"Evy, I think you should start packing your luggage—" Daniel said, pushing open her cabin door.
He froze mid-sentence.
Evelyn, standing by the mirror, clearly hadn't expected company. She was halfway through changing into her nightclothes — not indecent, but definitely not ready for visitors.
For a second, they just stared at each other in stunned silence.
Then—
"DANIEL HAKEN!" she shrieked, snatching the nearest pillow and hurling it at him.
Daniel ducked as it hit the doorframe. "Hey! I was just—"
"OUT!"
He slammed the door shut, nearly tripping over his own boots as another pillow thudded against the door from inside.
Outside, Daniel muttered to himself, "Note to self… knock first. Always knock."
He sighed, scratching his head. "But seriously… what's the big deal? It's not like I saw anything scandalous."
Daniel leaned against the wall, frowning in thought.
'I'll never understand it — women can stroll around in bathing suits without a care in the world, but one tiny accident and suddenly it's the end of civilization.'
He let out a small chuckle, shaking his head.
'Women really are the most mysterious creatures on the planet. Even scientists would give up trying to understand them.'
Five minutes later, the cabin door flew open — and there stood Evelyn, fuming, still in her nightclothes.
"Daniel! Would you mind explaining why you barged into my room earlier?" she demanded, hands on her hips.
Daniel didn't even look flustered this time. "No time for that. Pack your luggage."
"What? Why?" she asked, blinking in confusion.
"Because," Daniel said, stepping past her and scooping up clothes with alarming efficiency, "trouble's here—"
Before he could finish, the sharp crack of gunfire echoed through the night.
Evelyn jumped. "What on earth was that!?"
"That," Daniel said grimly, shoving the last of her belongings into a suitcase, "would be the problem."
A flash of light from outside the window illuminated his face as another volley of shots rang out. Without hesitation, he snapped his fingers—and Evelyn's suitcase vanished into thin air.
Evelyn's eyes widened in disbelief. "W–what—where did it go!?"
"Somewhere safe," he said quickly, grabbing her wrist. "Now move, before we disappear next!"
The moment Daniel and Evelyn stepped into the corridor, two figures in black suddenly rounded the corner. Their eyes glinted under the moonlight — Medjai assassins, blades already drawn.
The instant they spotted the pair, one of them shouted something in Arabic and lunged forward, curved daggers flashing.
Daniel sighed, rolling his shoulders. "Here we go."
The first strike came fast — a clean slash aimed at his throat. Daniel raised his hand instinctively, and steel met steel.
The dagger screeched across his palm without leaving so much as a scratch.
The Medjai froze for a fraction of a second, eyes widening in disbelief. That was all the opening Daniel needed.
"Bad move, buddy."
He twisted his arm, locking the attacker's wrist, then slammed his forehead into the man's nose with a solid crack.
The second one tried to stab from behind, but Daniel spun on his heel — the motion fluid, almost playful — and drove a brutal kick straight into the man's groin.
The assassin folded over with a strangled gasp.
Daniel didn't stop — he followed through with a heavy right hook that sent the first one crashing into the corridor wall, knocking him cold.
"Next time," Daniel muttered, shaking out his knuckles, "bring guns."
Evelyn, pressed against the wall, blinked at him in shock. "You—you just—barehanded— "
Evelyn grabbed Daniel's hand, eyes wide as she examined it. "How is your hand not injured? That man's blade should've sliced you open!"
Daniel just smirked. "Guess my skin's a little thick."
"Thick?" Evelyn blinked, genuinely baffled. "How thick can it be to stop steel?"
Daniel didn't answer — partly because he didn't have time, and partly because he didn't think "bulletproof skin and superhuman regeneration" would go over well right now.
"Let's move," he said instead, grabbing her wrist and pulling her down the corridor toward the deck.
The moment they burst through the door, a deafening BOOM tore through the night. The shockwave hit them like a wall — fire, smoke, and splinters of wood filling the air.
Without thinking, Daniel wrapped his arms around Evelyn and turned his back to the explosion, shielding her completely.
She felt the heat, the force — but none of it touched her. Daniel's body absorbed it all, like a human shield of iron and muscle.
As the smoke cleared, Daniel looked up through the haze, eyes narrowing at the burning debris and dark figures running across the deck.
"Whoever threw that," Daniel growled, "fuck you guys!"
Everyone on deck heard him — but no one had the time or energy to reply.
The entire riverboat was in chaos. Gunfire cracked through the night, steel clashed against steel, and the Medjai fought like shadows dancing through flame.
The boat itself was a burning inferno — smoke curling into the starless sky.
Daniel exhaled, shoulders slumping for a brief second amid the madness.
'Sigh… I really didn't want to swim tonight,' he thought dryly, watching another explosion ignite part of the hull.
'But of course, some idiot just had to set the damn boat on fire.'
He cracked his neck, rolled his shoulders, and looked toward the nearest Medjai climbing over the railing.
"Alright then," he muttered, hefting his hammer. "Let's make this quick ."
*****
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