Zeynep froze.
A shiver slid across her skin despite the sun above.
Slowly, she turned around...
And when she saw what was behind her,
She was shocked.
On the other side, In the Cabin
Zayden stood still for a moment as she walked past him, his attention being drawn to her silhouette as it vanished into the trees.
Then he moved.
Inside the cabin, he went to his room and grabbed his old rifle lying behind the stove, its metal worn and grasp familiar. He slung it over his shoulder, grabbed his coat, and went outside into the cold morning air.
His destination was close. It was a hunting hut, masked by time and nature, tucked underneath rocky hills and an abandoned radio tower. Inside, Zayden's contact was a man named Leo, who was older, quieter, and the only person he trusted to maintain an ear in the shadows of the world he'd attempted to escape.
Leo didn't look surprised to see him.
"You're not invisible anymore," the man said as soon as the door creaked shut. "And neither is she."
Zayden's expression didn't change, but the words hit with weight.
"They know you're here," Leo added, setting a worn map on the table. "They know why. They know after that incident… you went silent. But now you've resurfaced, and they've picked up the scent."
Zayden remained silent, but his eyes narrowed.
Leo continued, "And the girl? The one you saved? They know about her. They're asking questions about her, too."
Zayden's jaw clenched. "How?"
Leo shook his head. "No trace. No breach. No trail. But someone is watching."
He began packing his notes, ready to leave, but Zayden stopped him with a hand to the shoulder.
"I need a name. I want you to dig up on her," he said quietly. "Zeyne…."
But the name stuck. Like the truth itself didn't want to be spoken.
Before either of them could speak again,
A gunshot rang out sharp, clean, sudden, and final.
At that very moment
Zeynep looked at the man who'd been following her, his face half-covered in a ragged scarf, his eyes sunken and wild. He lifted the gun at her, his hands trembling.
She didn't think he just moved.
When he fired, she lunged.
The shot cracked into the sky as she yanked his wrist upward, blasting through nothing but clouds. The strong smell of gunpowder was burning her nose. She screamed in wrath and horror as her fingers snatched the sharp gun.
The gun slipped from his hand.
She snatched it, stumbling backward. Raised it. Pulled the trigger
Click.
Empty.
One bullet.
He lunged, and she didn't hesitate to swing the metal hard into his temple.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
He collapsed with a groan, unmoving.
She stood over him, breath ragged, arms trembling from the fight, and the adrenaline still flooding her veins.
And that's when she heard them behind her.
Heavy footsteps.
Crackling brush.
Back in the woods, Zayden acted before his mind could catch up. His feet hammered against the packed dirt as he rushed forward, his rifle banging against his back. Leo followed closely, his stride steady and quiet thanks to years of concentration, but there was a tightness in his physique that hadn't been there before.
They moved through the trees with trained accuracy, skirting low branches, and their eyes scanned for movement. The silence after the shooting was much worse; it was too quiet, too calm, as if the entire forest had stopped breathing.
Zayden's mind raced as his feet did. One bullet. Just one. Who fired it? Who was the target?
He didn't let himself say her name in his mind. Not yet.
"She was walking alone," he said.
"You let her walk out alone." Leo muttered behind him.
Zayden didn't answer. Didn't snap back. Because Leo was right.
Every part of him burned with the thought of her, Zeynep, out there. Alone. Vulnerable. Maybe afraid.
And if someone had followed her… If they'd come for her to get to him,
His jaw locked so hard it ached.
They crested a low ridge, ducked beneath a fallen log, and Zayden finally raised a hand, signaling Leo to slow. They were close now. He could feel it. The air had changed, thicker with something sharp. Adrenaline.
Another sound snapped the silence.
A scuffle. Fabric. A gasp.
Zayden motioned again, faster this time, and they sprinted the final few feet toward the clearing.
And what they saw made him stop cold.
