After a lot of planning, preparation, and implementation of their well-laid-out plans, the Spartan soldiers were more ready as Christmas was now fast approaching. Surprisingly, to Clark’s shock and joy, Eminem invited him to his family’s Christmas party. This was just like manna falling from heaven to him, it was an unexpected boon to the mission. “Shit man, this is completely unexpected. With this alone, it is already enough to make me the greatest contributor of this mission”. He thought excitedly. That evening, on getting home he did not tarry, he immediately contacted his Captain. After he was informed, Captain Briggs was not shy with his praise nor did he mince words as he lavished praise on both Clark and Sonia while encouraging them to continue the good work. Some of Clark’s squadmates were already preparing to risk infiltrating the Governor’s security guards directly, especially the Corporals, after trying and not finding any suitable solution to their conundrum. The risks were high, but the squad knew it and was prepared to take risks from the beginning. This unexpected surprise from Clark relieved them, as no one had to take risks again. His securing a better way into the Governor’s ancestral home directly made the mission 30% easier. … It initially felt like forever to the soldiers, but it was finally here, December 25th. The D-day, the day of action officially arrived. This was Clark’s first time being at a Governor’s family mansion. He had to admit that it was a mansion worth being owned by a governor. The mansion was the perfect definition of luxury. It was a large compound housing connected buildings like an estate. Almost all the relatives of the Governor stayed here, hence the need for so many buildings. The connected buildings were just the appetizer. The Governor’s personal main mansion towered up to the skies like the magic castle in the ancient cartoon movie, barbie in the diamond castle. It was painted in a deep blue color, as its walls sparkled under the light of the sun like precious gems and stones. The mansion was very boisterous, as most of the people invited were already here. As Eminem led his entourage of friends into the mansion in a cheerful mood, Clark and Sonia silently observed the compound’s security details. Though they already expected it, they still became secretly shocked on seeing how tight the compound’s security was. It was normal for a Governor to have tight security, but this one was slightly too exaggerated. Eminem’s father was clearly the cautious and paranoid type. He had to, as he would have probably already been assassinated by his enemies if he was careless and willful. Clark quickly made a shocking conclusion verdict after observing the compound some more. If they followed their initial plans and started the assault without an insider like them, there was a 90% chance that they would have failed the mission, and there was a 60% chance that they would have been captured. He secretly heaved a huge sigh of relief, while thanking his lucky stars as they walked inside the mansion. They came a little late, as the party was already in full swing. The large compound was full of people and was very boisterous. As it was a celebration party organized by the Governor of the state, a lot of influential people in the state attended. On seeing the extremely conspicuous expensive outfits of the people here that were screaming for attention, you’ll know directly that this was a gathering of rich business moguls. As the ceremony progressed steadily, after drinking a lot of alcohol, Eminem finally led Clark and his group of friends around his father’s mansion after succumbing to their urging. The virtual security used in the big mansion, though it was advanced, was completely within Clark’s hacking ability. The Spartan military let them use their normal weapons, but they did not use this as an excuse to become complacent. All the soldiers were provided with the best hacking devices currently in use in the Sparta republic. As Eminem led them around the building, Clark secretly activated his hacking and scanning device to probe the surroundings and collect valuable information, while Sonia clung closely to him. “Clark, you never fail to make me laugh with this backpack that you and your girlfriend always carry around”. Frank joked in a good-natured way, earning a laugh from Eminem and the others. “This will be the trending fashion in the future, just watch”. Clark also joked back, causing another fit of laughter.As he laughed with them, he suddenly paused a bit, before quickly recovering and covering it up the next second. He was completely shocked foolish by what he just found. His heart froze for a moment on the discovery. It took all his willpower to maintain his now fake laughter, as he almost lost his composure completely. The door they just passed was actually a hidden compartment housing hundreds of soldiers. According to the readings on his scanning device, the hidden compartment held five 2nd rank high-grade soldiers, twenty 1st rank high-grade soldiers, and 200 normal soldiers, all geared in exotic armor. “This Governor is really a rich cautious piece of shit”. He cursed inwardly in anger and alarm. As soon as they received the information, Captain