Masuk∆NO POV∆"I'm really getting tired of this," Sorin muttered as he slowly scanned the bodies, his sharp eyes taking in the clean, precise wounds and the unnatural stillness surrounding them. He let out a quiet sigh before looking at Zachary. "Couldn't you leave at least one of them conscious? Interrogating the living is a lot easier than trying to squeeze answers out of the dead… When are you going to understand this Zachary?” Zachary casually pointed toward the edge of the clearing, where the lone survivor was slumped against a splintered tree trunk, his chest rising and falling in weak, uneven breaths as if he was fighting too hard to hold that life of his which was too eager to leave him."Stop complaining," Zachary said with a faint shrug. "I was feeling generous tonight…. So, go do whatever you want with that so-called survivor.” The irony in his voice was so effortless that it drew a quiet snort from Sorin.The guards wasted no time dragging the barely conscious assassin forwa
"That's all?" Zachary asked with a sigh, his voice cutting through the oppressive silence with quiet disappointment rather than surprise. A faint smirk tugged at the corner of his lips as he glanced around before adding, "Maybe it's my fault for expecting too much from weaklings…. When will they even learn to stop?” His words lingered in the cold night air as he stood motionless at the center of the abandoned clearing, the pale moonlight filtering through the broken branches above and casting long shadows around him.The aftermath stretched in every direction, leaving little room for doubt. This hadn't been a fight between two sides; it had been a one-man massacre from beginning to end.Blood stained the dirt beneath them, broken weapons lay abandoned where they had fallen, and the silence that followed spoke far louder than the fight itself ever could.Expensive cars lay mangled along the winding private road, their once-pristine frames twisted into heaps of crumpled metal and shatt
∆NO POV∆"You've got quite the mouth for someone who's about to end up in a hospital."The tallest among them let out a mocking laugh before cracking his neck. Ezekiel tilted his head thoughtfully. "I've already visited one today."The man frowned."Someone I love so much is admitted there."After a deep silence, Ezekiel sighed dramatically."I'd really rather not make myself a patient too. The food is terrible.... I'm a foodie and I can't bring myself to eat that."One of the thugs couldn't stop himself from snorting.The tallest man immediately shot him a glare. "What's so funny?""He..." The thug tried to hold back another laugh. "He said the hospital food..." "Shut up! Are you here to laugh or get rid of him for our boss?" Ezekiel clicked his tongue."See? I was trying to lighten the mood. Violence is such a terrible way to meet new people... I've been trained for years, a fight is nothing to me, why waste time on fighting with a professional when we can get to know each other
∆NO POV∆"Looks like we've done everything we can."Ryan's voice broke the silence as he pressed the final key on the keyboard before leaning back in his chair. The loading bar disappeared from the monitor, replaced by a notification confirming that the classified report had been successfully uploaded into the agency's secured database.Ezekiel walked around the desk and stopped beside him, his attention fixed on the monitor."Show me the access permissions."Ryan clicked through several security windows before opening the authorization log. Five names appeared on the screen, exactly as they had discussed earlier."My access, your access, the archive officer, the deputy operations director, and the intelligence analyst assigned to Raymond's case. No one else can even see that the file exists."Ezekiel carefully read every name once again before nodding in satisfaction."Good." Ryan glanced sideways at him and smiled faintly. "You've checked that list four times already.""I'll check
∆NO POV∆"Ryan... do you trust everyone working in this agency?"Ezekiel asked while walking straight into the room, Ryan slowly looked up from the stack of files lying across his desk, the pen between his fingers coming to a halt as surprise flickered across his face.He had expected Ezekiel to walk into his office, but he hadn't expected him to begin with a question like that.For several seconds, he simply stared at Ezekiel before leaning back in his chair."Good afternoon to you too," Ryan said with a faint chuckle. "I didn't even get a greeting before being interrogated... Well, I'm not offended!" Ezekiel closed the office door behind him. "I'm serious and I've no time for greetings or anything else, just straight to the point, since we need to finish it off before it is too late...." Ryan's smile faded almost instantly, he had known Ezekiel for years, whenever Ezekiel wore that expression, it usually meant something had gone terribly wrong and it's time to pay more attention t
"Are you going to keep staring at that coffee, or are you actually going to drink it?"The familiar voice pulled Ezekiel from his thoughts as he stood beside the hospital vending machine, a paper cup cooling between his hands.He glanced up to find one of the nurses smiling at him knowingly."I wasn't aware I was being noticed," he replied with a faint smile.The nurse laughed softly before shaking her head."You and your sister, both are the same. Despite being tired and exhausted, always have a smile on your faces, it's a kind of smile that can enlighten anyone's day." Ezekiel lowered his gaze to the untouched coffee, if only his worries began and ended with hospital visits."It became a routine to me," he said quietly. "And, I'm fine!" The nurse looked unconvinced but decided not to argue. After a brief farewell, she disappeared down the hallway, leaving Ezekiel alone once more.The smile vanished from his face almost immediately.His grip tightened around the paper cup as his ga
∆EZEKIEL POV∆"I’m not sure of anything yet Maddy… but something is wrong with that auction." I said it slowly, while my eyes still fixed on the paused frame of the footage, the faint reflection of the screen casting a dull glow across the room.Maddison didn’t interrupt this time.For once, he ac
∆EZEKIEL∆"Didn’t you say you would do anything I say just a minute ago?" Zachary asked from the door, watching me with the calm patience of someone who already knew how this situation would end.For a brief moment I simply stared at him, then I forced out a bright laugh that sounded far more confi
∆EZEKIEL∆"Spread my legs? My ass," I shot back before my brain could catch up with my mouth. "Try it and I’ll break yours."For half a second there was silence, thick and uneasy.Then they laughed.Not normal laughter, but the kind that crawled under your skin
∆EZEKIEL∆"If you want to win against someone like him, you need to know him first." Madison’s voice echoed in my head as I stood outside the restricted records room, staring at the biometric scanner like it had personally insulted me.The agency building felt colder than usual that morning, as if







