"This isn't just a plan, Elena. This is mass suicide!" Raka rubbed his jaw, which was still aching; the mark from Darma’s punch felt swollen.The words spilled out, not from fear, but from being fed up with the risks they were facing. He stood in Elena’s safe room, staring at the digital map of the city projected onto the wall, where Chronos Holdings glowed bright red as their primary target. In the corner of the room, Elena’s phone blinked, showing a video call from Lena; her face looked serious, yet her eyes hinted at a strange cheerfulness."Darma knows who you are, Raka. We aren't hiding anymore. We’re going to draw them out of their nest, where the public eye can see them," Elena answered calmly, her voice remaining emotionless, but her gaze piercing. "And why should we die slowly in the shadows if we can go down while lighting up the entire city?"Lena nodded from the phone screen. "Elena is right. Darma is a hunter who won't stop. He’s like a virus; if we don’t purge him from t

"Damn, they're here already?" Raka whispered, his burner phone pressed to his ear. On the other end, Elena’s voice sounded tense. "Forget how. They’re there, Raka. Now!"The apartment walls vibrated. A loud explosion echoed from the floor below, followed by the sound of shattering glass. They don't exactly knock, do they? Raka swallowed hard, his heart racing like an engine spinning out of control. That fear was back—cold and lethal—but this time, it was laced with rage. This is only the beginning of the chaos I’ve created."Run, Raka! Now!" Elena commanded. "Your office at Chronos is already surrounded too. Do not go back there."Raka scanned the temporary apartment, which now felt like a death trap. He had already packed a small backpack with the essentials. He heard heavy footsteps in the corridor, drawing closer. Darma wasn't playing games. And he hadn't come alone."Lena! Where is she?" Raka asked, his voice catching. He needed more than just a warning."She’s already there," Ele

"My God, Elena! This is the 'heart' of the Architects you were talking about? It smells like a rat-infested warehouse that got struck by lightning!" Julianna Vance complained, pinching her nose with her fingers.Her sharp eyes swept across the safe room Elena had prepared. The dim light from a single hanging chandelier highlighted piles of burlap sacks and old workshop equipment, adding an absurd touch to their strategic meeting."Industrial aesthetic, Julianna," Raka countered, glancing at her. He suppressed an amused smile, though in his heart, he agreed that this place was indeed far from 'luxurious.' "Think of it as the avant-garde of the resistance. Very exclusive.""Exclusive smell of motor oil, you mean?" Julianna snorted, folding her arms across her chest. However, behind her annoyance, there was a furrow of worry on her brow. "I came here, risking everything, and we end up in a place that makes me miss the smell of hospital chlorine."Elena stared at Julianna without blinking

"THAT BASTARD ROBERT STERLING! Does he really think I'm stupid?" Julianna Vance's voice was fiery, almost cracking in Raka's earpiece. Raka winced, shifting the small device slightly away from his ear.On the secure monitor screen, Robert Sterling, the Architect, was smiling broadly on financial news, commenting on VanceTech's "unique business decisions.""He thinks you're funny, Julianna. A clown destroying her own empire," Raka retorted, trying to calm her. He looked at Julianna on the screen, her face flushed with anger. "But this is good, isn't it? He took the bait.""Good? He just filed a baseless lawsuit against my board of directors!" Julianna snorted. "He said I was incompetent, even subtly threatening to 'rectify VanceTech's carelessness.' That's the Architect's code for getting rid of me, right?"Raka felt his stomach clench. A direct threat. This was faster than he expected. Sterling didn't just take the bait; he devoured it greedily."Exactly. He's provoked," Elena said ca

"He sacrificed Agent X! Knowingly! How could you, Lena, see all that and say it's okay?" Raka's voice sounded hoarse, echoing off the walls of the new safe room. The smell of fresh paint stung his nose, ironic amidst the stench of the betrayal that had just been revealed. He was still kneeling, staring at Lena's tablet screen showing Julianna's pale face on the train."She was a double agent, Raka. She was a spy for the Architects," Lena replied, her tone calm but with a slight touch of sadness. "Elena used her to bait Darma. If she hadn't, Darma would have killed Julianna right in her office. What's better? Sacrificing a pawn who already betrayed us, or our queen?"Julianna stared at Raka, her eyes still red, her grip on the bag containing the recorder tightening. She had just arrived, with Lena's help directing her from the station. Her face was a picture of horror. "Is it true, Raka? Elena let one of her agents... die?"Raka looked at Julianna, guilt and anger mixing together. He s