Then looks at me.
Different now.
Less control.
More understanding.
“Is it over?” he asks.
I look down at the man on the ground.
The one who built this.
Ran this.
Destroyed lives without hesitation.
Then I look at the tunnels.
The system.
The damage.
“No,” I say.
“Not yet.”
Because this?
This was just the head.
And now we go after the rest.
I turn.
Start walking back through the tunnel.
Through the destruction.
Through what we just ended.
Toward daylight.
Toward the end of this war.
And toward her.
Because I made her a promise.
And I don’t break promises.
Not like that.
Not ever.