Chapter 9: The Extraction
They ran.
Mira's fingers gripped Cyan's sleeve as they darted through the crumbling corridors of the abandoned station. Gunshots echoed behind them—wild, desperate. Someone didn't want them escaping with the truth.
They reached a rusted fire exit. Cyan kicked it open, revealing the alley drenched in moonlight and danger.
"We need to split," Cyan said, breathless.
"No," Mira snapped. "Not this time."
He looked at her, something breaking in his eyes. "They'll come for you harder now. You shouldn't have followed me—"
"But I did," she cut in. "And now I'm in this. Whether you like it or not."
From a rooftop above, a figure watched. Red laser sight hovered just inches from Cyan's shoulder. Mira saw it first.
She didn't think—just lunged.
A loud shot.
The bullet missed. But Cyan fell, crashing to the pavement. Mira dropped beside him, hands trembling.
He was alive. But barely.
Tires screeched in the distance—an unmarked black van pulling in.
Help? Or danger?
Mira didn't know.
But she'd made her choice.
She reached into Cyan's jacket, grabbed the hidden drive, and whispered, "I'll finish this."
Even if it meant stepping into the very world he tried to keep her out of.