Zeynep sat on the ground, her pajamas braced in soil and her hair wild about her face. She held a gun barely, but it was without a doubt hers now. Smoke still curled from the barrel, but the gun hung uselessly in her hands.
And across from her was a man. Rough. Wild-eyed. He lurched back, head bleeding from where she had struck him, bewildered and staggering. His own weapon, a worn hunting rifle, lay a few feet distant, thrown aside or knocked loose in the scuffle.
Zeynep's hands shook, and her chest heaved. Her lips were split in fright and rage at the same time, but her attitude, my God, was pure fire. Cornered. Defiant. Unbroken.
Zayden didn't think. He moved.
He reached her in seconds, carefully removing the gun from her grip and checking her for injuries before turning to face the man who attacked her. Leo was already on top of him, pinning him down with a skilled arm twist and a knee to the back.
The man groaned, cursing in a language Zayden hadn't heard in years. One he didn't like hearing now.
"Who sent you?" Leo growled.
But Zayden's focus was on Zeynep.
"You okay?" he asked, his voice low but edged with urgency.
Her eyes darted to his wild, glassy ones. Then to the gun in his hand. Then back to his face. She nodded shakily, but it wasn't enough.
He gently touched her arm. "Zeynep. Talk to me."
"I… I didn't mean to shoot," she whispered. "I just wanted to scare him. I thought he was going to"
"You did the right thing," Zayden said firmly. "You're safe now."
But he wasn't so sure about that.
Because whoever that man was, he hadn't come here by accident.
And Zeynep Koral's secrets were no longer just her own.
Hidden Base—Hours Later
The man groaned again, blood still running down his temple, as Zayden pulled him into the deep underbrush, quiet, cold, and efficient. Leo followed closely, rifle slung over his shoulder, his gaze scanning for any sign of being watched. But they weren't going back to the front of the cabin.
No.
Zayden moved around the back to a crooked pine tree hugging the wall, its limbs bent in strange angles. He reached beneath one of the thicker branches and tugged.
There was a click.
A quiet shift in the wooden wall behind the tree.
The disguised slab of timber split open like a false panel, revealing a narrow passageway cut into the ground, lined with stone and iron. A stairwell led down into darkness, steep and silent.
The man whimpered as Zayden shoved him forward, down the stairs.
At the base of the tunnel, a thick steel door stood like the entrance to a vault—sealed, impenetrable. A small scanner blinked on its side, waiting.
Zayden leaned forward.
Scan complete. Match: Cypher V. Access granted.
The locks disengaged with a hiss, and the door slid open.
Inside was something no one would expect from a man who claimed to want peace: a fully equipped underground base. Stark. Silent. Military-grade. Maps. Weapons. A bloodstained steel chair was bolted to the center of the concrete floor.
Leo threw the man into it.
He groaned, tried to rise, only to be slammed back down.
Click. The cuffs locked.
Zayden stood back, folding his arms, while Leo stepped forward and rolled up his sleeves.
"Let's make something clear," Leo said, voice low and even. "I'm not a soldier. Not anymore. I don't follow laws. And I don't have a line I won't cross."
The man flinched.
Leo raised a brow. "Who sent you?"
"I don't know," the man rasped. "They… they called. Told me to find the girl and watch her. That's all."
"Liar."
Leo's fist landed hard, swift, and practiced. No rage. No hesitation.
The man's head snapped back.
He coughed blood. "I swear there were different voices. Always changed. Robotic modulated. Burner phones. No name. No face."
"You expect me to believe someone gave you an assassination order through a burner and a voice changer, and you just obeyed?"
"They paid well."
Leo grabbed the man's collar, pulling him forward. "And you don't ask who you're killing?"
"No," the man breathed. "They gave me cash. Coordinates. Said to follow her until she was alone. Said someone would come to finish it if I failed."
Zayden's face darkened.
Leo leaned in close. "What's the drop point? Where do you report back?"
"There's none!" he cried. "I destroy the phones after every call. That's it. I don't know who they are!"