Keifer's POV
Breakfast ended the way it always does in that house—noise, threats, and Percy almost losing his life over stealing the last toast.
Jay sat cross-legged on the chair, scolding Percy with a spoon like she was some angry grandmother. Aries laughed, Angelo pretended not to see the chaos, and I just watched her.
She was fine. Too fine, considering yesterday.
When she caught me staring, I lifted a brow. She mouthed, "Stop." I didn't.
Then my phone vibrated.
Demon:
After breakfast. Come with me. My car.
I slipped the phone back into my pocket without replying.
Minutes later, we were all in Angelo's car—me, Rory, Edrix, Percy, Aries, and Angelo himself driving. No music. No jokes. That alone told me this wasn't casual.
Angelo broke the silence first.
"Different agencies," he said. "Different angles. We don't ask the same question twice."
Percy leaned forward. "So basically, we annoy everyone professionally?"
Aries shot him a look. "Try not to get us banned in five minutes."
The first office was quiet. Too quiet. Old files. Older eyes.
The man across the desk flipped through papers and said, "We traced the financial loop. It doesn't belong to any single enterprise anymore."
Rory frowned. "What do you mean anymore?"
"It was once connected," the man replied carefully. "Now it's fragmented. Like someone intentionally erased the ownership trail."
Edrix asked, "Erased by who?"
The man paused. "That's where it gets… blank."
Outside, Percy muttered, "I hate blanks."
The second agency gave us timelines.
Aries tapped the table. "These dates don't match."
"They did," the woman said calmly. "Until about a week ago. After that, records stop naming anyone."
Angelo asked the question I was thinking.
"Is this connected to any major international group?"
She hesitated.
"Some names appear," she said slowly, "but they fade as quickly as they surface. Like they were never meant to stay in the file."
Rory glanced at me. "You're thinking the same thing, right?"
I nodded slightly. "A name that shows up everywhere… and still explains nothing."
Percy scratched his head. "So it's not that enterprise?"
"No," Angelo said firmly. "If it were, we'd have a pattern. This has none."
The last agency was blunt.
"You're chasing echoes," the man told us. "Whatever big name you think is behind this—forget it. If they were involved, this wouldn't be this messy."
Edrix crossed his arms. "So what are we left with?"
"Individuals," the man replied. "People acting under something bigger, but not controlled by it."
When we stepped outside, the sun was already low.
Nobody spoke for a while.
Then Percy said quietly, "So that name we were scared of… it's slipping out of the picture."
my phone buzzed.
One vibration.
Unknown number.
I answered without thinking.
All I heard was breathing. Rough. Broken.
Then a voice—low, rushed, almost swallowed by pain.
"Keifer… save me."
My spine went cold.
"Yuri," I said sharply. "Where are you?"
A pause. Something crashed in the background.
Then he whispered an address.
The call cut.
I didn't explain. I didn't need to.
I was already moving.
"Car," I said.
Angelo didn't ask questions. He was already grabbing his keys.
We reached the location in record time—an abandoned warehouse near the docks. Rusted shutters. One flickering light. Too quiet.
Wrong kind of quiet.
Angelo lifted his hand, signaling stop.
The moment we stepped inside,
We saw yuri, tied in ropes, bruises on face , cut on shoulder
Then, they moved.
Five men.
One of them smirked. "So these are the heroes?"
I stepped forward.
They stepped back.
My body heated up.
One rushed me.
I kicked him straight in the chest.
He flew back and crashed into the crates, groaning as he collapsed.
"Get him!" their leader shouted.
Two came at me together.
One grabbed my arm.
I twisted free and smashed my fist into his jaw.
He dropped.
The second swung wildly.
I drove my elbow into his ribs.
Crack.
He screamed and went down.
On my left—
Percy slammed his shoulder into a man, sending him rolling across the floor.
"Bro, aim better," Percy mocked, ducking a punch and kneeing him in the gut.
Behind me—
Aries grabbed someone by the collar and threw him down hard. No words. Just clean, brutal movement.
Edrix took one hit to the face, wiped the blood with his thumb, and smiled.
"Bad choice," he muttered before flooring the guy with a solid punch.
Rory stayed sharp, fast—dodging, striking, pulling Percy out of the way when someone tried to blindside him.
One of them landed a punch on my shoulder.
Pain flared.
Good.
I grabbed his collar and smashed my knee into his stomach.
Twice.
He folded.
The remaining men hesitated.
Fear showed.
I stepped forward.
They stepped back.
Their leader yelled, "Don't just stand there!"
One charged me anyway.
I ducked and slammed my fist into his face.
Blood sprayed.
He went down.
The last one turned to run.
I grabbed him and threw him into the wall.
He slid down, unconscious.
For a second—
Silence.
Heavy breathing.
Scattered bodies.
I straightened slowly.
"You picked the wrong people," I said.
Then—
Footsteps.
More voices.
More men.
And I knew—
This was only the beginning.
Entry
"Move!" Angelo shouted.
Yuri ran first.
The moment he broke into the street, the rest followed.
Footsteps thundered behind us.
"Don't let them escape!" someone yelled.
Yuri took a sharp turn.
Men followed.
I followed Yuri.
Angelo was right behind me.
Edrix.
Rory.
Percy.
Aries.
More men poured in from the sides.
Shouts echoed.
Someone fired a shot in the air.
"Keep running!" Percy yelled, breathless.
Yuri vaulted over a broken gate.
I jumped after him.
Angelo didn't slow.
Edrix cursed under his breath but kept pace.
Rory nearly slipped, Percy grabbed his arm and dragged him forward.
