The rain came down in sheets, turning the city into a blur of steel and shadow. From the rooftop, Riven could see the neon lights flicker across the wet streets below—a perfect night for disappearing.
His earpiece crackled.
"Target confirmed. Eliminate and extract."
He didn't need the reminder. Orders were all he had ever known.
Across the alley, a figure emerged through the daekness. Black coat. Confident stride. A ghost he'd been chasing for months.
Kael.
The enemy operative was supposed to be just another mission. But in missions, he wasn't supposed to smile like that—lazy and all know figure, as if he'd already read Riven's next move. They weren't supposed to whisper promises in the dark, or make a man question which side of the line he stood on.
Tonight, none of it mattered.
Their guns were raised at the same time.
Their eyes locked.
"Do it," Kael said, voice almost amused, almost broken.
A single shot split the air.
And somewhere between the sound of the gunfire and the shattering of glass, Riven realized two things:
He had lost the game.
And he had just killed the only person who had ever made him want to win it.
He then raised his left hand and pointed the gun in his temple.
There was no more meaning for him to continue. He completed his mission and now he needd to complete his last wish. In the silence of the middle night where the city was in deep slumber, the sound of gunshot and splases of blood made it wake up to wail .