The night was unnaturally quiet. Alisa moved through the dark alley with silent precision, her footsteps barely making a sound against the damp pavement. Every movement was perfectly calculated, and every breath was controlled. Her eyes stayed locked forward, but her sharp senses were tracking everything around her.
She had been tracking him for hours. There was no room for mistakes, and no room for hesitation. Aiden was a shadow among shadows, and yet... she had finally found him. "…Got you," she whispered under her breath.
Suddenly, there was a shift in the air behind her. It was subtle, but wrong. Her body reacted instantly. Alisa spun around, her weapon drawn, stopping her blade directly at the throat of the presence behind her.
"…Don't move," Alisa ordered. A brief silence hung in the air before a soft giggle broke the tension. "…Sorry…"
Alisa blinked in disbelief. Xara stood there, completely relaxed and not even flinching at the blade near her neck. Her tongue peeked out slightly as she flashed a mischievous grin.
"…You're unbelievable." Alisa lowered her weapon slowly, letting out a long exhale. "I knew it was you."
Xara tilted her head, still smiling brightly. "Then why so serious, Specter?" Alisa turned away, clearly annoyed. "…Can you stay away from me for a while?"
"…No," Xara answered instantly. She was still smiling, and still incredibly annoying. Alisa closed her eyes, praying for patience. "…Of course not."
Xara stepped closer, peering over her teammate's shoulder into the dark street. "So…" she whispered conspiratorially. "You're following him?"
"…Go back, Blitz."
"No."
"…This isn't a game," Alisa warned, her tone sharpening. Xara's playful expression softened just a little. "…I know." She paused, looking seriously at Alisa. "But you're not the only one who's curious."
Alisa's grip tightened slightly on her weapon. "…He saved me last time." Xara didn't make a joke this time. "…Yeah," she said quietly. "I saw."
Alisa's eyes narrowed as she looked back out into the night. "That's exactly why I need to know why." Xara sighed, running a hand through her hair. "…Then I'm staying."
Alisa looked at her for a long moment, realizing she couldn't change the stubborn girl's mind. "…Fine. Just don't slow me down." Xara grinned again, her energy returning. "Never. And now, you act like Vex." Together, they moved into the darkness. Two shadows chasing a ghost.
Aiden knew, of course. They were following him. He leaned casually against the ledge of a towering rooftop, his eyes scanning the glowing city grid below. He was completely unbothered and unsurprised. "…Still the same," he murmured to himself. Alisa was always watching. They were always chasing answers.
His hand moved slightly, brushing against his ribs where the sniper's bullet had grazed him. The pain was still there; a sharp, burning reminder. But it wasn't enough. It was never enough to wash away his guilt. "…You shouldn't have come," he whispered into the wind.
His mind aggressively replayed the moment in the warehouse: the bright red dot locked perfectly on her chest. Alisa. His jaw tightened at the memory. He had calculated everything perfectly; the snipers, the angles, the timing, the trap.
He had planned for everything... except for Red Veil actually showing up to spring it. "…You weren't supposed to be a part of this," he said bitterly.
An uninvited flicker of memory surfaced in his mind. It was a quieter time, a different life. He remembered Rania's voice; sharp, curious, and full of life. "Why do you always disappear without saying anything?" she had asked him.
He had smiled at her back then. "Because ghosts don't stay." She had rolled her eyes affectionately. "You're not a ghost."
"…Not yet."
Aiden exhaled slowly, letting the memory drift away. "…Guess I was wrong." His gaze lifted toward the shadows pooling at the opposite end of the roof. He could feel them now. They were closer, and they weren't really hiding anymore.
"…You always were easy to find," he said quietly to the approaching presence. "But her…" His voice softened with genuine regret. "…she was never supposed to see me again."
A heavy silence settled over the roof before his eyes darkened with realization. "…Rania." The name lingered in the cold air. "…You still hesitate,"he remembered her doing in the warehouse. A faint, bitter smile formed on his lips. "And that's exactly why… you won't survive this." It wasn't a threat. It was a terrifying warning.
Because the truth was, Aiden wasn't running from Red Veil. He was trying to stay ahead of something far worse. He was hunting something far more dangerous than the Obsidian, something that even Rania didn't fully understand yet.
And if the girls kept following him, they wouldn't just find the answers they were looking for. They would find the truth. And that truth was going to destroy everything.
The rooftop was eerily silent, save for the wind brushing softly against the concrete and the distant hum of city traffic below. Alisa stepped forward out of the shadows. She appeared to be completely alone. "…You can stop hiding," she called out calmly.
A beat passed before a figure stepped out from behind an air conditioning unit. Aiden. He looked entirely unchanged and untouched, acting as though the violent chaos in the warehouse had never happened.
"…Still sharp, Specter," he said quietly. Alisa didn't lower her weapon. "You knew I was coming."
"Of course." The silence stretched between them, thick with unresolved tension. "…Why did you save me?" Alisa asked, cutting straight to the point.
Aiden didn't answer immediately. His dark eyes studied her carefully, weighing his words. "…You shouldn't be here," he deflected.
