A Game Changer

The convoy of vans hummed along a dimly lit highway, disappearing into the darkness like shadows on the move. In the lead van, Charlie gripped the wheel, eyes laser focused on the road. Beside him, Henry sat rigidly in the passenger seat. Beside the sergeant sat Major Amma, her gaze cold and steady, while six field soldiers, armed and alert, loomed watchfully in the remaining seats. Peter sat in the very back, his demeanor that of a man accustomed to control; calm, composed, but ready to strike at a moment’s notice.

The air in the van was thick with tension, every movement and sound amplified in the silence. Henry couldn’t keep his eyes off Dunning, his imagination running wild with worst-case scenarios. Henry nervously whispered, mostly to himself. Dunning smirked without even turning his head, somehow sensing the unease radiating off Henry. It was as if he fed on the tension in the air, savoring it. He was first to break the silence.

"So! The infamous Peter Parsons himself. You have no idea how long I’ve been wanting to meet you face-to-face."

Charlie's knuckles whitened on the steering wheel, his eyes darting attentively to the rearview mirror to catch Peter’s reaction. Peter didn’t acknowledge Dunning right away, keeping his cold, calculating eyes trained across the van as if measuring everything in perfect precision. Dunning continued, undeterred by the silence.

"I’ve rehearsed this moment over and over in my head, you know. The day we’d finally meet. I imagined saying something truly profound—"

Peter abruptly cut him off sharply.

"I don’t know who the hell you are, or why you’d go so far outside your jurisdiction to harass me with your badge, but you NEED to stop talking."

Dunning tilted his head slightly, his smirk widening. His eyes flitted briefly to Henry, who was stiff in his seat, now deliberately avoiding making eye contact. His smirk turned into something darker, more calculating. The sergeant asked in a mocking tone.

"Does your little brother realize what a jerk you are Peter? You should see his face right now. Looks like he’s about to pass out."

Without missing a beat, Peter’s voice cut through the air, low and dangerous.

"Do NOT address my brother!" Dunning held his hands up in mock surrender, leaning back in his seat as much as he could with his wrists bound.

"Fine.”

He turned his unsettling gaze to Amma as if expecting a similar reaction to Henry’s nervous demeanor.

“How about you, Major?"

Amma barely flinched, her eyes narrowing at him like a predator sizing up prey. The seasoned officer responded coldly, with calibrated precision.

"If you were smart, you’d shut up right now. Because unlike Henry here, I’m not polite. And I don’t believe in idle threats."

Dunning chuckled darkly, clearly unaffected by her confident warning. His audacity raised the tension in the van several notches, like a wire being pulled too tightly, ready to snap at any second. Peter’s patience finally ran out. In a blur of movement, Peter reached forward, grabbing the loop of Dunning’s zip ties, yanking him forward until their faces were inches apart. The once-smug Dunning found himself staring into Peter’s cold, dead eyes, now sharpened into silent fury.

"Let me explain how this is going to work," he said with a dealt calm.

"You’re going to sit there and shut up until we reach our destination. For every time you decide to speak, I’ll knock out a tooth. Are we clear?"

The entire van seemed to hold its breath. Even the soldiers, used to high-stakes tension, flicked their eyes nervously to see how this would play out. Dunning blinked, seemingly surprised by Peter’s sudden aggression. But he recovered, his smirk returning as he tried to call Peter’s bluff.

"You're not serious. You wouldn’t dare—"

Before Dunning could finish his sentence, Peter’s fist met his jaw with a sickening thud. The force sent Dunning’s head whipping to the side, a muffled grunt escaping his lips as blood began pooling in his mouth. Spitting onto the van’s floor, a single bloody tooth landed among the mess. Peter said calmly, wiping his knuckles.

“That’s one.”

Back at the command center, Ruby watched the exchange unfold through the van’s live audio feed. Ever the comic relief, she couldn’t resist commenting.

"Well, I guess we know Uncle P is a man of his word," she said lightly over the comm system.

Her attempt at humor was met with stony silence. Even Chris remained focused on his screen. Ruby winced, realizing no one was in the mood for jokes. She grumbled quietly.

“Yikes. Tough crowd. Ruby out."

The second van drove in steady silence with Paul at the wheel, gripping it tightly, a nervous demeanor overtaking his body. His fingers tapped on the wheel nervously as thoughts of his earlier encounter with Dunning spiraled in his head. On the outside, it looked like his mind had caved in completely. Finally, Mangino broke the awkward silence, taking notice of Paul’s anxiety, asking with empathy.

"You doing okay, Paul?"

Paul frantically shook his head.

"No Mika! I’m definitely not okay. I dropped the ball back there. Me and Henry—we weren’t ready for that kind of thing."

Mangino placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder, her voice warm but steady.

"Paul, stop. You and Henry handled it as best as you could. You’re here now. That counts for something."

Colonel Zeke, sitting across from them, adjusted slightly, his voice calm and understanding.

"Don’t be so hard on yourself, son. You weren’t trained for this kind of thing. You reacted the way any normal person would."

Paul exhaled sharply, still being self-critical.

"Normal doesn’t cut it in something like this. I keep thinking I should’ve seen it earlier, and done something different—"

Mangino interjected; her voice direct and blunt, but strangely comforting.

"Stop wallowing! You and Henry handled it the best way you could. Sure, it wasn’t perfect, but it wasn’t a disaster, either. You shook, but you didn’t break. So stop feeling sorry for yourself."

Chris interjected over the comm.

"Mika’s right, Paul. You and Dad were put in a tough spot. You kept it together long enough for Dad to deal with it. Don’t let this get into your head."

Candy added her input, her voice soft but reassuring, "Daddy, you’re way too hard on yourself. You’re our rock. We all know that. You’re allowed to be human sometimes, okay?"

Paul took a deep breath, their reassurances finally grounding him. He nodded faintly, muttering a low "Thanks" to everyone.

The van settled back into quiet until Colonel Zeke broke it again, turning the conversation toward something chilling.

"Say... you all know about the draft, right?"

The team members all said in unison, "Yeah."

Zeke replied with an ironic chuckle.

"Well, there goes my attempt at light conversation. Then you must know WHEN they’re planning to announce it."

The silence that followed was deafening. Ruby broke the silence, her voice sharp.

"THAT we don’t know. Do you?"

Zeke replied grimly.

“I do.”

The weight of his words slammed into the group like a tidal wave, unease and dread rippling through the comm channels as they realized what that information could mean.