Here's a recap of the major events from the narrative:

Operation in Iran: The story began with a joint task force operation in Kerman Province, Iran, targeting Khalid Al-Hassan. Amidst the mission, a nuclear device detonated, causing massive destruction and significant casualties, including the apparent loss of many soldiers and critical assets.

Survival and Recovery: Anthony, Ryan, and their group survived the crash of their aircraft following the nuclear explosion. They were unconscious for three months and eventually found and sheltered by Amir, a local in a Nomad village. The group recuperated, received aid from the villagers, and started planning their next moves.

Plan to Capture Al-Hassan: After learning that Khalid al-Hassan was still alive and threatening local villages, the group, along with new allies from the village, armed themselves with old but functional weapons. They set out towards Dalaram where al-Hassan was believed to be hiding.

Battle in Dalaram: Upon reaching Dalaram, they discovered the village under attack by Al-Hassan's forces, who were killing civilians. The team engaged in a fierce battle to neutralize the threat and attempted to locate al-Hassan. Their efforts included clearing buildings and combating enemy forces with the help of an attack helicopter.

Continued Search and Conflict: The narrative continued with the group making strategic moves within the village, facing continuous opposition from Al-Hassan's forces, and dealing with the dire situation of the villagers.

Throughout these events, the themes of survival, teamwork, and the pursuit of justice in the face of overwhelming adversity are prominent. The group's journey is marked by challenges, strategic combat, and a resolve to stop a formidable enemy while coping with the aftermath of a devastating nuclear attack.

Back to the story

The troops were amazed by the performance of the Ka-520. Nevertheless, it did the job done by killing all of those soldiers without suffering any major damages to the aircraft. "Wow, they got destroyed." Anthony said.

"Which was pretty awesome!" Shino exclaimed, seeing all of that destruction from that attack helicopter was glorious to her. "A close up-view of that was so good."

The group move up to the building, dealing with any surviving Opfor soldiers from that attack. Amir then stack up to the front door with Michael and Igor. Bullets almost hit the Russian as he shift his head back to cover. Amir threw a flashbang in, blinding the survivors inside. Michael then took out his M1014 and stormed in the building.

He saw two Opfor soldiers covering their eyes from the flash, then he immediately shoot them dead with his shotgun. When Amir observed the building, It appears that it was a store. There were various fruits, vegetables and condiments by the shelves and tables.

By the counter, he saw another dead villager on the table, which seems to be the owner of the place. He then saw a door which has a staircase that leads to the attic where the machine gunners were.

When Amir went up, he expected to see a dark interior of the attic with the dead bodies of the machine gunners. But he did not expect of what he would see next.

When Amir made it to the attic, he sees the dead bodies of the machine gunners, but when he turned right, he saw three more dead bodies of the Dalaram villagers.

However... those three bodies were little children.

The three children died the same way the rest of the villagers did, executed from the Opfor soldiers via gunshots. They were no younger than 8-11. By the looks of it, the older child of the three tried to shield the two younger children from the bullets, but they failed.

Almost everyone(Amir, Michael and Igor) had reacted in total shock. They didn't expect corpses of children. Those poor children, murdered by those monsters.

Picking up the pieces, it appears that the three children tried to hide somewhere when Opfor begin slaughtering the entire village square. They manage to take refuge in the attic of the village store. The owner must've hid them there so they won't be killed, but it seems that the soldiers had known where the children were. When they found them - they showed no mercy.

"Oh god..." Michael uttered, eyes wided.

"What... the fuck..." Igor muttered while Amir froze at the dead bodies.

The men lamented at the sight, those children had bright futures ahead of them, yet they were all taken away by those rebel forces. Then felt anger, seeing the dead children by the hands of those Opfor soldiers, possibly from Al-Hassan's orders too. They all had to serve justice.

"They're dead... I can't believe it...." Michael shuddered. What's worse is that one of the dead children was a little girl.

"تلك الحيوانات اللعينة! [Those fucking animals!]" Amir yelled in anger.

"There was no reason to kill them!" Igor shouted.

"Yeah, they could've just left them alone!" Amir agreed with a nod.

Michael only shook his head. "Not even the younglings survived..." He was very ashamed of Opfor's actions.

"Why does children have to die in these wars..." Amir dismally said.