"That's not an answer."
"…Because you were never supposed to be a part of this." Alisa's eyes narrowed. "I heard that already."
"Then you should understand it."
"I don't," Alisa shot back, her voice tightening with frustration. "You had a clean shot." She took a bold step forward. "You could have easily let me die." She took another step. "But you didn't. Why?"
Aiden exhaled slowly, the weight of the world resting on his shoulders. "…Because some things..." He paused, his expression hardening. "…weren't meant to repeat."
Alisa froze slightly, her brilliant mind racing to decipher the clue. "…What does that mean?" But before Aiden could answer, a faint sound echoed behind them. It went entirely unnoticed by the two operatives.
Crouched behind a broken brick wall, Xara was barely containing her curiosity. "…Okay, this is getting interesting," she whispered under her breath, her eyes flicking rapidly between Alisa and Aiden.
"…Why does this feel like a soap opera?" Xara muttered, leaning forward slightly. She was too focused and too invested in the drama, entirely failing to notice another presence stepping up behind her.
Rania stood further back in the shadows, perfectly silent. Her cold gaze was locked on Alisa. She knew this would happen. She knew they wouldn't stop, and that her reckless team would chase these answers even if it got them killed.
"…You never listen," Rania murmured under her breath in frustration.
But suddenly, Rania's body went entirely still. Something shifted in the darkness behind her. It wasn't Alisa. It wasn't Xara. It was someone else. The presence was incredibly quiet, but deeply wrong. Rania's eyes darkened as she sensed the killer intent.
"…Found you." Without a single second of hesitation, Rania pulled a canister from her tactical belt and hurled it hard against the concrete.
HISS!
Thick smoke exploded into the air, instantly swallowing the entire rooftop in a blinding white haze.
"WHAT THE...?!" Xara coughed violently, stumbling backward away from the cloud. Alisa's eyes widened in shock as she recognized the tactical gear. "Vex?!"
Aiden didn't flinch. His gaze shifted sharply through the smoke, his mind rapidly calculating the new variables. "…You brought backup," he muttered.
Rania stepped forward from the haze, her silhouette sharp and dangerous. "…Not for you," she answered, her voice like ice.
Suddenly, there was the sound of rapid movement. A dark shadow darted through the smoke, moving impossibly fast. "Contact!" Rania snapped. Xara reacted instantly, drawing her weapon with a thrilled grin. "Finally, something I can hit!"
Alisa spun around, tracking through the fog to locate the target. But the mysterious figure was already gone, vanishing over the ledge as if they had never been there at all.
Silence fell over the rooftop once again. It was heavy and full of unanswered questions as the smoke slowly began to clear. Aiden stood exactly where he was, completely unshaken. His eyes locked onto Rania's. "…You felt it too." It wasn't a question.
Rania didn't answer him, but her grip tightened on her weapon. "…This isn't your game anymore," she warned him. Aiden tilted his head slightly. "It was never yours to begin with."
Xara groaned loudly, throwing her hands in the air. "Okay, can someone PLEASE explain what's going on?!"
"Enough," Rania commanded, cutting her off. Alisa looked between Rania and Aiden, deeply conflicted. "…You knew," she said quietly. "Both of you knew." Rania didn't deny it, and neither did Aiden. That silence was all the confirmation Alisa needed.
"…We're being watched," Alisa deduced. "…No," Aiden corrected, his voice dropping ominously. "…You're being hunted." Xara blinked, her anger fading into genuine concern. "…Oh." A beat passed. "…That's much worse."
Rania stepped forward, asserting her authority. "Mission's over." Alisa frowned in protest. "…We don't even have answers."
"You have enough," Rania shot back, her tone firm and entirely final. Xara sighed, holstering her weapon. "Yeah… and I don't like any of them." Alisa looked at Aiden one last time. "…This isn't over." Aiden's expression remained perfectly blank. "I know."
Rania turned first. "Move." Xara followed her leader reluctantly. Alisa lingered for just a second longer, studying the ghost in front of her, before finally turning away as well. They left Aiden standing completely alone in the clearing smoke.
The rooftop fell silent once again. Aiden exhaled slowly. "…You're getting closer," he murmured to the empty air. His eyes shifted toward the exact spot where the third presence had disappeared over the edge.
"…That's not good," he added quietly. "Not for you." Because whatever was out there in the dark, it wasn't after him. It was hunting Red Veil.
The engine hummed softly, and rain tapped rhythmically against the windshield as the Volvo XC90 cut through the quiet city streets.
Rania kept her eyes glued to the road, but her mind was entirely elsewhere. "…What is wrong with you two?" Rania finally broke the silence. Her voice was calm, far too calm. Alisa turned slightly in the passenger seat.
"You know Phantom isn't easy to handle," Rania continued, her grip tightening on the steering wheel. "Can you just… take it easy for once?" She paused, her voice cracking slightly as it grew softer. "…Please." Xara glanced nervously between them from the backseat.
