Reece goes to his troop’s headquarters, realizing that it is much quieter than usual because his entire troop is dead. He finds his belongings and grabs a former teammate’s car keys before leaving to go to the armory. At the armory, Reece stocks up on multiple guns and explosives to supplement his weapons at home.

Long ago, Mike Tedesco decided that he wanted to spend more time with family but had to make a certain amount of money to comfortably achieve that goal. His involvement with “the Project” will allow him to reach that goal many times over.

Steve Horn approached him to organize the team that would develop, test, and eventually sell a drug that would prevent PTSD, describing it as a “mental prehab for warriors” (103). He is a close confidant of both J.D. and Lorraine Hartley, which is how they get involved in the project. Mike realizes that he is in a dangerous situation and intends to stay quiet, get paid, and then spend time with his family.

Dr. Paul Russell, a doctor at Balboa, finishes his shift and heads to his car. When he gets in the car, Reece grabs him by the head and presses a gun under his chin.