The first light over Vienna was not gentle.
It crept along the skyline like something hunting, stretching long shadows over the quiet industrial outskirts where the city's pulse slowed and the Syndicate's grip tightened. Frost clung to the rooftops, turning metal sheets into mirrors and broken glass into diamonds.
Amira stepped off the night train just as the sun threatened the horizon.
Her breath fogged in the air.
Her fingers tightened around the encrypted card The Regent had given her.
And beneath her coat, her heart beat with a stubborn steadiness she did not feel.
Vienna was gorgeous in daylight.
But she wasn't here for its beauty.
She was here for a man who had spent too long bleeding in the dark.
Leonardo.
She pulled her hood higher and walked quickly through the near-empty station. Every instinct she had sharpened into a knife. Every sound echoed with meaning. Every unfamiliar face became a potential threat.
Because The Regent's warning still sat heavy in her bones:
Vass is not a man.
He is a knife that learned to walk.
And Leonardo…
Leonardo was now standing in front of that knife.
Inside the compound — 06:17 AM
Leonardo stood perfectly still.
Hands behind his back.
Face composed.
Eyes cold enough to freeze steel.
Moritz Vass circled him slowly, like a collector inspecting a new weapon he wanted to claim.
Vass was tall, lean, elegant in a quiet, vicious way.
His movements were fluid—too fluid, like someone who learned to walk with blades hidden in his sleeves.
The air shifted when he passed, as if danger bent the atmosphere itself.
"You came alone," Vass murmured, tapping the table beside him with idle fingers. "I expected theatrics."
Leonardo didn't respond.
He had learned long ago that silence unnerves men more than threats.
Vass stepped closer.
Too close.
"And yet," Vass continued, "you still carry it."
Leonardo's jaw tightened.
The archive.
Encrypted inside his bloodstream, buried in his neural data.
The thing everyone wanted.
The thing his brother died for.
Vass tilted his head.
"You're not here to bargain. You're here to break."
Leonardo's voice was low. "I'm here to end what should have ended years ago."
Vass smiled — a thin, satisfied line.
"Then let us destroy each other properly."
But Leonardo's eyes didn't move.
Not when Vass approached.
Not when guards stepped closer.
Not even when the temperature of the room shifted from tension to threat.
His thoughts were elsewhere.
With a woman who had walked into the jaws of his past without hesitation.
Amira.
He told himself she wouldn't follow.
He told himself she would choose safety.
He told himself she would live a life untouched by the poison he carried.
He had been wrong about many things, but he prayed — silently, fiercely — that he wasn't wrong about this.
Because if she came here…
Vass would smell it the way wolves smell blood.
And Leonardo would burn the entire compound to ashes to keep her alive.
Vienna outskirts — 06:45 AM
Amira's taxi turned down a narrow road flanked by dead trees and abandoned warehouses. The compound's outline rose in the distance: high walls, razor-wire curves, and watchtowers that did not belong in a civilized city.
She studied it carefully.
Three layers of protection.
Armed patrol.
Motion sensors.
No obvious blind spot.
Which meant she needed to make one.
She crouched behind a rusted delivery truck, pulled out the map The Regent marked, and memorized every red circle.
"South gate," she whispered. "Minimal cameras. Two rotating guards."
Her breath trembled once, but she steadied it.
"I can do this."
Because she had no choice.
She moved through the grass, crouching low. She counted guard footsteps from afar. She timed their patterns. She waited for the moment between one man turning and the other lowering his rifle.
Five seconds.
That was all she had.
When the window opened, she slipped through the shadows so fast her feet barely touched the ground. Her heart pounded. Her lungs burned. But her steps were silent.
She reached the inner fence.
Stopped.
Listened.
A guard cleared his throat around the corner.
Another shifted his weight on the gravel.
She closed her eyes.
"This is for him."
Then she moved.
Inside the compound
Vass poured himself a drink — a clear liquid that smelled faintly of chemicals and regret.
"You know," Vass mused, "your father thinks you're still redeemable."
Leonardo's face did not change.
"Then he's a bigger fool than you are."
Vass chuckled.
