The underground chamber trembled again as another explosion shook the desert above.
Dust drifted slowly from the ancient ceiling.
Arun looked toward the shaft entrance nervously.
"They're still attacking."
Albert stood calmly near the glowing panel, his phone in his hand.
Then the device vibrated.
Albert answered immediately.
"Bilal."
On the other side of the world, thousands of kilometers away in Berlin, Bilal Ahmed sat in a dark control room filled with monitors.
Satellite feeds.
Targeting systems.
Weapon control interfaces.
His voice was calm.
"Boss."
"All systems are ready."
Albert waited.
Bilal continued.
"We are waiting for your order."
"What should I do next?"
Arun stared at Albert.
"What is he talking about?"
Albert spoke into the phone.
"Fire."
There was a short pause.
Bilal leaned closer to his control screen.
"Confirming order."
"This is the Rain Program."
"Two hundred missiles ready for launch."
Albert's voice became colder.
"Then finish it."
"All two hundred."
"Erase my enemies."
"From the roots."
Bilal nodded slowly, even though Albert could not see him.
"Understood."
He began typing rapidly across the control panel.
Rows of missile launch systems activated across several hidden locations.
Bilal spoke again through the phone.
"Launch sequence starting."
"Boss…"
"Your vacation in Berlin is officially over."
Albert smiled faintly.
"Good."
Bilal continued.
"When this is done…"
"I'll come to Egypt."
Albert looked toward the glowing chamber around him.
"Yes."
"We'll be waiting."
Bilal pressed the final command.
"Rain Protocol… activated."
Far above the Egyptian desert—
the sky suddenly changed.
One of the attacking fighter pilots looked upward.
At first he thought it was lightning.
Then he realized it was something else.
Hundreds of streaks of fire appeared across the sky.
Missiles.
Two hundred of them.
Rising high above the clouds.
Then turning.
And descending toward the battlefield below.
Inside the underground chamber, Mark looked at Albert.
"You just escalated this war."
Albert calmly placed his phone back in his pocket.
"No."
He looked toward the ceiling as another explosion echoed above.
"They did."
And somewhere in the sky above the desert—
two hundred missiles had just begun falling like rain.