Davion didn’t even realize he was holding his breath until Beverly grabbed his sleeve and yanked him deeper into the alley. The sirens screamed past them—two black vans, tinted windows, moving like sharks that smelled blood. The city was loud again, alive again, but not in a good way. More like it was waking up angry.“What do you think they saw?” Beverly whispered, pushing her hair out of her face. She looked exhausted, but her eyes were sharp, alert.Davion swallowed. “A camera. A drone. Something.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “They know we’re back.”Beverly blew out a shaky breath. “Great. Love that for us.”He tried not to smile, but it happened anyway. “You’re still sarcastic in life-or-death situations.”“It’s my only personality trait right now,” she muttered.For a few seconds, they just stayed hidden between the dumpsters, listening to the city breathe. People walked by the alley without even glancing in. Cars honked. Someone laughed loudly at something on their phone. Th

The apartment felt smaller than before, though that could’ve been the adrenaline making it feel like the walls were closing in. Maps, tablets, and scraps of paper covered the single table in the middle of the room. Neon light flickered through the cracked blinds, painting stripes across Davion’s tired face.Beverly leaned over the table, finger tracing the red zones on the city map Reika had pulled up. “These are the hot zones,” she said, voice low, almost reverent. “Anywhere Iron Hand has eyes is basically a no-go. Drones, cameras, patrols… you name it.”Davion rubbed his eyes, leaning back in the squeaky chair. “So we… sneak in and destroy everything, or do we… wait for them to make a mistake?” His voice was sharp, tired, like it had been chewed up by too many sleepless nights.Reika’s eyes were cold, calculating. “Neither. We strike smart. Quick, clean, and silent. If we move like amateurs, we’ll be dead before Iron Hand even knows we exist.”Beverly nodded, resting her hands on he

The morning after, the city felt… different. Not quieter, not safer—just hollow, like it was holding its breath. Smoke still curled from parts of the skyline, streetlights flickered, and news vans roamed the streets, cameras pointed at everything. People whispered, pointing, staring. None of them knew exactly what had happened. None of them could imagine the chaos that had been stopped by a group of teenagers who weren’t supposed to survive.Davion trudged through the streets with Beverly beside him. The smell of burned metal lingered in the air. His hoodie was dusted with ash, his hands still sore from the fights the night before. He kept his eyes low, avoiding the stares of passersby.“You okay?” Beverly asked softly, glancing at him.He gave a short shrug. “I don’t know. Feels… weird. Like we saved the world, but nobody knows it.”Beverly smirked faintly. “That’s the best part. The world doesn’t have to know. We did what mattered.”“Doesn’t make it feel any less… heavy,” Davion adm

The city wasn’t quiet for long. By the time the first hints of dawn filtered through the clouds, Davion and the others were already moving. They had slept maybe three hours, huddled in an abandoned storage loft Reika had scouted the night before, but the urgency kept their limbs moving, hearts racing.“I can’t believe we’re doing this again,” Rami muttered, rubbing his eyes. “Another ghost hub? Seriously? How many of these things even exist?”“Enough to make Iron Hand think he’s untouchable,” Beverly said, tightening her gloves. Her face was streaked with dirt and exhaustion, but her eyes were sharp, calculating. “And enough to make sure we don’t let him ever be untouchable again.”Maya yawned dramatically. “And here I thought this week was supposed to be relaxing. Coffee, Netflix, maybe not getting shot at.”Davion snorted. “Yeah, relax. That’s… cute.” He glanced at the city below. Cars moved like ants. People walked without a clue that chaos was just a few blocks away. He wanted to

The morning sunlight pierced through the broken windows of their hideout, bouncing off the dust in the air like a million tiny sparks. Davion sat on the couch, stretching muscles that screamed from the last few days of running, fighting, and barely sleeping. The city outside was waking up, oblivious to the war that had just unfolded and the shadow still lurking.Beverly was already moving around, organizing gear, checking weapons, and muttering a string of curses about what she called “the absolute mess of survival.” Maya was perched on a crate, flipping through a tablet with a determined frown. “Okay, guys, if we’re going to go after Iron Hand, we need a map, a plan, and possibly a miracle.”“Don’t forget snacks,” Rami added dramatically from where he sat on a dusty chair. “I can’t think on an empty stomach.”Davion groaned but couldn’t suppress a small smirk. “You’re really making this survival thing a comedy, huh?”“Someone’s gotta lighten the mood,” Maya said with a wink. “Plus, i