Theater: NovelMaster | Language: English
Synopsis
The mayor's son was being held hostage in an abandoned slaughterhouse by a deranged psycho.
I locked my sniper scope dead onto the killer's forehead.
Just as my finger touched the trigger, Sean—my husband and the SWAT tactical commander—cut off my comms.
"Hold your fire! Wait for Chloe to arrive and begin psychological negotiation!"
Just like my past life.
Back then, Chloe, posing as an elite criminal profiler, babbled forty minutes of textbook nonsense at the killer.
She enraged the psycho so badly that he sliced off the hostage's ear on the spot.
Unable to take it anymore, I pulled the trigger and blew the killer's head off.
Chloe puked and passed out cold.
Her humiliating performance went viral on social media, sparking widespread backlash until she had a total mental breakdown.
After that, Sean reassigned me to go undercover inside a brutal organ-trafficking syndicate.
On the night of the bust, he deliberately dialed my phone, blowing my cover to the butchers.
"Loved playing the hero, didn't you? Let's see how heroic you feel when they dissect you alive!"
In my dying moments, I watched him walk in with his arm around Chloe, his face plastered with fake grief.
Now, reborn back to this exact second, the killer's blade was once again pressed against the boy's throat.
I slowly lowered my rifle, a cold smirk touching my lips.
Let's see how your little act plays out this time.
Over the comms, Chloe's voice drifted into all of our earpieces.
Her tone was soft and gentle, as if soothing a throwing-a-tantrum toddler rather than an unstable maniac holding a serrated blade.
"I know you're in pain... I understand you're angry. We hear what you want..."
"Hurtful actions won't solve anything. We can find a better path together..."
"Goddammit!"
Cole, the point man flanking the kill zone, growled under his breath, his voice laced with pure rage.
"What the hell is she babbling about? Can't she see that sick bastard is about to cut the kid's throat?!"
"Command, the target's getting worse! Negotiation failed! Requesting immediate green light to shoot!"
Miller, my spotter, chimed in urgently.
The line went silent for a second before Sean's calm, detached voice broke in.
"Stand down. Chloe is building rapport. Nobody moves without my direct order!"
"Rapport my ass! Keep waiting and the hostage is a corpse!"
Cole dropped his voice, but the fury was unmistakable.
Chloe's voice cut in again, completely unbothered.
"Are your actions right now a reflection of your childhood trauma? We can talk about that..."
"Fuck!"
Someone cursed over the open radio.
The psycho seemed completely triggered by her words. He let out a harsh, gravelly screech.
"Shut up! Who the fuck do you think you are? Say one more word and I'll gut him right now!"
The blade dug half an inch deeper into Jason Adams' trembling neck, drawing a thin line of red.
The mayor's son choked out a muffled whimper, his pupils dilated in pure horror.
Mayor Adams' gravelly roar tore through the command channel, followed by the chaotic sounds of people trying to hold him back.
"Sean Vance! If my boy loses a single hair, you'll never wear that badge again! Shoot him! Save my son!"
After a brief pause, Sean's voice finally came back online.
"Victoria, give me the target's status."
The radio went dead silent.
In my previous life, this was the moment I'd provide the sharpest tactical assessment, handing him the justification he needed while shouldering the blame if things went south.
Not this time.
Through my high-magnification scope, I watched the terrified boy shivering in his own filth.
And I watched the psycho spiraling into pure madness because of Chloe's self-righteous psychobabble.
I keyed my mic, my voice entirely flat.
"My job is pulling the trigger, Commander. I don't read psycho minds."
"That call is yours to make."
Dead silence flooded the channel.
I could practically picture Sean's face.
His cool, calculated mask must have shattered right into stunned disbelief.
"Victoria! Watch your tone! We are in the middle of an active operation!"
His voice carried a sharp reprimand, desperate to reassert control.
I replied instantly, respectful in tone, but hard as steel.
"Understood, Commander. Until you issue the order, my finger won't touch the trigger."
"After all, I can't take the blame for ruining Chloe's rapport."In my previous life, that clean headshot solved everything.
The hostage was saved, the mayor treated me like family, and I was hailed as a hero.
That act earned me honors and a fast-track promotion—and became the very catalyst that dragged me straight to hell.
Sean couldn't stomach his wife outshining him.
Worse, I had ruined the precious reputation of his golden girl, Chloe, driving her into a breakdown.
So, he tossed me into the filthiest, deadliest cartel ring as an undercover pawn.
Then, at the crucial moment of the sting, he intentionally burned my cover.
I still remembered the smug, treacherous look in his eyes right before I went under the knife.
A shrill scream yanked me back to reality.
It was Chloe, panic finally leaking through her fragile facade.
"D-Don't move! I'm just trying to help you! You're making communication impossible—"
"Help me?"
The psycho let out a shrill, mocking cackle and dragged the knife down!
"Ahhh!"
A bloodcurdling shriek pierced the warehouse.
