Here is Chapter Six o
The first bullet missed Leo's head by an inch. The second shattered the window behind him.
"Maya, move!" he yelled, yanking her toward the other side of the bridge. Tires screeched as SUVs boxed them in. Soren dove, tackling Leah as gunfire erupted from every direction.
The night turned to chaos.
Maya's pulse slammed in her ears as she followed Leo across the slick concrete. A single misstep, and she'd be dead. Behind them, Soren rolled to cover, returning fire with grim precision. Leah crouched beside him, reloading.
"Too many!" Maya gasped.
Leo fired into the headlights, glass exploding. "Keep moving!"
They leapt over the edge of the bridge, crashing into the riverbank below. Water soaked Maya's jeans. Her shoulder ached where she landed, but she pushed up, teeth clenched.
Soren and Leah weren't far behind, drenched and breathing hard.
Leo took a quick headcount. "We good?"
"For now," Soren said. "But Cross just made it personal."
At a hidden tunnel beneath the city, they regrouped. Aria was already there, drenched in rain, eyes wide with panic.
"You're bleeding," she said, reaching for Maya's arm.
"Not mine," Maya lied, brushing her off.
Soren opened the map, tracing a route with his finger. "We go underground. These maintenance tunnels run under the district. It's our only shot."
Leo leaned in. "And after that?"
Soren looked up. "We go to the source."
"The source?" Maya asked.
He nodded. "Cross's headquarters. It's time we take the war to him."
The tunnels were suffocating.
Narrow walls. No light. Rats the size of fists.
Every step echoed with the ghosts of the past — abandoned infrastructure, forgotten by the city but remembered by those who had something to hide.
Soren led, flashlight in one hand, pistol in the other. Leo followed with Maya close behind. Aria and Leah watched the rear, nerves strung tight.
"Are you sure these don't lead into a trap?" Leo asked.
"They do," Soren answered without turning. "But it's our trap now."
They emerged in an old warehouse.
Empty. Dusty. Quiet.
Too quiet.
Leo moved first, scanning the corners. Maya followed, nerves prickling.
That's when she saw it — a glint of red beneath a crate.
She dropped and yanked the box aside.
Wires. Explosives. A tripwire coiled like a serpent.
"Everyone stop!" she cried.
They froze.
She pointed. "We walk into that, we die."
Soren cursed. "Cross knew we'd come."
Maya's hands worked quickly, sweat slicking her palms. Years of training. Years of fear. She clipped the wire, heart racing.
Click.
Nothing exploded.
A moment passed.
Then another.
And then she was breathing again.
They pushed deeper into the facility, every room a puzzle. Every door a possible death sentence.
In a control room lined with monitors, Aria gasped.
The screens showed dozens of hidden locations. Warehouses. Offices. Apartments. All of them bugged. All of them tied to Cross.
Maya leaned closer. "He's watching everything."
Leah's face twisted with anger. "He's playing god."
"Not anymore," Leo said. "Let's shut him down."
As Maya typed into the terminal, bypassing firewalls and encryptions, the screen flickered.
A message appeared:
HELLO, MAYA.
She froze.
Another line typed itself:
YOU'RE BRAVE. BUT NOT CLEVER ENOUGH.
"Cross," she breathed.
"Get away from the keyboard," Soren snapped.
Too late.
An alarm screamed. Doors slammed shut. The entire floor locked down.
Gas hissed from the vents.
Maya staggered back. "It's a trap!"
Leo smashed a panel with the butt of his pistol. "Ventilation's blocked. We need another way out!"
They split. Soren and Leah pried open a hatch. Aria searched the walls for an override. Maya's lungs burned.
Then Leo grabbed her hand.
"This way!"
He shoved open a grate. One by one, they crawled through.
Behind them, smoke curled like fingers trying to hold them back.
They collapsed into a dim maintenance shaft. Safe — for now.
Maya coughed violently, eyes watering.
"You okay?" Leo asked, wiping soot from her face.
She nodded. "You?"
He smiled weakly. "Ask me tomorrow."
Their fingers brushed. For a second, the chaos fell away.
Then Soren's voice cut through. "We need to move. He knows we're coming."
Maya stood, resolve returning.
"Then we make sure we finish what we started."
That night, around a stolen campfire outside the city, they planned.
A blueprint stolen from the terminal.
A hidden entrance through the aqueduct system.
A date and time.
And a promise.
"We do this together," Leah said.
Maya looked at Leo, heart thundering. "No matter what."
But as the fire burned low, and the others drifted to uneasy sleep, Soren stood alone beneath the stars.
From his pocket, he pulled a phone.
He dialed a number.
A voice answered.
"Report."
"They're ready," Soren said. "They trust me."
"Good," the voice replied. "Then it's time."
Soren's face was unreadable.
"Yes. I'll deliver them to you by morning."
He ended the call.
And turned back toward the firelight, face darkened by shadows and secrets.