As soon as the agent finished the report, they went back to firing their weapon. It was my chance.
I'd have to slide from the ladder to the balcony wall. It was a short distance, but still—one slip and that was it.
Hugging the concrete, I stepped onto the narrow balcony ledge. Slowly, I shifted my weight off the ladder and onto the wall.
Completely exposed—to the cop ahead or anyone watching from the buildings behind—I didn't hesitate. My heart froze as I jumped down into the safety of the corridor, slamming into the door of an apartment.
I did it. Finally, I thought—then the pistol stopped, and a beam of light landed in my direction.
The Officer must've heard me land.
From where I crouched, they couldn't see me. Rigid as the concrete on my back, I listened to heavy metal steps approaching.
Running to my apartment would only lead them straight to me, trapping me inside. Against every instinct, I stayed still, glued to the wall, watching the light grow brighter with every breath.
There was no avoiding it.
When the barrel of the gun came into view, I grabbed it, slammed it down against my thigh, then twisted their arm into a lock.
They struggled. I tightened my grip and slammed them against the balcony wall.
The flashlight hit the ground, shadows cutting across our faces. I couldn't risk being recognized—it was too dangerous. I had to get this pig out of my way.
"Bye-bye, Officer…" My heart didn't waver.
They were too close to my home. I couldn't take the risk.
I lifted the armored body with the help of the Force tags, ready to toss them off the edge.
"Wait!!" A woman's voice shouted—her feet already off the ground. "Saint?!"
My heart slammed against my ribs, knocking the breath out of me. I knew that voice.
"It's me—Officer Abrom!"
She tried to turn her head to look at me while I kept her pinned. The helmet made every agent look like a soulless robot. Half her torso dangled outside, rain soaking into her armor as it began to drizzle again.
Then her helmet retracted down to the base of her neck, and I saw it—red hair, and those unmistakable green eyes.
Inside, my mind exploded with a thousand thoughts, bullets flying through my head like the war zone below. What was I supposed to do? I couldn't trust that she wouldn't shoot me. It's not like we knew each other. My heart was hammering so hard it hurt, and my body trembled under the weight of it all.
"Move faster!" shouted a man from the staircase.
The Trinity was almost here. No time for questions or second guesses. I had to act.
With a growl, I yanked her back by the arm and dragged her away from the corridor.
Everything felt dark. My vision blurred, and my hands shook as I raised my wrist to unlock my apartment door.
Then the shooting started again—louder, closer. The staircase. So close my eardrums throbbed with the sound.
It had been a long time since I felt emotions that strong.
My door clicked open. I shoved her inside and slammed it shut behind us, leaning my full weight against the metal in a pointless attempt to hold back the chaos outside.
Of course it wasn't over. My biggest fear had come in with me—dragged by the hand in a desperate move to save us both. In the dim light of my single-room apartment, her green eyes were the only thing I could focus on. Something about her made me uneasy. Maybe I owed her—but I wasn't sure the scale of this "favor" was anywhere close to balanced.
"Thank you." she whispered.
"Why are you here?"
No one had followed us. No one was near the door. But I couldn't move. I didn't even think through the question—I just needed to say something, anything, to fight off the lingering fear.
"The Mayor commanded a search."
To my slight comfort, she didn't seem much better off than me. Still pressed against the wall at my side, Officer Abrom stared toward the door like she was expecting someone to come crashing in any second.
We were both on edge. Breathing hard like our bodies were still processing what almost happened.
"A search for what?" The cold metal under my palms and back slowly grounded me.
"The masked terrorist."
That made me move. The idea of the Force coming into the only place left with a shred of peace twisted my stomach. I had to know what happened while I was out.
I sat down and pulled back the curtain, letting the blue glow of the slum's neon ads leak faintly into the room.
Abrom stayed by the door, watching.
It was hard to focus—too much had happened too fast. And we both knew it. There was no small talk that wouldn't feel fake. She wasn't leaving, not with the shooting still going. But I wasn't about to start any kind of conversation, either.
So I buried my face in the widescreen, surrounded by projections.
Once I got used to her stillness, I focused on my research. I had cameras around the building—and access to some of the Trinity's feeds too—giving me eyes all over the slums. Rewinding a bit, I found the footage just before I arrived: a well-coordinated police op entering the area.
People ran home. Stores closed with customers still inside. Panic swept the streets.
From their formation, it looked like they had a lead—but they lost it fast and stumbled right into a group of Trinity soldiers in the yard. That's when the shooting began.
Abrom's voice cut in behind me.
"How do you have access to so many surveillance devices?"