"I don't want you to get hurt," Rania admitted quietly, staring straight ahead. "I don't want to lose you again… like last time." The devastating words lingered in the enclosed space of the car. Alisa's defensive expression instantly softened. "Rania…" she said gently.
"I know you're worried about me," Alisa continued, looking down at her hands. "But I just want to understand something." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "Why did he save me?" The car fell entirely silent.
"Why would he risk himself for me?" Alisa pressed. "Am I that important to him?" Her brows knit together in frustration. "There are too many things I don't understand."
Xara leaned forward from the backseat, resting her arms on the center console. "You know something, right, Rania?" she asked. "Can you just tell us now? I'm curious too."
Rania's grip clamped down on the steering wheel until her knuckles turned white. "I don't have the answers right now," she stated firmly. "So, stop asking." She let out a shaky breath. "I don't want Red Veil to be questioned… or removed."
Xara and Alisa exchanged a heavy look. They knew exactly what "removed" meant when it came to the Obsidian. "…I'll tell you when the time comes," Rania promised.
And just as the heavy tension in the car began to settle, the dashboard suddenly lit up. BEEP. BEEP.All three of them turned their attention to the glowing screen. A classified message overrode the GPS.
MISSION INCOMING –
RED VEIL: ABORT CURRENT OPERATIONPROCEED TO CANADA HEADQUARTERS
NEW TASK ASSIGNMENT - AWAITSARRIVAL: 48 HOURS
Absolute silence filled the Volvo. Then...
"Oh, come on!" Xara groaned loudly, throwing her head back against the seat. "Not now! I was about to hear the important part!"
Rania exhaled a long sigh of relief. "That's enough," she said, switching gears. "Get ready. We're heading to Canada."
Xara leaned forward again, squinting suspiciously at her leader in the rearview mirror. "You… you knew I was about to sneak away for a bit tonight, didn't you?" Rania didn't even bother looking back at her. "…I know you too well."
Alisa smiled faintly. "Don't worry," she said, glancing over her shoulder at Xara. "I'll keep her with me." Xara gasped dramatically. "You two are teaming up against me again?!"
For the first time all week, Rania smiled. It was a small one, barely there, but she even let out a soft, genuine giggle. "…You deserve it."
[HEADQUARTERS – PREPARATION]
The atmosphere shifted entirely the moment they arrived at the local base. There was no more casual talk. There was no more laughter. There were just orders, movement, and absolute precision. Weapons were checked, travel documents were cleared, and heavy winter gear was issued.
Xara stretched her arms over her head, sighing loudly. "I hate long flights." Alisa systematically adjusted the straps on her tactical gloves. "You sleep through most of it anyway."
"That's not the point." Rania stood slightly apart from them, watching her team and thinking deeply. Canada meant a new mission, a new command structure, and maybe, just maybe, new answers.
"…Ready?" Alisa asked, breaking her train of thought. Rania nodded firmly. "Let's move."
[FLIGHT – SILENT HOURS]
The private jet cut smoothly through the night sky. As predicted, Xara slept. Her head was tilted awkwardly against the window, and her mouth was hanging slightly open.
Alisa glanced at her, smirked, and quietly pulled out her phone to snap a photo. "…Blackmail material," she whispered to herself.
Rania noticed the flash. "…Delete it."
"No."
"…Specter."
"…Too late. It's already in the cloud." Rania sighed heavily, but didn't have the energy to argue.
[CANADA – ARRIVAL]
The freezing air hit them like a physical blow the moment they stepped off the tarmac. The atmosphere was different here; sharp, biting, and completely unfamiliar. Xara shivered violently, pulling her jacket tighter. "…Why is it so cold?!"
"Because it's not your country," Alisa replied calmly, completely unbothered by the chill.
"Rude." Rania ignored them, scanning the icy perimeter. "…Stay sharp."
A sleek black vehicle pulled up to the curb in front of them. The tinted window rolled down slowly, revealing the driver.
"Wow," a male voice called out, followed by an annoyingly confident smirk. "They really sent Red Veil all the way out here."
Xara froze, her jaw dropping. "…No way." The door opened, and a man stepped out. He was tall, confident, and far too relaxed for someone meeting elite operatives. Zander.
Xara's eyes narrowed instantly into a lethal glare. "…Why are you here?" Zander flashed a wide grin. "Missed me?"
"No."
"Still mean, I see." Xara crossed her arms defensively. "Are you my problem now?" Zander tilted his head, his smirk growing. "Correction." He paused for dramatic effect. "I'm your ride."
Alisa raised an amused eyebrow, glancing at Xara. "…Frenemy?" Xara groaned miserably. "Unfortunately." Zander chuckled, gesturing to the doors. "Get in."
As they loaded their gear, his casual gaze shifted briefly toward Rania, and then to Alisa. The playful energy vanished, replaced by a sharp, calculating observation. "…This mission won't be easy," he added quietly to Rania.
Rania stepped forward to take the front seat. "Nothing ever is."
And just like that, Red Veil stepped into the freezing, unfamiliar territory. They were entirely unaware that this mission in Canada wouldn't just be difficult, it was going to change absolutely everything.
TBC