"He also sent someone, you know. Someone… unexpected."
Leonardo's eyes narrowed.
"What do you mean?"
Vass swirled his drink lazily.
"A woman."
Everything inside Leonardo froze.
Vass's grin widened like a blade being drawn.
"Interesting reaction."
Leonardo stepped forward — not threatening, not loud, but with a violence that simmered beneath the surface.
"If you touch her—"
"Relax," Vass cut in, eyes gleaming. "I haven't decided yet."
"Where is she?"
"Oh, somewhere between my walls." Vass shrugged. "Assuming she hasn't been shot for trespassing."
Leonardo's pulse slammed against his ribs.
Vass's voice dropped to a whisper.
"You really should have told her to stay away."
Leonardo's restraint snapped.
He lunged
—but two armed guards intercepted him, gripping his arms, forcing him back. He didn't fight them with full strength. Not yet. Not until he knew exactly where she was.
Because if he killed Vass now…
He'd lose his only chance of finding her.
Vass watched him with delighted madness.
"Oh, Leonardo," he purred. "You finally have something to lose."
Leonardo's voice was razor-sharp.
"If you hurt her, I will tear this entire building apart."
Vass smiled serenely.
"Good," he said. "I was hoping you'd say that."
⸻
South wing — 07:02 AM
Amira ducked behind a row of barrels as two guards crossed the walkway above her. She moved quickly when they passed, slipping through a maintenance door and into a narrow hallway.
A faint hum filled the corridor — electricity, ventilation, surveillance machines.
She kept her footsteps quiet.
The Regent's encrypted card pulsed against her thigh like a heartbeat.
She reached a locked panel near the stairwell and slid the card into the hidden slot.
The lock clicked.
She exhaled shakily.
Room by room, hallway by hallway, she pushed deeper into the compound.
But then—
A voice behind her.
"Well," the man said softly, "you're definitely not supposed to be here."
She turned.
A guard.
Middle-aged.
Broad shoulders.
Sharp eyes.
But he didn't raise his weapon.
He was studying her.
And then — a flicker of recognition crossed his face.
"You're here for him," he said quietly.
Her heart stumbled.
He lowered his gun by an inch.
"You're the girl he nearly killed three men for in Munich."
Her breath hitched.
"I need to find him."
The guard hesitated — fear, loyalty, and curiosity warring inside him.
Finally, he stepped aside.
"Third floor," he whispered. "East wing. But be careful — Vass has been waiting for you."
Amira swallowed hard.
"Thank you."
He nodded once.
"Go. Before I lose my mind and change my decision."
She ran.
⸻
The moment of collision — 07:10 AM
Leonardo tore himself free from the guards with a burst of violent strength that left both men gasping for breath. Vass didn't flinch — he simply watched, enjoying the chaos he had crafted.
Leonardo's voice was hoarse.
"Where is she?!"
Vass leaned back in his chair.
"Closer than you think."
Leonardo started toward the door—
Then he heard it.
A distant shout.
A thud.
A clatter of metal.
Then—
"Leonardo!"
Her voice.
Amira's voice.
Everything inside him detonated.
He sprinted.
Ignoring Vass.
Ignoring the guards.
Ignoring everything except the sound of her calling his name.
He turned the corner—
And saw her.
Hair messy, cheeks flushed, eyes blazing with fear and anger and something far more shattering.
"Amira—"
He didn't finish.
Because three guards burst into the hallway behind her, weapons raised.
And Vass stepped into view at the far end of the corridor, smiling like a man who had planned the ending of a tragedy.
Leonardo stepped in front of her instantly, his body becoming a shield.
"No," he whispered to her. "Not here. Not now."
But she gripped the back of his shirt, holding onto him with a desperation that made something in him fracture.
"You left me," she breathed, voice trembling. "And I still came."
He closed his eyes.
Just for a second.
Then he whispered:
"I know."
The guards cocked their rifles.
Vass raised his hand casually.
"Bring them."
And in that split second before chaos erupted—
Leonardo reached behind him, grabbing Amira's hand.
"Run," he hissed.
And the world exploded.