The next second, a severed, bloody finger bounced onto the concrete floor.
The mayor's son had lost the pinky on his left hand. His eyes rolled back into his head, teetering on the edge of passing out.
"You psycho! You absolute monster! How could you?!"
Chloe shrieked in horror, tears choking her words as she completely abandoned every shred of professional composure.
"I was helping you! Why won't you listen?!"
Her screeching only threw gasoline on the fire.
The muscles in the killer's face contorted wildly. Offended by her accusation, he raised the blood-slicked blade once more.
This time, right at the hostage's eye.
"Help me? Sending a bitch to talk down to me—you think this is a joke?! Watch me carve his eyeballs out right fucking now!"
Everyone's blood turned to ice.
Yet, the direct order to breach or fire from Commander Sean Vance never came.
"Chloe, fall back! Keep your head down!"
His top priority was shielding the very woman who was botching the entire rescue.
Mayor Adams' voice shattered through the radio, bordering on insanity.
"Sean Vance! My son's finger! Did you see that?! Shoot! Neutralize him right now!"
"Or I swear to God you're fired!"
Sean's heavy breathing rasped against his mic.
"Chloe, fall back to a safe distance immediately!"
Once again, he secured her safety first. Only then did he grind out an order through clenched teeth.
"Sniper team, stand by..."
"Sean!"
Chloe sobbed over the comms, dripping with hurt and stubborn conviction.
"They don't understand! This is classic trauma-induced PTSD!"
"Violence will only escalate the tragedy! What we need is empathy—a bridge of trust!"
"Agitating him will push him off the deep end!"
She seemed to have completely forgotten that her own words had just cost the boy a finger.
"They're all yelling at me... do you doubt my professional judgment too?"
She was actually whining to him in the middle of a tactical crisis.
Right then, Miller's panicked voice cut through the channel.
"Commander..."
"Recon just reported... there's an explosive signature around the target's feet!""Explosives?!"
A collective gasp echoed across the team. Even Sean's breath caught in his throat.
Miller spoke fast and clear.
"Wires running from beneath his boots across an unmapped blast radius! A direct breach is suicide!"
The dynamic flipped instantly.
What had started as a hostage rescue had just turned into a powder keg ready to blow everyone to kingdom come.
"Fuck me..."
Cole muttered under his breath, sounding entirely helpless.
Chloe seemed paralyzed by the news. Her crying cut off abruptly, leaving only faint, startled hiccups.
A beat later, that irritating, condescending tone returned.
"S-See? I told you not to push him!"
"He feels vulnerable, terrified, and this is his only defense mechanism!"
"We have to validate his emotions and build a foundation of safety—"
"Validate my ass!"
A fury-choked roar erupted over the line—it was Cole from the breach point.
"I could've blown his brains out five minutes ago! Now we're all sitting on a damn bomb because of your pet therapist!"
"Shut up, Cole!"
Sean barked, but there was an unmistakable tremor in his voice.
He took a ragged breath.
"Chloe, keep him talking. Keep him steady!"
"EOD, assess the trigger! Breach team, pull back and find hard cover!"
His orders were a contradictory mess. He wanted Chloe forward to negotiate while ordering the shooters to retreat. The surprise had completely rattled his composure.
Having received her mandate, Chloe acted as if she had been crowned a hero. Her pitch went up an octave.
"You don't really want to do this, do you? Let us help you..."
"Just let the boy go first..."
The killer's jaw twitched, his crazed eyes scanning the rafters.
He dug the knife harder into Jason's throat, drawing fresh beads of blood.
His wild cackling stopped, replaced by sheer, insulted fury.
"Understand me? Help me? Go to hell!"
Spit flew from his lips as he shook with rage.
"You fake, pathetic pigs! All you're thinking about is how to take me out!"
"Sending a girl to baby-talk me! You think I'm a fucking idiot?!"
Chloe went pale, staggering half a step back.
Desperate to prove herself, she forced herself forward again, her voice shrill and accusatory.
"How dare you speak to me like that! I am trying to save your life! An antisocial personality like yours—"
"You're the antisocial freak!"
The killer slammed his heavy combat boot against a rusted steel rack, sending a deafening crash through the slaughterhouse.
"Get the fuck out of here! Or I'll open his neck right now!"He flicked his wrist, and Jason let out a strangled whimper.
"Ahhh!"
Faced with immediate death, Chloe shrieked, losing her mind completely.
She spun toward the command perimeter, her voice turning into a high-pitched, hysterical wail devoid of any clinical credibility.
"Sean! Did you hear him?! He insulted me! He actually cursed at me when I was trying to save him!"
"He's a rabid, uneducated animal!"
"Arrest him right now! Teach him a lesson!"
Silence choked the comm line.
The only sounds were her indignant sniffling and the killer's ragged pants.
Sean's voice snapped on, loaded with desperate favoritism.
"Chloe, evacuate now! Alpha Team, cover her retreat!"
His order came sharp and decisive—a stark contrast to his hesitation over the hostage.
