Two

CHAPTER TWO: MY FIRST VICTORY

“Stay down,” Kael ordered.

I ignored him long enough to peer over the desk. The shooter had vanished from the opposite building, but a red laser dot swept across the wall again. I grabbed Kael’s sleeve and yanked him lower just as another bullet punched through the desk.

He turned on me. “You were warned.”

“And you were about to get shot in the head. You’re welcome.”

His expression promised consequences. I didn’t care. I had already died once because powerful people refused to listen. I wasn’t going to let pride kill the man the system had chained to my future.

Kael spoke into his radio. “Rowan, lock down the building. Nobody exits without clearance. Get a team to the roof across the street.”

A voice answered through static. “Copy, Commander.”

I knew the next part. The assassin had entered through the western stairwell, used an access code stolen from a dismissed contractor, and planted a second weapon in the service corridor. In my first life, the attack was blamed on a rival faction. The real shooter had been found dead two days later, his identity erased from the official report.

“Don’t send your men to the western stairwell,” I said.

Kael looked at me as if I had lost my mind. “Why?”

“Because there’s a second gunman waiting there.”

“You expect me to believe you know that?”

“No. I expect you to check.”

He held my gaze for one hard second, then gave the order. The response came less than a minute later: a soldier had found a man hiding behind the emergency panel, armed and wearing a stolen contractor uniform.

Kael’s eyes narrowed. “How did you know?”

“Because I’m trying to keep you alive.”

“That is not an explanation.”

“It’s the only one you’re getting until you stop pointing weapons at me.”

His jaw flexed. “You broke into my office.”

“And someone tried to murder you. Which problem do you want to solve first?”

The door burst open. Captain Rowan Price entered with two armed soldiers. He was tall, broad-shouldered, and usually calm, but tonight his face had gone pale.

“Commander, the second suspect is in custody. He had a photograph of you leaving this office and a list of your movements.”

Kael stood. “Who gave him the schedule?”

“We’re checking.”

“Check faster.”

Rowan glanced at me. “Who is she?”

“An intruder who appears to know too much,” Kael said.

“Serena Vale,” I supplied. “And I’m the person who just saved your commander’s life.”

Rowan looked from me to Kael. “Should I thank her or arrest her?”

“Both options are under consideration,” Kael replied.

I almost smiled. In my first life, he had been a distant figure on a screen, a commander who issued orders and left others to suffer the consequences. Standing close enough to see the tension in his jaw, I understood how he had earned loyalty. He was decisive, ruthless, and very difficult to distract.

It didn’t make him innocent.

Kael ordered the soldiers to search me. I stepped away before they could touch me. “I’ll empty my pockets myself.”

“You don’t set the rules here.”

“Then arrest me. But if another attempt comes tonight, don’t say I failed to warn you.”

The threat landed. Kael dismissed the soldiers with a sharp gesture and asked Rowan to bring the security footage. While they reviewed it, I watched the system’s timer count down.

[OPTIONAL MISSION: OBTAIN ACCESS CARD.]

[REMAINING TIME: 00:17:42.]

I had almost failed the mission, and the card was still on the desk.

Kael noticed my eyes moving toward it. “You’re still after the card.”

“I need access to the emergency supply database.”

“Why?”

“Because the city is about to run out of critical supplies.”

“That is a broad claim.”

“Then let me prove it.”

I gave him three warehouse addresses and the dates each would be abandoned. I described the food and medical stock stored inside, including a shipment of water filters marked as industrial equipment. Kael ordered Rowan to verify the first address.

The response arrived five minutes later. The warehouse existed. The shipment was real. The delivery date matched.

Kael leaned back, studying me with a new kind of suspicion. “You have access to information that should be classified.”

“I have information you need.”

“And you want my card.”

“I want the supply manifests and transport routes. You can have the card back afterward.”

“That is not how military security works.”

“Then military security is about to become very hungry.”

For the first time, a faint, unwilling smile touched his mouth. It vanished before I could be sure I had seen it.

He unclipped the card and slid it across the desk. “Temporary access. Rowan will monitor every file you open.”

I snatched it before he could change his mind. The system chimed.

[MISSION COMPLETE.]

[REWARD: STORAGE EXPANDED TO 20 SLOTS.]

[NEW OBJECTIVE: SECURE 72 HOURS OF FOOD, WATER, AND MEDICAL SUPPLIES.]

I could have cried with relief. Twenty slots were not limitless, but they were enough to store essentials without carrying them on my back. The first victory was mine.

Then Kael spoke. “You’re going to tell me what you know about the assassination attempt.”

“I’ll tell you what I can prove.”

“And what can’t you prove?”

I looked at the security footage. The assassin’s face was hidden, but his left hand wore a silver ring with a split crest. I remembered that crest from the first timeline. It belonged to a private security company hired by Dr. Mara Voss.

“I can prove that someone inside your organisation is selling your schedule,” I said. “And I can prove the same person has access to the containment project.”

Kael’s face hardened. “That project has nothing to do with this.”

“Not yet.”

I handed Rowan the address of the first warehouse and told him to secure it before sunrise. Then I returned the access card to Kael.

He looked surprised. “You’re giving it back?”

“I got what I needed.”

“What did you need?”

“Proof that you can be useful.”

Rowan coughed into his fist, disguising what might have been a laugh. Kael stared at me, but he didn’t order me arrested.

The system flashed a final message as I walked toward the door.

[NEW INFORMATION UNLOCKED: DR. MARA VOSS IS CONNECTED TO THE FIRST CONTAINMENT BREACH.]

I stopped.

Kael noticed immediately. “What is it?”

I turned back to him. “Your next briefing needs to be cancelled. If you attend it, you’ll walk straight into another trap.”

His eyes turned icy. “You have ten seconds to explain.”

I checked the time. In my first life, the briefing had ended with a fire, three dead officers, and my father’s research stolen.

“Because the person who wants you dead is about to make another move,” I said. “And this time, I know exactly where they’ll strike.”