Episode 76 — Breath Before the War
The sound of boots scraping the cement echoed through the silent corridor. Aria's hand gripped Raian's tighter as they stood at the warehouse entrance, watching Ayan approach with a file folder in hand, his usual stoicism giving way to urgency.
"They moved the target," Ayan said as he handed the folder over. "The shipment from the South docks was a decoy. The real transfer happens in two nights — Sector 12."
Raian flipped the file open. "The Syndicate's new lab?"
Ayan nodded. "They've moved the bio-research equipment. And the names on the clearance list… your father's still involved."
Aria's breath caught.
Raian shut the file with a snap. "Then this ends at Sector 12."
Aria met his gaze. "We go together."
He didn't object this time.
Instead, he handed the file to her. "Then read everything. I want you to know what we're walking into."
She took it, scanning quickly. It wasn't just drugs or weapons this time — it was bio-engineering, experiments on captured subjects. Human ones. Medical supplies misused. Surgical records distorted into torture. Aria's stomach twisted.
"This is why they wanted me," she murmured. "They needed someone who knew the body — someone they could force to heal their soldiers and patch up their monsters."
Raian stepped closer. "You're not theirs. You never were."
"But I was one signature away from being owned by them."
"And now you're a weapon they didn't expect."
She looked up at him. "I'm not a weapon."
"No. You're a reckoning."
—
Lina sat outside on the loading dock, her hands wrapped around a chipped cup of warm tea. It was late, but the night was warm — heavy with tension that hadn't yet broken.
Ayan walked up beside her and sat down without asking.
"I had a dream," Lina said without looking at him. "I saw my brother. He was crying."
Ayan didn't speak.
"I think he knew what I've done. What I'm becoming."
"You're surviving," Ayan said. "He'd want that."
"Would he?" Her voice cracked. "He was always the soft one. Always believed people could be fixed if you just held them long enough."
"Some people can't be fixed."
Lina turned her head toward him. "What about me?"
His gaze met hers, calm but unreadable. "You're not broken."
She let out a breath that was half a laugh. "You're lying."
"No," he said. "You're just learning how sharp your heart really is."
—
The next morning, the warehouse felt like a war camp. Weapons laid out on crates. Blueprints marked with red lines. Ayan ran drills with Saira and the others while Raian leaned over the maps with Aria beside him, analyzing angles and entry points.
"You'll stay with me the entire time," Raian said to her.
"I'm not hiding behind you."
"I'm not asking you to. I just—" He hesitated. "I need to know you're close. That you're okay."
She softened. "Then don't fall behind."
He smirked. "I'll try to keep up, doctor."
They returned to studying the maps. Sector 12 wasn't just guarded — it was layered. Heat sensors, snipers, trap systems. And according to the file, Raian's father would be present.
"You don't have to face him alone," Aria said gently.
"I do," he replied. "But I won't face him without you watching my back."
She nodded.
Later that night, they stood on the rooftop, looking out at the distant skyline. Sector 12's towers blinked faintly in the distance like a waiting storm.
"Do you think we'll make it out of this?" Aria asked.
Raian didn't answer immediately. He stepped behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and resting his chin lightly on her shoulder.
"I don't know," he said. "But I know I'll fight like hell to make sure you do."
She leaned back into him, fingers curling around his.
"You're not allowed to die," she whispered. "Not before telling me what comes after all this."
"What comes after?" He smiled against her skin. "You. A small house near the coast. Maybe a dog that hates me but loves you. I'll grow tomatoes. You'll complain they're too sour. And we'll argue like hell until we kiss."
Aria laughed, tears pricking her eyes. "You're terrible at gardening."
"I'll learn."
They stayed like that for a while — the mafia boss and the doctor who once wanted nothing but silence — now holding onto each other like the calm before a hurricane.
"Promise me," she said. "No more lies."
"No more walls," he added.
"No more running."
"No more goodbyes."
Their fingers entwined tighter.
And somewhere far off, the wind began to howl.
The war was coming.
But so were they.