Page 1: The Orphanage and Diverging Paths

The wind howled through the broken windows of St. Mark’s Orphanage, carrying with it the chill of a winter night that had long overstayed its welcome. Jack and Jon sat huddled in the corner of their shared room, a single candle flickering between them. The orphanage was no home—it was a place of survival, where warmth came not from the old wooden beams and the crumbling walls but from the bonds they’d forged in the absence of real family.

Jack and Jon were brothers, not by blood but by something much deeper—a bond forged by circumstance. They had arrived at the orphanage as infants, both abandoned in their cribs, both nameless. As the years passed, they became each other’s family, protecting one another from the cold, both literal and emotional, that seemed to define their early lives. The other children at St. Mark’s came and went, but Jack and Jon remained. Together, they faced the bullying, the hunger, the lack of affection from the distant caretakers who ran the place like a prison. But through it all, they clung to one another.

Jon was always the one with the big ideas. He dreamed of a future far beyond the confines of the orphanage, far beyond the limits of what their lives seemed to promise. "We won’t be here forever," Jon would say, his voice carrying that infectious excitement that only he could muster. "One day, Jack, we’ll be free. We’ll be powerful. We’ll make sure no one ever looks down on us again."

Jack would nod, sometimes smiling, sometimes skeptical, but always loyal to Jon’s vision. Unlike Jon, Jack didn’t dream of power or escape. He dreamed of stability, of finding a purpose. For Jack, the military was that purpose—a way to serve, to belong to something greater than himself. The soldiers who occasionally visited the orphanage left a lasting impression on him. They represented a life of order, discipline, and honor, things Jack craved in the chaos of the orphanage.

As they grew older, it became clear that the path Jon imagined for himself was different from Jack’s. Jon’s dreams grew wilder, more extreme. He talked about tearing down the system, of becoming rich and powerful by any means necessary. Jack tried to temper Jon’s ambitions, to convince him that there was value in duty, in serving others. But Jon wouldn’t listen. He became increasingly restless, obsessed with the idea that the world owed him something, that he had been robbed of his potential.

When they turned eighteen, their paths diverged. Jack enlisted in the military, following through on the dream he had nurtured for years. The army gave him structure, discipline, and a sense of belonging he had longed for. He rose through the ranks quickly, his leadership skills and tactical mind earning him the respect of his peers and superiors alike. Jon, on the other hand, disappeared.

Jack heard nothing from Jon for years. He assumed his friend had found some way to make good on his promises of wealth and power. Maybe Jon had gone to the city, started a business, or found some underworld hustle that suited his ambitions. Jack didn’t know. He tried to focus on his career, on serving his country. But every now and then, late at night, his thoughts drifted back to Jon, wondering where his old friend had gone.

Then, everything changed.

Jack was now a captain in the Special Operations Forces, known for his skill in leading dangerous missions. His unit was tasked with handling covert operations, the kind that never made the news. One evening, Jack and his team were called in for a briefing about a new mission. They were being assigned to take down an organization that had been causing chaos around the globe—a terrorist syndicate that operated in the shadows, executing cyberattacks, bombings, and assassinations with ruthless precision. The Syndicate, as it was called, was unlike any enemy Jack had ever faced.

The Syndicate’s reach was vast, and their methods were terrifying. They destabilized governments, crippled economies, and left a trail of devastation wherever they went. Intelligence suggested that the Syndicate was preparing for something even bigger—something that could plunge the world into war.

Jack and his team were briefed on their mission: infiltrate a suspected Syndicate base in Eastern Europe and gather intelligence. It was a standard operation, the kind Jack had led dozens of times before. But this time, something was different. As they went through the intel, one name caught Jack’s eye: Jonathan Kincaid. Jon.

ack’s heart sank. His mind raced, trying to make sense of what he was seeing. Jon, his best friend, his brother, was not only alive—he was working for the enemy. He was one of the Syndicate’s top operatives, responsible for planning some of their deadliest attacks. The boy who had once shared dreams of a better life with Jack had become a terrorist.

Jack stared at Jon’s name on the screen, his hands trembling. Memories flooded back—nights spent under the stars, whispering about the future, about how they would one day rise above the cruelty of the orphanage. Jack couldn’t believe it. How could Jon, the same boy he had grown up with, have fallen so far? How could he betray everything they had once believed in?

But there was no time for shock or grief. The mission was clear: stop the Syndicate, stop Jon. Jack’s orders were explicit—no one in the Syndicate was to be spared, not even Jon. As a soldier, Jack knew what he had to do. But as a friend, as a brother, the thought of killing Jon was unbearable.

In the days leading up to the mission, Jack wrestled with his emotions. He couldn’t reconcile the boy he had grown up with, the boy who had once been his closest friend, with the man who was now orchestrating attacks that left hundreds dead. Jack found himself questioning everything—had Jon always been like this? Had he always harbored this darkness, this thirst for power at any cost? Or had something happened to him after they parted ways, something that had twisted him into the monster he had become?

Jack knew he had no choice. He had to stop Jon. But the thought of facing his friend on the battlefield, of pulling the trigger and ending his life, filled Jack with dread.

The mission was set. Jack’s team was dropped into Eastern Europe under the cover of darkness. They moved quickly, silently, making their way through the dense forest that surrounded the Syndicate’s compound. The night was cold, the air thick with tension. Jack’s heart pounded in his chest as they approached the compound, the reality of what he was about to face weighing heavily on him.

As they breached the compound’s outer defenses, gunfire erupted. Jack’s team moved with precision, taking down Syndicate operatives with ruthless efficiency. But Jack’s mind wasn’t on the battle—it was on Jon. He scanned the faces of the enemy, searching for the one face he hoped he wouldn’t find. And then, in the chaos of the firefight, he saw him.

Jon stood at the center of the compound, directing his men with cold, calculated precision. He was no longer the boy Jack had known. His face was hardened, his eyes filled with a darkness that Jack didn’t recognize. But when their eyes met, for just a moment, Jack saw a flicker of something—recognition, perhaps even regret.

"Jon!" Jack shouted, his voice barely audible over the sound of gunfire. "Jon, stop this! It doesn’t have to be this way!"

Jon hesitated for a moment, his gaze locking with Jack’s. But then, as if a switch had been flipped, Jon’s expression hardened once again. He raised his weapon and fired.

[by-Mustak Ahamed ]​