2025-11-06 23:09:24
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Do I Know You?
The name hung in the air between them.Five years. Five years since she'd said his name, five years since he'd heard her voice.Kai's vision blurred. He blinked hard, forcing it clear.The security guard grabbed his arm. "Sir, you need to come with us. Campus police are on the way—”Campus security escorted them to the administration building, a brick colonial structure at the center of campus. Julie walked beside Kai, flanked by two guards. She kept stealing glances at him, studying his profile.Kai felt every look like a knife.They were led to a waiting area outside the dean's office. Uncomfortable chairs, fluorescent lighting, motivational posters on the walls about leadership and integrity.One guard stayed with them. The other went inside to brief the dean.Julie sat three chairs away from Kai. Close enough to watch him. Far enough to maintain distance.For five minutes, neither of them spoke.The security guard stood by the door, arms crossed, pretending not to listen.Finally,
The Abduction Attempt
Kai crossed the street fast but controlled. Running would draw attention, spook campus security. He needed to look like a concerned adult, not a threat.The two men were closing in on Julie. She'd said goodbye to her friends and was walking toward the student parking lot, phone in hand, completely unaware.Ten feet separated them.Kai stepped directly into their path."Looking for someone?"Both men froze. The leader, a man with a scarred face, cold eyes, and the build of a boxer, looked Kai over in an instant. He was analyzing him, judging how dangerous he might be."Walk away," the man said, voice flat. "Doesn't concern you."Kai didn't move, didn't blink.Behind them, Julie noticed the commotion. She slowed, curious, her phone lowering.The second operative—younger, nervous energy, stepped toward her.Kai moved.He grabbed the man's wrist mid-reach, twisted with brutal efficiency. The operative's shoulder rotated wrong, tendons screaming. Kai used the momentum to drive him forward,
Riverside Academy
Kai arrived at Riverside Academy just after 9 AM. The morning sun casted shadows across the campus, turning everything soft and golden.It was the kind of place that promised safety. Old brick buildings covered in ivy, massive oak trees lining cobblestone paths, students in navy blazers and khaki pants walking between classes with books tucked under their arms.Idyllic, protected and expensive.Kai parked across the street, engine off, eyes scanning the entrance. His shoulder throbbed beneath his jacket, the graze from the pier was bandaged but not healed. Every movement sent a spike of pain through his arm.He ignored it.The campus quad was filling with students between classes, laughter carried on the breeze. Someone was tossing a frisbee near the fountain. A group of girls sat on the grass, studying.Normal and safe, everything Kai had worked for five years to give his sister.Then he saw her—Julie.She emerged from one of the academic buildings, backpack slung over her right shou
The rival
EIGHT YEARS AGO. SARAJEVO.The compound sat on the edge of the city, surrounded by crumbling walls and razor wire. Inside, a weapons dealer named Kovac was holding stolen intelligence—documents detailing Blackwell Industries' offshore accounts and shell companies. Marcus Blackwell wanted them back, quietly.Kai Cross and Nadia Volkov moved through the darkness like ghosts. Both twenty-two, both trained killers."Three guards, north entrance," Nadia whispered into her comm, crouched behind a rusted truck. "I can take them.""Wait," Kai said from his position on the opposite side. "Thermal's showing more heat signatures inside, civilians.""Kovac uses human shields," Nadia said. "We knew that going in."Kai's jaw tightened. Through his scope, he could see movement in the compound's windows. Small figures. Children.Their comms crackled. Marcus Blackwell's voice, calm and cold from thousands of miles away."Complete the objective. Acceptable losses."Kai's finger hovered over his trigger
The pier Ambush
Lila pressed herself flat against the cold concrete, heart hammering. Through the gap beneath the container, she could see figures advancing—six of them, moving with military precision, weapons raised.Protocol Black had found them.Kai crouched at the edge of the container, calculating angles, counting shooters. His jaw was set, every muscle tensed.More gunfire. Bullets sparked off metal. Lila covered her head with her hands, the USB drive still clutched in her fist."Six shooters," Kai said, more to himself than to her. "Professional formation. Suppressing fire patterns."He glanced back at Lila, and for just a second, something like regret crossed his face."I'm sorry," he said. "I shouldn't have brought you here."Then he rose, weapon raised, and returned fire into the darkness.The pier exploded into chaos.Kai fired three rounds into the darkness. One of the advancing operators dropped, clutching his chest, helmet cracking as he hit the ground.Five left.They scattered immedia
Midnight at Pier 19
The pier stretched into darkness, abandoned and rotting. Fog rolled off the water in thick waves, turning streetlights into dim halos. The only sound was water lapping against pilings and the distant hum of the city.Lila parked three blocks away and walked, hands shoved in her coat pockets. Her phone was on silent. She'd told no one where she was going.Midnight at Pier 19. Come alone.She was either very brave or very stupid. Probably both.The pier's entrance was blocked by a rusted chain-link fence, but someone had cut a section open. Lila slipped through, boots crunching on broken glass and gravel."You came," a voice said from the shadows.Lila spun. Kai Cross stepped into view, emerging from behind a stack of shipping containers. He wore dark clothes, practical and tactical. In his left hand, he carried the same black briefcase from Sterling Tower."You said they were coming for my source," Lila said, trying to keep her voice steady. "I assume you meant yourself."Kai nodded. "
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