"These villagers were in Opfor's way by the looks of it." Igor said. "They don't seem to appreciate anyone who stands in their way."

Amir stared at the dead bodies before focusing back on searching for Al-Hassan, but he wasn't here, which he pointed out. "This building's clear. Let's move on to the next one!"

Amir didn't went down the stairs, and instead went to the window where the machine gunners were. Outside the building, she saw two squads of Opfor soldiers heading towards the building.

Vine and Felix were outside firing at them, which prompted Amir to give them support from the attic. He starts firing at the incoming soldiers. A good chunk of them were already killed. When Amir was reloading his weapon, he saw another Opfor soldier coming up to the building. However, the soldier was wearing heavy armor.

The heavy armored Opfor soldier set his eyes on Amir as he fired his machine gun at him. Quickly, Amir duck down and back away to prevent getting hit by the bullets. It seems that the armored soldier stopped firing at him as he focused on the rest of the group. Amir stood back up to take him down.

He loaded up an M79 grenade launcher before firing it at the armored soldier. The soldier stumbled back from the explosion, wounding him but didn't kill him. Amir switch back to his Ak-12, unleashing a full magazine at the armored soldier.

The combined bullets from him and his comrades manage to penetrate the armor of the soldier, hitting the flesh. The armored soldier dropped his machine gun as he fell down dead.

Amir head back downstairs and regrouped with the others. They all then move up to the next building that is above where they are. Amir went to the back door with Anthony and Jie and up to the hill of the next building. However, a BTR suddenly appeared at the road and begin to fire at the group. The trio quickly took cover by the brick stairs, evading the shots of the BTR, but they were pinned down.

Suddenly, Hadir 2-5 spoke up. "Hadir 2-5 here. We are ready to attack and are standing by for new orders."

Hearing the response, Jie stood up and pull out the walkie talkie. She saw building filled with a group of Opfor soldiers that were firing at the rest of the group.

She knows that the BTR is heading towards the building as well, and when she calls in the Ka-520, the helicopter would destroy the vehicle along with killing the Opfor soldiers inside the building simultaneously. "Aim at the building!" She called in the pilot to attack the building.

"The helicopter is on the way. We'll handle it." He said. Half a minute later, Jie saw the Ka-520 again, aiming its guns at the building. It started firing its autocannon at the Opfor soldiers by the windows.

Then it turned to the BTR, whom is shooting at the Ka-520 at an attempt to take it down. Unfortunately for them, the Ka-520 fired its missiles, instantly destroying the armored vehicle.

The aircraft continued to slaughter any Opfor soldiers outside for a good few minutes before the pilot informed that they are leaving to refuel and rearm. The aircraft then left again.

Amir, Anthony, and Jie began to move up to the building. She glanced to her left and saw the rest of the group heading to the building as well, with David and Harriet engaging with any incoming forces.

Amir and Anthony went left to assist them while Jie set her eyes on the basement door of the building. There still might be surviving forces in the building and they would usually focus on the front door. But going to the basement first would give her the element of surprise, and so she went in.

She cautiously enter the basement with a Mossberg 500 shotgun in hand. Thankfully, there were no sight of any enemies. However, there were some dead villagers laying on their pools of blood. They must've tried to hide here. Gunfire and various Arabic shouts were heard upstairs, indicating there were still some surviving forces. Jie then went up the stairs to the ground floor.

She immediately encountered a lone soldier firing at her unseen comrades. She quickly shot him down, which must've alerted the rest of his comrades of her presence. Quickly, she threw a flashbang into the room. When it explodes, she rushed in and took out all the blinded enemies, clearing the room. Looking around, she noticed that the building is some sort of tavern.

Jie reloaded her shotgun while she sees Clover and Kang entering through the front door. The former went towards the stairs, firing a few bullets from his G36C at an unseen soldier. 

While Kang check the rest of the ground floor, Jie went to the stairs with Clover, taking point. As she goes up the stairs, she saw the door in front of her, closed shut. Knowing there was an enemy in there, Jie fired a round at the door as the dead body of the soldier slid out afterwards.

She then went inside the room, which turns out to be a bathroom. She then stumbled across two more corpses of the villagers. This time it was a mother holding her dead 7 year old daughter. The mother must've tried to hide in the bathroom, but it was futile when the soldiers found her, mercilessly killing her and her daughter.

