1:22 AM – Organization Black Site 6
Metal doors slammed shut behind the operatives as they entered the underground chamber.
Crowe stood in the center of the room. The air was cold, sterile, and humming with tension.
Four figures stepped forward — black-clad, masked, each marked with a thin red line across their gear: The Hunters.
They weren't ordinary assassins. They were trained specifically to take out former agents who went rogue — specialists in tracking, predicting, and eliminating people like Kairo.
Crowe tapped a button on the holotable. Kairo's face appeared, updated with his last known location: Dock 14, Tang warehouse district.
"This is your target," Crowe said, voice clipped and emotionless. "You know the drill. No warnings. No negotiations. No mercy."
One of the Hunters, taller than the others, spoke in a low rasp:
"Authorization?"
Crowe turned away.
"Blackout protocol. Wipe him from existence."
3:07 AM – Safehouse 7
Kairo stared at the floor plans spread across the table. Tang's operations were bigger than he thought — interconnected warehouses, offshore bank accounts, and dirty politicians in every sector of the city.
They weren't just a gang.
They were an empire.
Alicia sat beside him, scrolling through an encrypted message log recovered from the dock:
[Incoming Transmission – Unknown]
"Shipment arriving via Route 7. 40 units. No delay."
"Crowe authorized the detour himself."
She froze.
"Kairo," she said. "Crowe isn't just protecting Tang."
Kairo looked up. "What are you saying?"
She turned the laptop to face him. "He's running it."
4:44 AM – Warehouse Rooftop, Tang Sector
The Hunters arrived like shadows with breath — silent, invisible, and already inside.
They didn't kick in doors. They didn't announce themselves.
They just moved.
One scanned the safehouse perimeter. Another hacked into the nearby CCTV node, corrupting the feed. The taller one pulled out a photo of Alicia.
"She's the variable," he whispered.
"Priority target if he resists."
Meanwhile – Kairo's Dream
In sleep, Kairo drifted into darkness.
He stood in the middle of a burning field, bodies falling like ash around him. Alicia stood at the far end, screaming his name — but he couldn't reach her. No matter how fast he ran, the fire grew higher.
Then a figure emerged from the smoke.
Crowe.
Smiling.
And behind him — a second figure. Cloaked in black, face hidden. Taller. Older.
And Kairo recognized him.
His real father.
He woke up with a sharp gasp.
5:32 AM – Safehouse 7
The first shot missed by inches.
Kairo dove across the room, dragging Alicia down just as the window shattered. Glass exploded inward.
They were here.
"The roof!" Kairo yelled, shoving her toward the hall. "Go! Back stairs!"
Two Hunters dropped through the skylight, moving in perfect sync — fluid, precise, surgical.
Kairo pulled his sidearm and returned fire. One ducked behind the table. The other fired a short burst. The rounds were rubberized but deadly — designed to disable, not kill instantly.
They wanted him alive.
Kairo switched tactics.
He grabbed a smoke grenade, popped the pin, and filled the room with black fog. He knew the floor plan. They didn't.
He used the chaos to slip behind one of them — elbow to the throat, twist the wrist, gun dropped.
Kairo landed a brutal strike to the ribs and kicked the Hunter into the wall.
But it cost him.
The taller Hunter emerged from the smoke and tackled him through the kitchen counter, slamming his head into the floor.
"Target acquired," the Hunter growled.
Then a scream.
Alicia.
The second Hunter had her pinned in the hallway.
"Don't touch her!" Kairo shouted, scrambling to his feet, blood dripping from his scalp.
The taller Hunter hesitated, looking at his partner.
"Crowe's orders," the partner said coldly. "Collateral."
Alicia fought hard — bit, kicked, scratched — but she was losing.
Then came the sound.
Crack.
A shot. From outside.
The second Hunter dropped instantly, a hole between his eyes.
The taller one turned — too late.
Another shot.
Silas Venn stepped into the hallway with a sniper rifle still smoking.
"You boys forgot one thing," he said, stepping over the body.
He aimed at the last Hunter.
"I trained him."
7:12 AM – Unknown Location
The surviving Hunter limped through a dark alley, blood trailing from his armor.
He tapped into a secure line.
"Target escaped. Two operatives down. Venn intervened. Alicia Morgan still with Kairo."
Crowe's voice came through, deadly calm.
"Understood. Fall back. Initiate Phase Two."
The Hunter looked up at the city skyline.
Then he whispered something under his breath:
"God help him when Phase Two begins."
Back at the Safehouse Ruins
Silas stitched Kairo's scalp without flinching. Alicia sat nearby, still shaken, a blanket wrapped around her shoulders.
"You're lucky I was tailing the trackers they planted," Silas muttered. "They sent the Hunters. You know what that means?"
Kairo nodded.
"I'm not just rogue anymore."
"No," Silas said. "You're at war."
Kairo leaned forward, eyes burning.
"Then we start fighting like it."