Assaulters shifted quickly into a protective wedge, dragging Chloe back toward the armored truck.
Watching this circus, the killer burst into hysterical, mocking laughter.
"Hahaha! The princess got her feelings hurt, so her white knight panicked!"
"God, I hate you self-righteous bastards!"
His bloodshot eyes snapped back to the limp hostage, the madness in his face reaching a fever pitch.
"Show's over, rich boy. Looks like your life isn't worth a single tear from that little bitch."
He ran his tongue over his cracked lips, slowly sliding the blood-soaked knife down the boy's neck toward his chest.
Mayor Adams' shouts over the line had degraded into guttural screams.
Sean's voice stretched tight like a snapping wire, fighting to keep the chaos contained.
"EOD! Report! How long do you need?!"
"The wiring is too complex! The grid is massive—we need at least ten minutes to locate the primary detonator!"
"Ten minutes?!"
Sean's voice cracked.
Chloe was dragged behind the temporary command barricade by the assaulters.
Her hair was a mess, tear tracks streaking her dirt-smudged face, her eyes filled with humiliation and spite.
"How dare he... How dare he treat me like that?!"
Her voice shook as she grabbed Sean's tactical vest.
"Sean! I can't let this slide! He has to pay for this!"
Sean's brow furrowed deep. Eyeing the EOD timer, he tried to brush her off.
"Chloe, calm down. It's too hot here—"
"No!"
She slapped his hand away, a flash of pure lunacy crossing her face.
"I'm taking him down myself!"She suddenly pointed straight toward my hide.
"Victoria! Give me your rifle!"
Every operative on the line stopped breathing.
Even Sean froze.
"Chloe, stop it. This isn't a game!"
"I'm not joking!"
Chloe squared her shoulders, desperately trying to fake professional cool, though she couldn't hide the manic tremor in her voice.
"Criminal profiling includes behavioral forecasting!"
"I've mapped his micro-expressions and body language. I know his exact next move! I know I can hit him!"
She latched onto Sean's arm, whining.
"Sean, have her spot for me!"
"Isn't Victoria your best sniper? Make her calculate the windage and distance!"
"Together, we can drop him before he touches that kid!"
"Are you out of your fucking mind?!"
Cole's voice exploded through the earpiece.
Sean, however, stayed silent.
He looked down at Chloe's tear-stained, stubborn face. His gaze wasn't calculating—it was blindly indulgent.
He was actually considering it.
In his warped mind, this was the ultimate chance to salvage Chloe's dignity.
Or maybe he was simply incapable of telling her no.
"Victoria."
Sean's voice came through the comms, wrapped in rigid authority.
"You will assist Chloe with the shot. She calls the timing, you feed the ballistic data."
"One shot, one kill. Secure the hostage."
The sheer absurdity almost made me laugh out loud.
He wanted me—the three-time tactical shooting champion—to spot for a therapist who probably couldn't even disengage a rifle's safety?
In our past life, he sent me to die. In this life, he was willing to sacrifice an entire team to stroke Chloe's fragile ego.
"Negative, Commander."
My voice dropped to absolute zero.
Sean's voice shot up, furious.
"Victoria! That is a direct order!"
My response was deliberate, every syllable like ice.
"Chloe Bennett is not a certified marksman. She is emotionally unstable. Letting her handle that trigger is premeditated murder."
"Victoria! You—"
Sean sputtered.
Chloe's shrill voice cut in, dripping with fake tears and venom.
"Sean! Look at her! She's jealous of me!"
"She's terrified I'll make the shot and make her look useless! She doesn't give a damn about the mayor's son!"
"I don't have time for your drama," I cut her off cold, my crosshairs never leaving the madman's brow.
"Commander, if you insist on handing the weapon to Chloe, broadcast it over open air to the entire squad and Mayor Adams."
"State clearly that Chloe Bennett has full control of the shot, and that you two will bear absolute legal responsibility for the outcome."
My words hit him like a bucket of ice water, instantly dousing his foolish impulse.
Shared responsibility? Would he dare?
Not a chance in hell.
He knew better than anyone that Chloe couldn't make that shot.
He just wanted her to take the glory if she got lucky, and if she failed... he'd find a way to pin the disaster on me.
Sure enough, Sean fell into a suffocating silence.
Chloe kept whining into his ear.
"Sean! You promised! Make her help me, I can do this—"
"Shut up!"
Sean finally snapped, his tone thick with stress and irritation.
Right then, Miller's panicked shout hit the net.
"Commander! The suspect has a remote detonator! He's counting down! Ten! Nine! Eight..."
The EOD lead yelled simultaneously.
"We can't clear the radius! There's no time!"
"Seven! Six! Five!..."
Every heart in the perimeter slammed into high gear.
"Four! Three!..."
At that split second.
BANG!
Chapters (5)
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Watch & Promotions
- Search this code in the NovelMaster app:
539089Open NovelMaster → Search code → Find the title