"這簡直是操蛋了。 [This is just fucked up.]" Jie lamented at the sight.

"It's Opfor after all." Clover replied.

Mourning those two dead villagers for a moment, Jie went back to clear the second floor. Jie went to the room from her right, killing a soldier that was in front of another doorway. She then met up with Clover and Kang.

"Building is clear. Move on to the next one." Jie informed, indicating that Khalid al-Hassan isn't here as well. Just as they were going to leave the house, they were under fire by the Opfor forces through the windows. The trio took cover as Jie took a peek at one of the windows, noticing that it came from the next house over.

A squad of them were firing from the windows while the rest ran out of the house and head towards the tavern. Jie could see another heavily armored soldier. Jie then turned to the PKMD turrets placed on the windows and decide to use them. She got on one and begin to fire back at the soldiers.

She manage to kill most of the soldiers heading to the tavern while taking out a few by the house. When she aimed at the heavy soldier, the latter fired first, prompting her to get off of the turret and take cover. "Frag out!" She hears Kang shouting from outside the house, which was then followed with a sound of a grenade exploding.

Jie look back and noticed that the grenade exploded on the heavy soldier, stopping him and wounding him. Taking the chance, she got back up to the turret and unleash its bullets at him. The heavy soldier ate all of those lead as he dropped to his knees and fell down dead.

Jie abandoned the turret as she head outside through the back door. She then head towards the house with Winter, Dae, and Anthony to accompany her.

The four ran towards the house, exchanging fire at the windows and killing a few of the Opfor occupants. Winter turned right to kill two soldiers by the upper hill, focusing back on the house after. Anthony fired another 40mm towards the windows as Winter snuck her way to the back door of the house. She stack up to the side, Jie joining her shortly after.

Jie then threw a flashbang in, knowing there are soldiers by the hall. She then took out her shotgun and move in to the house, one tapping the blinded soldiers. Jie killed another soldier with a shotgun blast to the chest. When he fell down, Winter glanced at his wounds.

She could see pieces of his guts torn off from the shot, with blood clothing his uniform while having tiny holes spread out. Winter cringed a bit at the sight. "Yeesh, now that's a lot of damage."

Winter sees Marrow going in the house through the garage area as the two join up to clear the rest of the house. They went to the dining room and the kitchen, seeing dead soldiers on the floor, thanks to Anthony.

Speaking of which, the tall Trinidadian-American was seen taking cover beside the doorway that leads to the living room. Jie didn't need to look as she threw in her third flashbang, blinding the soldiers in the room.

Anthony and Dae then move up and shoot all of the soldiers, clearing the area. Anthony and Dae then head upstairs, knowing there were still some soldiers up above. Meanwhile, David and Elm entered the house, the former joining up with the two upstairs.

Anthony kept a shotgun ready, then two soldiers burst out of the rooms. Dae quickly killed one of them with Anthony shooting the other. The man was about to go up, but stopped when bullets were shot in front of him, nearly hitting him.

He turned to the direction and saw a glimpse of a soldier holding an SMG, closing the door he was in. The Marine with a shotgun then rushed up in front of the door. He fired two shots of his shotgun, the first managing to kill the soldier while the second blasted the door open. There was another Opfor soldier inside, but Anthony quickly killed him.

He then checks the room while David and Dae checks the rest. The room Anthony entered was a simple bedroom, aside with the two dead Opfor soldiers. Though when he turned to the bed itself, he saw another dead body of a woman. What got the his surprise however... is that she was half naked.

When Anthony went closer to the body, he saw that there wasn't any bruises on the body or any of those... "white stuff", indicating that those two soldiers only manage to get her clothes off. They probably stopped doing it when the group attack the village. However, that didn't stop the two soldiers from killing the woman as she was seen with a knife slit on her throat, blood coming out of it.

"They all must perish..." He muttered in anger as he stared at the body, silently paying his respects. Just then, David spoke up. "Building clear. Let's check the next one." This indicates that Al-Hassan isn't in this house too.

Anthony took one last glance at the woman's dead body before he walks out of the house with the rest. Going to the front door, he sees Amir and Winter engaging a squad of soldiers that went from down the hill, which were then easily dispatched. The group then move up the hill rather than taking the road, since it's quicker to get to the next house.

