C2 Day

Lily was having one of those days

Her day had started on a sour note. First she woke up tired and irritable, with a throbbing ache in her shoulders and a pounding migraine that made her eyes water. To make matters worse, she had forgotten to set her alarm clock and was very close to being late for work, again. She frantically managed to shower and dress in record time but as she swung her front door open, she was met with a rather unpleasant surprise. Her neighbor's dog had left an unwelcome gift right in front of her doorstep and she had stepped on it, again. She sighed, she had no time to remind Larry, her neighbor to keep his dog in check neither did she have the luxury of time to change her shoes which were already soiled with fecal matter. Lily quickly grabbed some wipes from her purse and vigorously cleaned her shoes.

She quickly hopped into her sleek Cadillac, a small smile playing across her lips. Despite the morning's mishaps, she couldn't help but appreciate how life had treated her thus far.

At 23 she was doing marvelously well, was living very comfortably and earned in six figures. Born to a modest family, Lily's childhood was a tapestry of books, circuits and solitude. While most kids her age were out playing tag or building sandcastles, Lily was nestled in the corner of her room immersed in the world of computers and gadgets. By the time she was ten, she had already mastered the art of dismantling and reassembling computers.

The following year her parents got her a computer as a birthday present. It was an old and very bulky piece of metal but Lily cherished it nonetheless. While her classmates used their computers for social media,games and homework occasionally, Lily was more interested in programming languages, learning to code and pushing the boundaries of what her simple machine could do.

During her teenage years, Lily's passion for computers and programming languages truly ignited. She felt more at ease with computers than with people, earning her the labels of "nerd" and "bookworm," but she didn't care. To Lily, computers were reliable unlike the unpredictability of human interactions and emotions. "Computers did not make you feel sad, or ugly, computers did not laugh at you because you found books interesting and reading your favorite pastime, computers accepted without bias and would do your bidding with just a simple click of a button".

As high school approached, her hard work and relentless studying paid off. Lily not only graduated as valedictorian but also secured a full scholarship to study computer science at one of the country's most prestigious universities.

Upon completing her college degree, Lily was immediately recruited by Knights Enterprises, the leading firm in robotics engineering and technology. In the male-dominated, cutthroat corporate world, her teenage insecurities, which she had tried so hard to suppress, resurfaced. She struggled with social awkwardness and was constantly overlooked by her colleagues and superiors, despite her exceptional programming talents.

She carried the bulk of the workload but received little appreciation. Nevertheless, the work paid well, her job provided financial stability for her and her aging parents, who had always supported her. Her parents never had much but they made sure Lily had a comfortable childhood, lacking nothing.

Lily managed a smile but her smile soon turned to a groan when she discovered that her favorite parking spot had been taken by another vehicle in the company's parking lot. She circled the parking lot in search of an alternative space, parked her car and hurried into the company. Upon entering the sliding doors of Knights Enterprises, Lily was shocked to find the main lobby bustling with people, particularly journalists.

Little wonder her parking spot was occupied before her arrival. She saw a journalist walking towards her for a short interview, she panicked, fleeing into the elevator and pressing the button to take her to her office. She heaved a sigh of relief,the thought of facing a camera and answering questions live on air was unbearable.

The elevator reached her floor, and Lily entered her office, only to find it in chaos and teeming with activity. Her supervisor rushed toward her, barking, "Where have you been!?" Before she could stammer an excuse he informed her that CEO Joe Knight had been murdered, and their firewall had been breached by unknown hackers the previous night, resulting in a cyberattack.

Lily muttered under her breath, "Oh, bloody hell!" Meanwhile, in faraway Afghanistan, the night was thick with tension as Ethan and his elite special ops unit silently navigated rugged Afghan terrain. Ethan, clad in tactical gear and night vision goggles, stood at the ready. He adjusted his grip on his rifle, feeling a familiar mix of adrenaline and anxiety. Their mission was clandestine, their objective clear: infiltrate the terrorist stronghold,rescue the Kidnapped American diplomat and bring him back to safety.

This highly elite special ops team under the guidance of seasoned leader, Sgt Marco navigated the treacherous terrain and made their way into the heart of the Taliban stronghold as silently as possible. According to the intelligence relayed by the command center, Senator Ashton Stone was held captive within one of the many cells deep within the Taliban fortress.

With a subtle hand gesture, Sgt Marco signaled his team to advance, progressing deep into the heart of the Taliban stronghold with utmost silence.

Their advance was abruptly halted when they sighted the shadowy figures of armed guards. Sgt Marco took the first shot, his bullet finding his target with deadly precision.

Moments later, chaos erupted, they had been spotted by a Taliban sentry, there was no going back for the team now. Suddenly, the night erupted in a cacophony of gunfire as terrorist forces engaged Ethan's team in a fierce firefight.

Ethan's pulse quickened as he felt that familiar rush of adrenaline, he took down a terrorist and then another, three, four and a point he lost count. Bullets whizzed past, the air electric with tension.

Ethan's team pushed forward, their resolve unbreakable. Amid the chaos, they breached the makeshift cell where the diplomat was held captive. The diplomat, disheveled but alive, followed Ethan as they fought their way to freedom. The mission was almost complete, they now had to wait for their pickup helicopter to fly them to safety.

Enraged that they had lost their precious bargaining chip, and with renewed urgency wave after wave of Taliban terrorists came at them, but the elite team with synchronized movements took them all out. In a tense moment, Ethan found himself face to face with a Taliban member, only to discover that his firearm had run out of bullets.

Frustration welled within him, but he swiftly disarmed his adversary, using the bayonet in his M16 to quickly dispatch him.

The blade pierced the terrorist's shoulder like a hot knife through butter, and he fell lifeless, blood spurting from his mouth. In the distance, Ethan could hear the Whirring of Helicopter blades, signaling their salvation. "About time," he thought. The helicopter landed, and the diplomat and the team hurried aboard. Just as they were about to depart, they spotted a lone terrorist,who charged toward them, screaming "death to the west!" In a heavy English accent.

Ethan observed closely and noticed that he wore a bomb vest and he intended to run towards them and detonate it, endangering them all.

Before Ethan could react, the helicopter's machine guns swiftly neutralized the threat, and Ethan breathed a sigh of relief as they flew off to safer airspace.

The mission was a resounding success! As the helicopter's blades whirred in the distance, signaling their escape, Ethan couldn't shake the feeling of apprehension and trepidation that gnawed at him. Despite the successful mission and the promised hefty paycheck he still felt uneasy, something did

n't feel right, but he didn't know what it was yet