Briggs and all the other soldiers were stunned by the bomb-like news. If they stormed in without this information, there was a very high chance that they would have all died without completing their mission. Captain Briggs took this complication very seriously, as he directly ordered Sonia to try every means possible to stall these secret soldiers before the Governor is killed. It was a direct order from the Captain, so Sonia acknowledged it immediately. She deftly looked for an excuse to separate herself from the group of friends. After Eminem showed them around the mansion a bit, Clark finally suggested that he take them to his room, which he did. The room was very luxurious as expected, but Clark’s mind was not on these things at the moment. After the boys entered the room, they finally noticed that he just stood at the door, so they turned to face him with puzzled looks on their faces. “Clark, come on. What are you standing there for?” Frank asked with a confused and amused expression on his face. Clark ignored him; he instead directed a stare at Eminem. “Bro, I’m really sorry to reveal this. Our friendship was real, I mean it. But some things are just too good to be real. I’m sorry Eminem, I’m not who you think I am…,” He paused a little after saying this, as he tried to recollect his thoughts. He sighed before his heart finally turned steel-like, his gaze becoming firm as he glanced at the group of confused boys. “I am a soldier of the Spartan republic, and I’m here on a mission. I brought you all here to avoid the aftermath of what’s about to happen. I don’t want any harm to befall you all”. He suddenly turned to face Eminem again. “Eminem, I hope that one day you’ll find a place in your heart to forgive me”. After saying all he could, he decisively locked the door against them and virtually hacked it to not open for the next 6 hours. After much flexing of plans, operation “The Spartan’s Rage” officially began. Captain Briggs ordered the operation to start, as he led his entourage of soldiers to enter the mansion stealthily. The oppressive aura of death and assassination already covered the Governor’s mansion with its dark tentacles, like a veil of the death god. The mansion's security was tight, but this was a group of high-grade soldiers, not some random pussies. They killed all opposition they encountered on the way silently and swiftly, as they tried to avoid making the situation too chaotic. As they worked from the outside, Clark worked from the inside, disabling all communication sources in the whole mansion. This operation was a 2-pronged attack. After sabotaging all sources to spread information, he expertly weaved his way behind the Governor as the ceremony continued.The ceremony was boisterous as ever, the guests enjoyed themselves leisurely, not having any idea of the impending disaster. As the ceremony continued, Clark suddenly noticed the Governor become tense, before turning to glance around. He was only able to notice this because his eyes never left him. The Governor glanced at his soldiers [i.e bodyguards] swiftly like he was already a veteran in this. He finally saw a face among his bodyguards that he didn’t recognize. Boom!! He was extremely decisive as he jumped up swiftly like an acrobat. Anti-gravity boots, Clark recognized the unique boots immediately even before they activated. He reacted instantly, as he advanced to grab the Governor down, only to be interrupted by one of the guards. “Shit, a high-grade soldier”. He cursed but did not hesitate as he unsheathed his sword with speed, slashed at the soldier, before jumping momentously at his hovering target. As he did all these maneuvers, his armor activated, prompting the high-grade soldier to dodge his slash by rolling backward. Whirr!! The anti-gravity boots finally activated, but he was a step faster as his hand extended out to grab one of the Governor’s legs. Vroom!! The boots powered up jerkily like an enraged bull, carrying the governor away while dragging him along. The boots were not of the highest quality, this one’s capacity was to carry a single person. It carried them forward and upwards a bit before the weight became too much as they both fell back down. “How did he discover despite the information blockage?” Clark soliloquized, shocked as they both fell. He didn’t waste time despite his doubts though, as he cut the Governor’s boots repeatedly with his swords immediately, on landing. The boots finally turned to scrap, prompting the governor to look at him in panic. “Who are you? Do…, do you know who you are messing with?” He asked in a weirdly shaky but threatening tone. His decision to desert his guards now shot him back in the foot, as Clark’s squadmates finally started appearing. Boom!! Boom!! Boom!! They did not hesitate, as they quickly started unleashing hell on him. His self-protection gadgets responded instantly, as they activated shields around his body to protect him. As some of the Spartan soldiers shot at him, others rushed forward to stall the guards that were sprinting here to protect him. Hell broke loose, as the area quickly became chaotic. The people [i.e guests], started running around randomly as gunshots rang repeatedly, replacing the originally playing music beats.