Making it towards the house, the Opfor occupants fired at them. The group stopped by the railing and return fire. Some Reunion soldiers attempted to get out of the house, but were quickly picked off. Anthony switched to his Ak-12 and killed two of them in the process.

When the Opfor occupants were dwindling in numbers, half of the group pushed forward - which were Amir, Winter, Anthony, and Jie. The rest stayed by the road railing and give suppressing fire at the doors and windows. Jie move up to the front door and threw her last flashbang. She switch back to her shotty and went in the main room. She quickly dispatched three of the blinded enemies.

She went to the next room over, only to see Kang and Vine taking out the remaining soldiers in the house. The last enemy tried to slash the Chinese woman with a knife, but the latter grab a hold of his arm and threw him to the ground. She then put a 12g to his head with her shotgun.

"And that was for the villagers you and your buddies have killed." Jie said and spat at the headless corpse.

After clearing the house, the group went to search for Khalid al-Hassan. Jie then went to the attic with Amir following her. When they made it up, the attic was empty and dirty as they usually are. Luckily, there weren't any dead children this time. However, there were no signs of Al-Hassan.

"This building is clear. Let's check the last building." Amir informed as he and Jie leaves the attic.

"Ok, Al-Hassan is definitely gonna be in the last building." Anthony said.

"How do you think Drudge is gonna die?" Vine asked.

"Probably a shot to the head." Kang replied.

"Not enough." Winter shook her head coldy. After what he had done, a quick death seems like a mercy kill. "He killed all of those UNE troops, Atlas soldiers, and White Fang - and have even orchestrated the massacre of this village - he must pay." She declared. Her response got many nods of agreement, including the Amir beside her. A monster like Al-Hassan should not roam free from all his atrocities.

They regrouped as they all move up to a grassy field onward to the last location of where Al-Hassan is hiding. At the end of the village, resides a large barn on a farmstead. "That seems like a good place to guard an HVT." Harriet commented.

"And it's at the end of the village too." Amir added. "These soldiers may be bloodthirsty maniacs, but at least they seem to be smart."

"But not smart enough to learn FAAFO. Fuck Around And Find Out." Elm said getting nods.

"Аминь. [Amen.]" Igor said in agreement. When the group move up to the pathway and reached the entrance, they were met with fierce resistance from the remaining Opfor soldiers.

They all duck for cover by the iron fence entrance as gunfire erupted above them. Amir took a peek and saw about thirty Opfor soldiers. Ten of them were by a small house on the right, Two was armed with a machine gun placed by a bunch of barrels, Ten more were by the shack on the left, and then another Seven was by the second floor windows of the said shack, and finally there was another heavy armored soldier out in the open, firing his HMG.

The group tried to fire back, but they were outgunned by the barrage of bullets from the machine guns, forcing them to duck back down to cover. "Those sure are some defense." Mari said, impressed by the amount of firepower.

"Looks like they knew they are the last line of defense." David remarked.

"Don't think they would survive against Hadir 2-5, though." Anthony said about the Ka-520 pilot. And he was right. "Amir! Call in air support." Anthony ordered.

Amir obliged and took out his walkie talkie. He move back so he could get a clear view of the target at the barn. "هدير! نحتاج منك أن تقوم بتطهير المنطقة المحيطة بالحظيرة، ولكن لا تستهدف الحظيرة نفسها! [Hadir! We need you to clear the area around the barn, but don't target barn itself!]"

"هذه هي النتيجة 2-5، لدينا الهدف. الاستعداد. [This is 2-5, we have the target. Standby.]" Hadir 2-5 said.

Half a minute later, the Ka-520 arrives on their right, taking aim at the hostiles by the barn. Anthony then notices a white spray paint art of the word 'Striking' in Arabic. Hence the codename given 'Hadir'. The defenders saw the helicopter and tired to shoot it down. But the Ka-520 responded by unleashing a barrage of bullets from its autocannon.

It targeted the heavy armored soldier, the latter stood no chance from the power of the autocannon as he gets shredded. The Ka-520 then launched its missiles near the house, killing nine of the defenders there. One of them tried to leave his spot, but he was gunned down by the chopper.

Seeing that the defenders are dwindling, the group stood up and returned fire. Amir set his eyes on the soldiers by the shack at the second floor window. He fired a burst on his AK-12, killing them. The last three then got out of the shack in a desperate attempt to kill the group, but it was proven to be a stupid idea as they all immediately got gunned down.