Aries turned once, punched a man who got too close, then ran again.
We burst through an open metal door.
Inside—
A godown.
Dust.
Crates.
Dim light.
The door slammed behind us.
For a second—
Only heavy breathing.
Then—
Footsteps.
They were coming in too.
Angelo glanced around. "We don't have a choice."
I clenched my fists.
"Then we fight."
The moment the men rushed inside, the godown exploded into chaos.
"Spread out!" Angelo ordered.
Too late.
One man lunged at Yuri from the left. Yuri ducked and slammed his elbow into the man's ribs, then drove his knee up. The man dropped with a groan.
Another came for me.
I stepped forward before he could swing.
My fist connected with his jaw.
He stumbled back into a crate.
Two more rushed me together.
"Keifer, right!" Edrix shouted.
I turned just in time. One grabbed my collar. I headbutted him hard. He reeled back. The second tried to punch—I caught his wrist and twisted. Bone cracked. He screamed.
Behind me, Angelo was brutal and precise. One punch. One kick. Down.
Percy fought messy but effective—elbow, knee, anything he could use. "I'm too handsome to die here!" he yelled while shoving a guy into a wall.
Rory stayed sharp, fast movements, hitting and moving. Aries took down two men like it was routine—quiet, clean.
Then—
"Gun!"
Everything froze.
Two men stepped forward from the back.
One of them was Jason.
He raised his gun straight at Edrix.
The other aimed at Percy.
"Drop it," Jason said, smirking. "One move and I'll repaint the wall with brains."
Edrix slowly lifted his hands.
Percy swallowed. "Okay, okay… nobody shoot the handsome one."
Angelo stepped forward half a step.
Jason's finger tightened. "I said don't move."
We all stepped back.
My jaw clenched.
We were trapped.
Then—
A loud crack.
Jason's head snapped sideways.
He dropped like a sack of sand.
Before anyone could react—
Another crack.
The second man fell, his gun clattering to the floor.
Silence.
Dust settled.
Everyone turned.
At the entrance—
Two figures stood there.
One holding a metal rod.
The other breathing hard, eyes blazing.
Jay.
And Elara.
Jay's pov:
(In gym)
"They're being chased."
"Yes."
"With guns."
"Also yes."
I stepped back from the window. "We have to go."
She sighed. A deep, tired sigh. Like this was inconvenient but expected.
"Jay."
"They're my people."
"They're trained."
"They're stupid."
She looked at me. Long. Flat.
"You trip over stairs."
"I WAS DISTRACTED THAT DAY."
She reached for her shoes anyway.
Relief flooded me instantly. "You're coming?"
"I'm not letting you do something reckless alone," she said. "That would be irresponsible."
"I AM RESPONSIBLE!"
"You once fell while standing."
…okay.
We were out the door in seconds.
Running.
Correction—
Elara was running.
I was negotiating with my lungs.
My legs burned.
My brain screamed: WHY DID I SKIP LEG DAY FOR MY ENTIRE LIFE.
"Elara," I wheezed, "slow—down—"
She didn't.
"If you collapse," she said without looking back, "I'm leaving you."
"I WILL DIE DRAMATICALLY."
"You already are."
RUDE.
We turned a corner.
I nearly face-planted.
She grabbed the back of my hoodie mid-run, yanking me upright.
"Lift. Your. Feet."
"I AM LIFTING THEM EMOTIONALLY."
She ignored me.
We spotted them again ahead—
Keifer throwing a punch while moving.
Percy shouting something unhelpful.
Angelo terrifying as usual.
Yuri still sprinting like his soul depended on it.
Gun flashes.
Shouts.
My stomach dropped straight into my shoes.
"This is bad," I whispered.
"Yes," Elara said. "You noticed."
They ran into a building.
The men followed.
I slowed.
Fear finally caught me.
"Elara… guns."
She stopped.
Turned.
Looked at me fully.
"You trust me?"
I nodded instantly.
She scanned the ground, bent, and picked up a metal rod like she'd been waiting for this exact moment her whole life.
Then she tossed another one at me.
I barely caught it.
I stared at it. Then at her.
"You're giving me one?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because screaming won't help," she said. "And you hit harder when you're scared."
I swallowed. My palms were sweaty.
"What if I miss?"
"Then aim again."
I tightened my grip.
She stepped closer. "Stay behind me. Don't rush. Don't freeze."
"I don't freeze."
"You froze last time."
"That was temporary buffering."
She rolled her eyes and moved forward.
I followed.
Heart pounding.
Rod heavy in my hands.
Every step felt loud.
Inside, voices echoed.
Shouting.
Then silence.
Then—
Jason.
Gun cocked.
Threats.
My breath hitched.
My head screamed: THIS IS HOW PEOPLE DIE IN MOVIES.
I felt my legs shake.
Elara leaned back slightly and whispered, "Count to three."
"Why?"
"So you don't think."
"…Okay."
"One."
Two.
She moved before three.
I moved after her.
Rod swung.
CRACK.
Jason went down.
Time slowed.
My brain screamed.
Another man lunged—
I reacted without thinking.
Rod up.
Down.
Hit.
He dropped.
I stood there shaking, staring at my hands.
I just did that.
Silence.
Everyone stared.
Percy blinked. "Am I hallucinating?"
Edrix whispered, "Is that… Jay?"
I dropped the rod like it burned me.
"Hi."
Elara sighed. "You hesitated. But good form."
Kuya Angelo pinched the bridge of his nose.
Keifer—
Keifer was staring at me.
That look.
Fear. Relief. Anger. Care.
All tangled.
I swallowed. "Surprise?"