Rewrite the Apocalypse dream (by Dee Cari) novel Chapter 131

Chapter 131 Commander Briggs

Finished

Jonna turned her sharp gaze to the man who commanded such instant, unyielding respect. Commander Briggs was a striking, imposing presence, standing well over six feet five inches tall with the broad, powerful build of a linebacker. He was exceptionally handsome and a lot younger than Joanna thought, but his features were carved from ice-sharp, chiseled, and completely devoid of warmth. He wore a rugged combat uniform that bore the scuffs and stains of real field deployment; this was no pristine suit worn by a paper-pushing bureaucrat. Every line of his posture, from the way his gloved hands rested near his sidearms to the fluid, silent way he carried his massive frame, marked him as a seasoned assassin. He radiated a perfectly calm and deadly aura, the mark of someone who had survived countless frontline conflicts long before the world fell apart.

Commander Briggs swept his cold, observant gaze across the room, taking in Joanna, the gathered team, and the presence of Jake standing at attention. He offered a single, terse nod, acknowledging the respect but keeping his focus entirely locked on Joanna before him.

Commander Briggs swept his cold, observant gaze across the room, meticulously evaluating every person present before finally letting his eyes settle on Joanna. For a fraction of a second, something intense and unreadable flickered in his icy gaze-a sharp spike of recognition or calculation-before it vanished entirely back beneath his stoic mask.

Joanna stood up slowly, her posture cautious and guarded as she faced the massive commander.

“Miss Harington,” Briggs greeted her, his tone clipped, terse, and strictly business.

The name hit the room like a physical blow. Joanna froze, a sudden shockwave of adrenaline spiking through her veins. How does he know her name? It was the apocalypse and the world was ruined yet he said it with such certainty.

Her shock lasted only a heartbeat before her expression turned completely deadly. Her eyes narrowed into slits of pure, lethal intent, and her hand hovered with absolute precision above the empty space where she could instantly summon a weapon from her storage. The atmosphere in the apartment plummeted to sub- zero temperatures as she locked her sights on him.

Briggs watched her reaction, and the corner of his chiseled mouth twitched upward into a faint, knowing smirk. It was a brief acknowledgment of his tactical upper hand, but just as quickly, his face turned entirely cold and professional once more.

“We need to talk,” Briggs said, his low baritone cutting through the suffocating silence. “Sit down for a meeting. Just the two of us.”

The air in the room was so thick with tension it felt on the verge of exploding. Behind Joanna, her team shifted on their feet, fully sensing the sudden, dangerous shift in her demeanor. Jake’s hand drifted imperceptibly closer to his sidearm, while Julian narrowed his eyes, his entire body tensing as he prepared

to move.

Joanna didn’t break eye contact with the giant soldier. “Why? And how do you know that name?”

“I did a deep background check on this entire sector before coming here, and Lieutenant Moore shared his run in with you from the previous day,” Briggs replied smoothly. “I don’t walk into operations blind. I have a proposition. One that requires absolute discretion before operational details are finalized. You hear me out first. Then you decide what to tell them.”

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Chapter 131 Commander Briggs

Finished

Joanna weighed his words, her mind racing through the implications of what else he might know. Finally, she gave her team a brief, tight nod. “Give us the room.”

Though clearly reluctant and highly suspicious, Julian, Jake, led Will and the rest of the group slowly backed out of the apartment, closing the heavy door behind them and leaving Joanna alone with the intimidating commander.

The heavy click of the apartment door locking behind her team left the room in an immediate, suffocating silence. Neither of them moved. Joanna stood her ground, her body wound tight like a spring, while Commander Briggs towered across from her, his massive six-foot-five frame perfectly still. They studied each other with cold, calculating precision-two apex predators measuring the exact depth of the threat before them.

Finally, Joanna broke the silence, her voice dropping to a terrifyingly calm, razor-sharp whisper. “Never use my last name again.”

The tension in the air stretched to a breaking point during the long pause that followed. Briggs didn’t flinch. He simply let his icy gaze trace her features before offering a single, slow nod of agreement.

“Fair enough,” he replied, a low baritone rumble breaking the quiet. “Shall I call you ‘Demoness’ instead?”

Joanna blinked, her deadly expression faltering for a split second as a look of genuine confusion crossed her face. “What?”

“That is how Moore and his squad described you to me when they returned,” Briggs explained smoothly, the corner of his handsome mouth twitching with the ghost of a cold smirk. “They made it sound like I’d be dealing with an urban legend.”

The confusion vanished as quickly as it had arrived. Joanna shrugged her shoulders carelessly, her unbothered exterior locking right back into place.

“Joanna is fine,” she said bluntly, stepping up to the table. “Now, let’s talk business. What is this proposition?”

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