When the coast is clear, the Ka-520 leaves the area as the squad then move up to the barn. Passing by dead bodies of the defenders, the large group then gathered around the only door of the barn.

Anthony and Amir move closer as they could hear voices from the inside, indicating that it was Al-Hassan and his bodyguards. Before breaching the door, Anthony turned to his brothers and sisters-in-arms and said. "Remember, we want Khalid al-Hassan alive. He's no good to us dead."

"But why?" Harriet asked, dissatisfied at the thought of sparing him.

"Most likely for Enhanced interrogation techniques(Torture)." Winter responded.

"Let's go." Amir finished as he slightly opens the door and Anthony then tossed a flashbang in there. When it exploded, he breached in, taking out two of the bodyguards with his M45A3 pistol before roundhouse kicking Al-Hassan to the face.

It caused him to fell to the ground as everyone could get a clear view of Anthony punching the everlasting shit out of him, much to everyone's satisfaction as they saw teeth fly out. "Tie his wrists together and him up like a punching bag. I got some questions and I want answers." Anthony said as Amir found some ropes nearby and tied him up.

Al-Hassan groans as he tries to say something. It prompted Anthony to punch him again. "Shut up, you fuckard." He said in an angry tone.

Amir and the others watched as Anthony took control of the situation with Khalid al-Hassan. After securing the warlord, the team quickly began to set up a temporary hold area within the barn to ensure that al-Hassan couldn't escape and to prepare for the extraction.

Amir addressed the group, his voice filled with a mix of relief and somber determination. "We should inform the local authorities and our military contacts. They need to know that al-Hassan is in custody."

Winter, who had been keeping watch at the door, nodded in agreement. "I'll send out the signal. Let's hope the communication lines aren't too disrupted by the chaos."

As she worked on making contact, David and Mari began tending to the minor injuries the team had sustained during the raid. Though the physical wounds were few, the mental toll was evident on everyone's faces. The sight of the slaughtered villagers and the fierce battle they had just waged weighed heavily on them.

Meanwhile, Anthony continued to keep a close watch on al-Hassan, who was now slumped against a wall, his eyes filled with defiance despite his battered condition. Anthony's voice was cold as he spoke to the captured warlord. "You're going to pay for what you've done, not just here, but for all the lives you've ruined."

Harriet, standing beside Anthony, looked down at al-Hassan with disgust. "You think you can just massacre innocent people and walk away? You're a monster."

Al-Hassan spit blood onto the floor and sneered. "You have no idea what you're involved in. This is bigger than you can comprehend."

Anthony and Harriet were livid, "Then why'd you do it?!" The latter angrily said as she punched Al-Hassan in the stomach. "Where did you get the bomb!?"

"I-I didn't do it..." Al-Hassan said, weakly and now scared.

"Who then!?" Anthony questioned, punching him again.

"I-I told you... I didn't do it!" Al-Hassan said before Harriet threw a punch to his groin.

"Who!? Give us a name!" Harriet demanded, punching him again as she recited. "A name! I want their fucking name!"

Al-Hassan's face was very bruised, with both of his eyes covered in his blood. Anthony gave him two more punches to the face, and then striking his stomach. All while Amir and the rest, were all watching the scene, satisfied that the man is getting his ass whooped. He had killed thousands of people and now he is paying the price.

"Oh this is awesome!" Ryan said with a smile.

"He's finally getting justice." Amir replied.

"He killed thousands of civilians, troops, and even his own men. Now he's paying the price for it all." Vine remarked.

"For the UNE(marines, soldiers and air force)." Shino mentioned.

"And for the villagers." Dae added.

"And for Atlasians and Fang..." Winter finished, feeling glad that she and those villagers and her fallen allies were avenged.

After striking his stomach, Harriet went throwing him from the wall, goes behind him and then grabbed a nearby belt on the ground and starts choking him.

"Wow, you're going all out on him, Hare." Clover commented. 

"He deserves it! Don't you ungrateful bastard!" Harriet replied choking him harder now.

When she was choking the life out of him, they all heard a cellphone ringing. Igor then found the phone on the ground beside the ammo crate, picking it up. "It's his cellphone." He said.

