Back at Zilla, the night air was heavy with the lingering buzz of the incident. Axel walked out of the grand hotel with the unhurried pace of a man who knew every pair of eyes was on him. Behind him, the hotel manager scuttled nervously, voice sharp with apology.
"Please, Major General, forgive us, such a breach will never... "
Axel stopped, pivoting his head just slightly. His tone was calm, but it cut like steel. "I never said I was holding you accountable."
The manager froze. Then, as if struck by some invisible command, he bowed deeply and ceased his rambling. Axel didn't look back. He simply continued forward, his shadow long against the driveway lights.
A matte-black military van waited at the curb, its engine low and steady. The moment he approached, a young soldier sprang upright, saluting sharply.
Axel reached into his hand and pressed something against the soldier's palm. A crinkling sound, an ordinary bag of chips.
"Tell the General," Axel said, his voice deliberate, "that it's just as dangerous for me to carry this… as the prototype itself."
The soldier, though confused, didn't ask questions. He saluted again, this time deeper. Orders were orders.
Axel slipped into the van, the door shutting with a decisive thud. The city lights blurred past the tinted glass as the vehicle pulled away, but his mind wasn't on the skyline. He had been scheduled to leave at dawn. That plan was dead. He no longer had the luxury of waiting.
Something stank.
There was no way anyone could have known the prototype was with him. The list of those who had clearance was razor-thin. Which meant only one possibility: a leak. Someone had deliberately exposed him, maneuvering pieces on a board he hadn't yet seen.
His lips tightened, but not in anger. The thought didn't irritate him. It intrigued him.
'So that's how it is. Hide and seek. Good. I always loved games.'
The chips bag, the very one now resting in the soldier's possession, rustled in his mind. Inside it lay the real prototype, compact and unremarkable in appearance, yet priceless enough to topple governments. No one would dare suspect it, tucked away in such an absurd disguise. Not unless they already knew.
His phone buzzed. A voice message.
He played it.
"Axel," his mother's voice came, gentle and earnest, the kind of warmth he rarely allowed himself to feel. "Miller is such a sweet girl. I really hope you'll go on a date with her, even if it's just once. I'm sure you would like her. She has such a kind heart."
Her hope clung to every word. It was the kind of message that might have softened another man.
Axel's eyes, however, remained flat, cold. His fingers typed a reply without hesitation:
"Melvin is also single. And not married."
The message sent. Delivered.
Without giving her the chance to answer, he switched the phone off. The screen went black, reflecting only his own unreadable stare.
The van rumbled on through the night. Someone started a game involving him and without informing him.