Twilight

“I’ve been with Twilight for what feels like a lifetime now, but it’s only been a few months. A lot can happen in that time. A lot does happen. Every job is a lesson, sometimes a painful one, and you can’t afford to forget them. So, let me tell you about some of the people I’ve worked with, the ones who taught me how to survive in this hellhole we call a team.

Axon

She’s the brains behind all our gadgets. And when I say brains, I mean she’s the one who makes sure we don’t get ourselves blown up or electrocuted on a regular basis. She’s got away with machines that’s almost scary. First time I saw her in action was on a job that felt too easy, but Axon doesn’t do easy. We were tasked with disabling a convoy. Nothing fancy, just stealing some tech. Simple, right? Well, Axon doesn’t do “simple.”

We were supposed to break into a secured convoy without alerting the guards. Me? I was just there to keep my head down and hand her the right tools, but it’s hard to just stand there when you’re not sure if you're about to get shot. The convoy’s coming down the road, and there’s Axon, lying under the lead vehicle with a toolkit that could’ve passed for a portable bomb factory. I didn’t know what half of it even did. She handed me a live wire at one point, didn’t even look up. “Hold this,” she says. I’ve never been so scared in my life. But I did what she told me, and somehow, she managed to disable the whole convoy’s system without anyone realizing.

Then, of course, the patrol showed up. Flashlights, boots clinking on the pavement, too damn close for comfort. If they spotted us, it would’ve been a firefight in the middle of nowhere. But Axon didn’t even flinch. She just muttered something about a “plan B” and kept working. I swear, the woman is as calm as ice under pressure. When the guard got close enough to spot us, she gave me one simple instruction: “Aim for the neck if he sees us.” I’ve never looked at a wrench the same way again.

But in the end, we didn’t have to use it. The guards left, and we were gone, like shadows. Axon didn’t even acknowledge the danger. She just packed up, like it was just another Tuesday. That’s how she works. Cold. Efficient. And if you’re lucky, she might give you a nod, but that’s as close to praise as you’ll ever get from her.

Panzer

If Axon’s the brainiac running calculations, Panzer’s the guy tripping over a crate and somehow breaking through the enemy’s strongest defense. Don’t let his air-headed, goofy demeanour fool you, when guns get involved, he’s like a walking encyclopedia wrapped in pure chaos. On missions, you can’t help but brace yourself. Things are going to go sideways, but with Panzer? They somehow always end up sideways in your favour.

Take that one raid at the black-market weapons depot. The plan? Simple: slip in, grab the intel, slip out. No noise, no drama. Easy, right? Not when Panzer’s around. We’d barely gotten through the door before alarms started blaring. Was it because someone tripped a sensor? Probably. Was that someone Panzer? Most definitely.

Suddenly, guards were everywhere, and we had seconds before getting overrun. That’s when Panzer flipped the switch. One second, he’s fumbling around, probably thinking about breakfast or something, and the next? Boom. Guns out. Serious face on. The man lit up like a kid in a candy store, except the candy was bullets and explosives.

And let me tell you, when Panzer starts talking guns, it’s like he’s possessed. “AKM-77, 30-round mag, this baby’s got a muzzle velocity that’ll punch through three layers of armour.” He rattles it all off while turning guards into Swiss cheese. I saw him grab a guy by the collar mid-fight and yell, “You don’t even have proper recoil compensation!” before tossing him into a wall.

Then, he brought out his prized modified AKM-77. He calls it “Betty.” Don’t ask. Anyway, Betty sang that day, spitting out rounds like it had something to prove. And Panzer? He’s cracking jokes mid-firefight, like, “They really think that suppressor’s gonna help?” Meanwhile, we’re all just ducking and trying not to die.

Watching Panzer in action is like watching a tornado that knows gun specs. It’s messy, unpredictable, but devastatingly effective. He doesn’t care about finesse. He doesn’t care about plans. He cares about results, and whether or not the enemy brought decent hardware.

When the dust settled, Panzer stood there with his usual dumb grin, like he hadn’t just torn through a small army. “Got the intel, guys. Oh, and did you see that one guy’s scope? Trash. Pure trash.” He always finds a way to make it seem like just another day at the office.

Love him or hate him, one thing’s for sure: if Panzer’s got your back, and a gun in his hands, you’re gonna make it out alive. Probably with a few more stories to tell, too.

Spectral

Now there’s a whole other kind of genius. I don’t know how his brain works, but it does. He is a hacker, and watching him work is like watching someone orchestrate a symphony of chaos. We were deep inside a corporate vault, trying to steal financial records, real high-stakes stuff. And there’s Spectral, standing in front of the terminal, all calm and focused while the rest of us are holding our breath, praying the alarms don’t go off.

What you don’t understand about Spectral is that he doesn’t just hack into systems, he plays with them. He treats firewalls like puzzles to solve, and when he runs into a problem, he doesn’t just brute force his way through. No, he outthinks it. He breaks the system with finesse.

I remember asking him once, “How do you do it?” He just smirked at me, doesn’t even look up from his screen, and said, “Because I can.” Not the answer I was looking for, but somehow, it made sense.

That job, though, was a tight squeeze. We barely had time to get in and out before the entire building went into a lockdown. If it weren’t for Spectral’s eyes, I swear we’d still be stuck there trying to crack the system. He saw a pattern in the guard rotations, something I missed completely. “You’re smart, Karl,” he said to me, almost offhandedly. “What do you see in the rotations?” he made me think, made me pay attention, and I spotted the opening. Maybe that’s why he let me help, but to be honest, I didn’t do much. Spectral did it all. He isn’t just good, he is damn near unbeatable when it comes to hacking.

1MIN

Then there is, our self-appointed mastermind. Strategically, he’s sharp as a razor. Personally? He’s insufferable. Spoiled, ego-driven, and so serious you’d think the fate of the universe rested on his shoulders.

One mission, a heist from a rival gang, showed him at his best and worst. Every guard’s route, camera angle, and power outage were timed to the second. It was brilliant, but his attitude? Not so much. I was the “distraction,” blowing stuff up while he orchestrated from the shadows. The plan worked flawlessly, of course, but did I get a “thanks” or even a nod? Nope. Success isn’t a victory to 1MIN; it’s the bare minimum.

What makes working with him bearable is his constant head-butting with Axon. She’s all cold precision, and he’s a control freak who can’t stand being challenged. Watching them argue is pure entertainment, like two perfectionists locked in a duel of egos.

Then there’s his obsession with Victor, our actual leader. 1MIN doesn’t just admire him; he idolizes him, like a kid worshiping their favourite superhero. It’s embarrassing and hilarious to watch, especially when he gushes over Victor’s every word.

1MIN is brilliant, sure, but as a teammate? Let’s just say I keep my distance.

When I look at the team, I see more than just a bunch of people who happen to be on the same job. We’re a machine, each piece vital. We cover each other’s backs, no matter what. And I guess that’s what keeps me here. Because, at the end of the day, I’m not just surviving anymore. I’m part of something that’s bigger than me. And for now, that’s enough.”

And with that Karl fall asleep.