Harriet stops choking the man as she drops the belt. Igor then tossed the phone to Anthony as he answered the call, walking in front of the panting Al-Hassan. Anthony pressed the phone to his ear, listening to the call. Then his face came to realization of who the caller was. With a scowl on his face, he dropped the phone before turning back to Al-Hassan, GP-30 in hand.

Al-Hassan's face went in shock as he begged. "N-No! No-" But he was cut off when Anthony fired a 40mm HE shot to his chest sending him flying to the wall hard.

He looks up for one second before his entire torso is blown up leaving just his spine as blood and bits splatter everywhere.

Everyone's ears were ringing from the explosion.

"Finally, he's dead." Amir said with a satisfied smile while brushing off a bit of brain matter.

"That's Karma for ya." Ryan remarked.

"Man, this is gonna be one helluva story for anyone when we get back." David smirked.

"By the way. Who was that, Ant?" Harriet asked, referring to the caller on the phone.

Anthony turned to her with both an anger and fearful expression and answered. "O'Donovan. Kane 'The Patriot' O'Donovan." He said as Ryan, Amir, David, Mari, Igor, Shino, Jie, Kang, Felix, Dae, and Michael faces went pale.

Winter, Clover, Harriet, Marrow, Elm, and Vine were a bit confused and worried. With Elm asking, "Who's he?"

Ryan being the oldest answered. "He's the one that founded the Ultranationalist coalition and started WW3..."

Thanks to them visiting DC months prior learning about Earth's history including WW3(2045 - 2055). Winter, Clover, Harriet, Marrow, Elm, and Vine made the same expressions the twelve as the sound of approaching Iranian military helicopters coming.

"I thought that man was dead 16 years ago... Fuck me..." Ryan mutters.

The revelation about Kane O'Donovan's involvement and his apparent survival sent a chill through the group. The man whose machinations had sparked a devastating global conflict was not only alive but was still orchestrating violence and terror.

As the sound of Iranian military helicopters grew closer, signaling the arrival of reinforcements and perhaps a semblance of safety, the group gathered to discuss the grim implications of what they had just learned.

"Kane O'Donovan being alive changes everything," Winter stated, her voice tense. "He was supposed to have died in the final raid that ended the war."

Ryan nodded gravely. "His survival was never confirmed, just assumed, because the body was never found. Seems we assumed too much."

Anthony, still reeling from the intense confrontation and the gruesome end to al-Hassan, looked at the scattered remains. "This isn't over," he said. "If O'Donovan is behind this, then what we've seen here might just be the beginning of something worse."

Amir, while adjusting to the shock, focused on immediate concerns. "We need to secure this area and ensure all intelligence we can gather from this site is preserved. Anything could help us track down O'Donovan and his network."

As the Iranian military landed, their personnel began securing the area. Amir led the communication with the Iranian forces, explaining the situation and the high-profile nature of their prisoner's death.

Meanwhile, Harriet and Elm helped gather any electronic devices and documents from the barn that might contain valuable data. Clover and Marrow stood guard, watching the perimeter, while David and Mari coordinated with the Iranian soldiers to set up a temporary command post.

Shino, still disturbed by the brutality they had witnessed, approached Ryan. "How do we proceed? If O'Donovan is really back, we're talking about a threat level we haven't seen in years."

Ryan looked towards the horizon, his mind racing with tactics and the weight of command. "We regroup, we inform our superiors, and we prepare for a conflict that might spread beyond borders. O'Donovan isn't just a terrorist; he's a symbol that could rally the Ultranationalist remnants."

Vine, overhearing the conversation, added, "And we'll need every ally we can get. This isn't just about one village or one country anymore."

As the cleanup and investigation continued, Anthony pulled out his own communicator to send a secure message back to their command. The contents were clear: urgent reinforcement needed, potential resurgence of a global threat, and immediate extraction and debrief.

The group felt a mix of exhaustion, adrenaline, and a renewed sense of duty. They had faced death, uncovered a conspiracy, and now stood on the brink of a potentially larger conflict. As they helped the Iranian forces secure the area, each member of the team was lost in thought, considering the path ahead.

Winter, standing next to Anthony, summed up the sentiment that hung over them like the desert sun. "We stopped one monster today, but the shadow of another just grew longer."

Anthony nodded, his gaze fixed on the distance, where the dust seemed to whisper of coming storms. "Then we'll face him too," he said, his voice low but resolute. "We'll face him together."