switched on optical camouflages and began moving in different directions.

Owens, leading the group, added,

—Operation begins now. We may not get results, but let’s hope Janet hasn’t been moved elsewhere. For now, we’re heading to the secret fallout shelter.

—We’ll head to the underground roads connected to the shelter. Let’s check if there are any unfriendly guests first.

—If we stir things up and nothing happens later, that’ll be troublesome. But I guess that’s not something we need to worry about.

The team dispersed.

Some took control of CCTV access to disable hidden sensors and circuits, while others infiltrated communication networks to call off guards near the shelter’s entrance, redirecting them to another location.

Only hours earlier, the Pentagon had provided them with access to all devices, sensors, secret passage locations, and infiltration rights within the White House operation base, making all this possible.

Meanwhile, the mutagens had reached the third floor.

Their vision was directly linked to the screens of the classified Special Operations Room in the TOC. Behind the mutagens were four floating hologram projectors, projecting the figures of Owens and his team members.

How much time passed before someone appeared from across the room?

"Ah, finally, you’ve arrived. I’ve been waiting for you, Dagger Team. It’s a pleasure to meet such famous people from Manhattan."

"Nice to meet you, Madam Secretary. It’s unfortunate that we have to meet under such unpleasant circumstances. Since you’ve taken the time to see us, I hope we can wrap things up as quickly as possible."

"Let’s do that. Shall we discuss things in the reception room?"

Laurentina nodded.

Inside the reception room, several men dressed in suits were waiting. Laurentina pretended to look around as she turned and watched Secretary Janet enter.

From the back of the casually but neatly dressed Secretary, there didn’t appear to be anything unusual.

However, the Dagger team had already analyzed her every movement—her gait, her stride, and even the slight changes in her pupil movements.

How much time passed?

The result was unexpectedly easy to confirm.

—Jackpot.

—What’s the status?

—The appearance and stride are well replicated, but the eye movements are unnatural, and her voice isn’t passing through her vocal cords. Ordinary people would never suspect, but they didn’t think they could fool us with such naive methods.

—So, what does that mean?

—It means they were well prepared. In short... they’re planning to kill us. And they likely have the capacity to handle the aftermath, or they’ve prepared for something like this.

—Reinforcements?

—Forget it.

Clank.

The door to the reception room closed. But Olivia’s sharp hearing realized that the sound of the locking mechanism, which seemed like a single noise, was actually the result of several overlapping sounds.

At that moment, everyone in the Dagger team recalled the fact that they could no longer simply turn the doorknob to exit.

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As this realization sank in, the Dagger team sat down at the table. There was food prepared in front of them, but no one touched it.

When the door completely closed and the people who looked like bodyguards entered, something in the guise of Secretary Janet’s eyes flickered faintly.

However, Laurentina coolly asked,

"Where is Secretary Janet?"

"Even in a situation like this, you’re still asking that? Don’t you think it’s too late for that?"

"The one who’s too late is you, Syndicate. Sending out this mechanical body instead of someone who could deceive us means you either didn’t have time to react to our visit or you had other plans."

"Heh. Looks like I have no choice but to admit it. Yeah, you’re right. If we had more time, we would’ve either implanted something in Janet’s head to use her as a hostage or snuck her out of the White House, instead of sending this crude body in front of you."

With a swish.

The time to lay down their cards and steel their resolve. Owens and his team members disappeared like melting snow, and the bodyguards and mysterious people who had emerged from behind the curtains now confronted the Dagger team.

The last exchange continued.

"Do you think you’ll join ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) the Syndicate?"

"Let me ask you this—are you planning on joining hell right now?"

"Heh, as expected."

And at that moment.

Something shot out from Secretary Janet’s arm.

—Boom!

The attack came first, and the farewell came afterward, but it didn’t matter.

The mutagens, possessing reflexes and target-locking skills that no human or machine could attain, were already behind a couch the moment the cyborg drew a weapon from Janet’s arm.

At the same time, the grenades and smoke grenades dropped on the floor by the Dagger team all detonated simultaneously. The thick smoke, explosions, and fragments scattered everywhere as a massive sound was heard from the outside.

It was the siren signaling an emergency.

"Kill them!"

"Try if you can, you bastards."

The white smoke began to fill the room, and mixed in with the chaff, it started to disable the electronic systems. The androids disguised as bodyguards’ sensory systems began to malfunction.

Meanwhile, a strange noise filled the air as the temperature began to rise sharply.

With a clear blue glow.

—Crackle!

With an ominous sound, one of the androids collapsed in place.

As a blue blade embedded in its jaw, its head glowed white, its interior boiling, burning, and melting, making the appearance of the android’s head utterly grotesque.

Soon after, a voice emerged from the chaos.

Laurentina’s stern judgment.

"Before you send them to hell."

The room, now filled with a thick white smoke, began to crackle. The blinding light from the burning fire illuminated everything in its path as the ceiling itself started to glow from the intense heat. The Dagger team, still in action, did not hesitate.

In the midst of all the chaos, with the overwhelming stench of smoke and the rising temperatures, Laurentina, having thrown the shock grenade, shouted over the confusion.

"Activate the heat resistance upgrades!"

"...!"

The response was swift. The team immediately reacted, some faster than others, as Laurentina, with incredible speed, threw the shock grenade. It whizzed through the air and crashed into a window, breaking it open.

And then—

—Boom!

The moment the window shattered, cold winter air rushed in, and a massive firestorm engulfed the entire room. The intense flash of light set off an inferno that spread throughout the room in an instant. The Dagger team had now become the center of this storm, with everything around them being consumed by flames.

The fire’s heat intensified, and the fragments of the furniture, along with the curtains, caught fire, filling the room with thick black smoke. The toxic smoke was quickly taking over the space, but the team could not afford to lose focus. Their actions were precise, as their armor held strong against the heat and chaos around them.

"Did you bring something interesting with you?" Laurentina remarked, eyes narrowing as she noticed one of the soldiers' unusual movements.

"Let’s hope it ends with just that, for your sake," the response came, the tension palpable in the air.

As the battle continued, the androids—assumed to be high-ranking combatants under the Syndicate’s control—fell one by one, their bodies either scorched by blue flames or broken by the overwhelming force of the Dagger team’s precision strikes.

Laurentina, her breathing heavy but steady, spoke again, this time to a nervous-looking Eugene.

"Don’t be scared, rookie. Don’t think too hard about what’s happening—just follow your instincts. Everything we’ve taught you will come out naturally."

"...Understood."

Laurentina’s words rang in Eugene's mind, and he nodded as his body adapted to the pressure. In the midst of the battle, he could feel his enhanced senses and abilities coming to life. It was a stark contrast to the terror and violence surrounding them.

With the remaining team, Laurentina gave the order. "Let’s make sure we end this. If we leave any of these bastards alive, we’ll never get another shot at this."

Eugene, still in shock from his first true 'close combat' experience, moved with confidence. The overwhelming odds did not faze him anymore—he was a part of Dagger team, and nothing could stand in their way.

The mission was clear. The Syndicate, Black Eagle, and the mystery surrounding Secretary Janet were all just pieces in the deadly game that Dagger Team had become a central part of.

As the team took action, they knew—this battle was far from over, but they would leave their mark on it, as they always did.