The night was thick with smoke and adrenaline. The explosion at Zenith Depot had rattled the streets, and now we were in the middle of something way bigger than we had planned. The bounty hunter—Dolly—moved like a specter, her sleek armor reflecting the neon lights as she pursued her prey. I barely kept up, my pulse hammering in my ears.
Steven ran ahead, calculating our next move. Ife, drunk and half-conscious, stumbled along, muttering something about how the night had taken an unexpected turn. I tightened my grip on his arm to keep him from collapsing.
Ahead of us, the bounty—a wiry figure—was backed against a towering metal wall, his breath ragged. Dolly had him cornered. The blade strapped to her thigh gleamed under the streetlights as she reached for it.
"End of the road," she said, her voice cold.
But just as she moved in for the kill, shadows detached themselves from the surrounding buildings. Three more bounty hunters emerged, each bearing the insignia of a First-Level Hunter.
James, broad-shouldered with a cybernetic eye that scanned the scene like a hawk. Marvic, short but deadly, fingers twitching over the hilt of her plasma dagger. Andre, a brute of a man whose fists had sent more than a few criminals into permanent silence.
Dolly cursed under her breath.
"This one's mine," she said, eyes locked onto the bounty.
James chuckled. "Funny. Zenith's bounty board says otherwise."
Andre cracked his knuckles. "How about we settle this the old way?"
And just like that, chaos erupted.
Blades flashed. Energy bolts zipped through the air. The bounty—the man Dolly had been after—used the moment to slip away, but Steven was already moving, grabbing my arm. "We're not leaving him."
I hesitated. "What?"
Steven's eyes were locked on the escaping figure. "We help him, or he's dead by morning."
That was when I realized something. The man we had just risked our necks for wasn't just some random criminal.
It was Habeeb.
And now, we had to get him out alive.
We moved fast, weaving through the backstreets. Ife, still unsteady but surprisingly functional, played the perfect distraction. He stumbled right into a group of patrolling enforcers, causing a minor scuffle while Steven and I pulled Habeeb into an abandoned alley.
He leaned against the wall, catching his breath. "Who the hell are you guys?"
"Friends," Steven said simply.
I wasn't so sure. "That depends," I muttered. "Why is Zenith after you?"
Habeeb wiped blood from his lip, his gaze sharp. "Because I did something they didn't like."
I stared at him. "You blew up their depot."
He grinned, despite the situation. "Technically, I just made sure their weapons cache malfunctioned."
"Which means it exploded," Steven said dryly.
"Details," Habeeb shrugged. "Look, you helped me, so I owe you. But we need to move before they realize where we went."
The sound of approaching enforcers made our decision for us. We dragged Ife along, cutting through side streets, moving towards the only safe place we knew.
By the time I got home, the sky was bleeding into morning. I slipped in as quietly as I could, but my mum was already waiting.
She stood in the kitchen, arms folded, worry etched into her features.
"Liam."
I sighed, knowing there was no escaping this. "Mum, I—"
"Where have you been?" Her voice was soft, but I could hear the edge in it. The kind of fear only a mother carried. "You didn't come home. You didn't call."
I ran a hand through my hair. "I got caught up in something. I'm fine."
She exhaled, shaking her head. "Liam, things aren't safe anymore. The Zenith Council is cracking down on everyone. People are disappearing."
I hesitated. I wanted to tell her everything—the bounty hunters, Habeeb, the explosion—but how could I? She had spent her whole life keeping me safe. This would break her.
So I lied.
"It was just a late night. I won't let it happen again."
She studied me for a long time before nodding. "Get some sleep."
I barely made it to my bed before exhaustion pulled me under.
Two days later, the supermarket was buzzing with whispers. I was restocking shelves when Steven walked in, his expression unreadable. He grabbed a holo-tab off the nearest stand and flipped it towards me.
WANTED: INDIVIDUALS INVOLVED IN CRIMINAL ESCAPE. LAST SEEN AT AREWA HEIGHTS.
I stared at the blurry surveillance image. It wasn't clear. But it was enough.
Ife. Steven. Me.
We were on Zenith's radar now.
And there was no turning back.