Your section makes its final checks before leaving the compound, entering the busy streets of the capital city. It’s market day today and there are more vehicles on the roads than usual, as driverless buses and ramshackle petrol engine cars compete to bring shoppers into the main square. You walk down the narrow alley towards the large piazza, trying to focus on spotting any potential threats and keeping an eye on the rest of your section, but as you walk into the main square, you can’t help but be distracted by the explosion of smells, colours and noise.

You step onto the cobbled road surrounding the square and a sharp buzz from your under-armour alerts you to a speeding e-scooter on a collision course with you. You immediately jerk back onto the pavement, your pulse racing slightly as the teenage girl riding the scooter looks back at you over her shoulder and curses using one of the only words you know in the local language.

Your section commander’s voice comes through your earpiece. “Everything alright? Your vitals just spiked.”

“Yes, fine. I just nearly got flattened by a scooter.” You visually locate your commander over by a fruit stall and wave your hand at her.

“Okay. Well, stay alert. It looks calm today, but you can never tell.”

You move through the square, aware of the hostile glances you receive from some of the locals. You look down at the handgrip of your rifle, reassured by the green light that shows it’s operational and fully loaded. At the far end of the square, a young boy bolts out of an alleyway and runs towards you. He babbles away, his gestures frantic.

“Tommy, translate”, you say, issuing the command to your personal assistant.

Now as the boy talks, you receive a time-lagged translation of his words via your earpiece in the smooth tones of your personal assistant. The boy is talking too quickly though, and the translation is confusing.

“Tommy, what is the word for slower?”

Tommy sounds out the word for you and you repeat it to the boy. He squints at you, but eventually seems to comprehend, starting to speak more clearly and slowly. You can’t make out everything he says, but enough to get the general gist.

By this stage your section commander has come over. “Do you know what he’s talking about?” she asks.

“Something about a bomb near his school. It’s near here apparently. He’s very scared.”

“Okay, I’ll radio it in.” Your commander starts relaying the situation to the tactical HQ, her speech being picked up by her helmet-mounted mic. She stands silent for a moment one hand against her ear.

The other members of your section have moved into a closer formation now. Everyone is more alert.

“Are you alright?” Tommy asks in your ear. “You seem tense.”

“Don’t ask again Tommy, things just got difficult.”

“Roger,” your assistant responds, his tone more businesslike.

Having finished her conversation with base, your section commander starts issuing orders. “Okay, we will be making an initial recce of this boy’s report. The rest of the platoon are being diverted to support. A drone has been sent to where we think the school is, to check things out. We might need to help evacuate the area. Goes without saying that we need to focus.” She grimaces, or maybe it’s a smile. “Right, let’s see what this kid has got to show us.”

Your section manoeuvres quickly and warily towards the location indicated by the boy. You are in the lead, with the boy under your close supervision as he guides you along a series of twisting streets. You are also aided by left and right arrows that flash up in your wraparound glasses, zeroing in on the school that has now been identified. You get to a crossroads. The arrow suggests left, but the boy starts leading you straight on. You hesitate, the boy tugs on your sleeve. You point left. He shakes his head and says something.

“Shortcut,” Tommy interprets.

You gesture to the rest of your section to carry straight on. Your section commander casts you a doubtful glance. At the corner of the next block the boy pauses. He points at a small, red car about 50 yards away.

“That’s it there, a bomb,” Tommy translates the boy’s speech.

You inform your section commander. She swears. You both remain with the boy, keeping the large apartment block on the corner between you and the suspect vehicle.

After explaining the situation to base, your commander receives instructions to link up with the rest of the platoon and establish a perimeter further away from the vehicle. You will be required to try and manage an evacuation of the area as best as possible. A small drone buzzes by – one of the newest surveillance assets – and your commander asks you to identify the vehicle in question. You fix your vision on the car, a green circle appears around the vehicle.

“Is that the vehicle?” asks Tommy.

“Yes,” you confirm.

The drone heads towards the vehicle and starts circling, its sensors hoovering up information.

“Okay,” your commander says. “Every person within a quarter of a mile has been messaged and local police are en route, we should see them emptying out soon. They’ve been told to avoid the street with the car on. We need to fall back to the perimeter and prepare for crowd management. Hey, where did the kid go?”

You search around, but can’t see him anywhere. Then your commander knocks into you forcefully and exhales loudly. You hear a crack, the unmistakable sound of an assault rifle. Your under-armour starts buzzing rapidly, the signal for an urgent and lethal hazard. You spring back to the other side of the apartment block; your commander topples over hitting the floor hard. You drag her round the corner of the building.

“Are you okay?”

“I think so. Hit my Kevlar.” She breathes in and out heavily. “Winded.”

You look round the corner and see another member of your section fall backwards onto the tarmac. The rest of the section are scrambling for cover. Another crack.

“Where’s it coming from Tommy?” you ask. A dynamic set of visual indicators guide your line of site through your goggles. After a few over adjustments you move your head to look at a section of a building a couple of blocks away. A green rectangle appears, framing the windows on a few floors halfway up the building.

“Somewhere around there, I think, based on the sound and a possible flash,” says Tommy.

There’s a window open towards the edge of the rectangle. You watch it carefully, and a small green circle suddenly appears around something dark, moving slowly. Carefully, you adopt a prone position, sighting your rifle. You adjust it gently upwards towards the open window until the display on your site goes green.

“What can you see?” your commander asks, sat up against the other side of the wall.

“Our shooter, I think. Can I engage?”

She nods. “So long as you can clearly identify a hostile target.”

You exhale, move your finger to the trigger and vow never to ignore Tommy’s directions again.