The Circle did not announce their arrival.
They never did.
Shalom felt them before she saw them—the air shifting, the silence becoming too quiet. The underground meeting point Kevin had chosen felt suddenly exposed, like the walls themselves were listening.
She stood in the center of the room, hood down, hands visible.
"I'll walk in first," she said.
Kevin shook his head. "We said together."
"And we still are," she replied softly. "Just not side by side."
He stepped closer. "That's not what that means."
She touched his arm. "Kevin. If they see you protecting me openly, this ends now. Not later. Now."
His jaw tightened. "I don't care."
"I do," she said. "Because if you die, none of this matters."
They stared at each other, both breathing hard.
Finally, Kevin nodded once. "You go in. I stay close."
"Close isn't enough," she said.
"It will have to be."
The Obsidian Circle's temporary command center was hidden inside an old corporate building—glass, steel, and silence. Shalom entered alone, escorted by two operatives she didn't recognize.
No masks.
That was deliberate.
They wanted her to feel seen.
Victor Kane waited at the center of the room, hands clasped behind his back like a man waiting for a late appointment.
"You're hard to kill," Victor said calmly.
Shalom met his gaze. "You trained me well."
"Yes," he agreed. "Which makes your disappearance disappointing."
She didn't answer.
Victor circled her slowly. "You know why you're here."
"To prove I'm still useful," she said.
"Incorrect," Victor replied. "You're here to prove you're still loyal."
He stopped in front of her.
"And loyalty," he continued, "is best tested with temptation."
The screens around them lit up.
Kevin.
Live feed.
Walking through the city.
Tracked.
Unaware—at least, that's what they wanted her to believe.
Shalom's chest tightened.
"You used him," she said.
Victor smiled. "You used each other."
He leaned closer. "Now we'll see which one of you breaks first."
Kevin felt the shift immediately.
His comm buzzed once—Circle priority.
"Executor," a voice said. "Proceed to checkpoint Delta. Target is mobile."
Kevin didn't ask who the target was.
He already knew.
"Confirm," he said.
The pause was brief.
"Target confirmed," the voice replied. "Viper."
Kevin's grip tightened around the steering wheel.
"Alive or dead?" he asked.
"Bring her in," Victor's voice cut in smoothly. "Preferably alive."
Kevin exhaled slowly. "Understood."
The lie had already begun.
Shalom stood perfectly still as the test began.
Victor gestured, and a chair was placed behind her.
"Sit," he said.
She did.
"You disappeared," Victor continued. "You let Reaper take the fall. You made him lie."
"I didn't force him," Shalom said.
"No," Victor agreed. "That's what makes it interesting."
He tapped the screen.
Kevin stopped at a red light. His jaw tight. His eyes scanning reflections.
"You could end this," Victor said. "One word. One signal."
Shalom looked away.
"And if I don't?" she asked.
Victor's voice hardened. "Then we test him instead."
The screen split.
Another feed appeared.
A woman.
Bound.
Gagged.
Elena Cross.
Shalom's breath caught.
"She's been… inconvenient," Victor said. "But useful."
He met Shalom's eyes. "Choose."
Kevin reached the checkpoint.
Too quiet.
No backup.
That was wrong.
He parked slowly, every instinct screaming. His phone vibrated.
Coordinates.
A building he recognized.
The same one Shalom had entered.
They want me to walk in.
Kevin stepped out of the car anyway.
Shalom's heart pounded.
"Elena has nothing to do with this," she said.
Victor nodded. "True. Which makes her expendable."
Shalom clenched her fists. "If I cooperate—"
"You already are," Victor interrupted. "The question is how far you'll go."
He leaned in.
"Call him," Victor said. "Tell him where you are."
Shalom swallowed hard.
Her fingers trembled as she lifted the comm.
Kevin answered instantly.
"Shalom," he said. "I'm close."
Her voice shook. "Don't come inside."
Silence.
"Where are you?" he asked.
She closed her eyes.
"I'm at the old Meridian building," she said.
Victor smiled.
Kevin's voice softened. "I know."
Kevin entered the building with his weapon lowered.
He didn't want to look aggressive.
He wanted them to underestimate him.
Two guards flanked him immediately.
Victor waited at the top of the stairs.
"Welcome," Victor said. "You're right on time."
Kevin stopped.
"Release her," he said.
Victor chuckled. "Which one?"
The screens shifted.
Shalom.
Elena.
Kevin's chest tightened.
"You said bring Viper in," Kevin said carefully.
"And you did," Victor replied. "Now comes the proof."
He stepped closer.
"Kill her."
Kevin's world narrowed.
"Which one?" he asked.
Victor smiled.
"Choose."
The room felt like it was closing in.
Shalom watched Kevin through the screen, her heart breaking at the sight of him standing alone, surrounded.
"No," she whispered.
Victor raised a hand. "You wanted equality. Now you have it."
Kevin lifted his weapon slowly.
Shalom's breath hitched.
"Elena is already dead if I pull this trigger," Kevin said evenly. "You don't keep loose ends."
Victor's eyes gleamed. "Very perceptive."
Kevin shifted his aim.
At Shalom's screen.
"Kevin—!" she cried.
"I know," he said quietly. "Trust me."
Victor leaned forward.
Kevin fired.
The screen went black.
Shalom screamed.
The room erupted in noise.
Guards shouted.
Victor laughed.
"Excellent," Victor said. "Absolutely excellent."
But Kevin didn't stop.
He turned and fired at the lights.
Darkness swallowed the room.
Gunfire exploded.
Chaos.
Kevin moved fast—too fast for a man supposedly choosing loyalty.
He tackled Victor, slamming him into the wall.
"End it," Victor hissed. "You won't win."
Kevin leaned in. "I don't need to."
Shalom was dragged from the room amid shouting voices.
She fought, kicked, screamed—but then the grip loosened.
Elena's voice cut through the chaos.
"Now!"
Smoke filled the hallway.
Shalom ran.
Kevin emerged bleeding, breath ragged, but alive.
Sirens wailed outside.
Victor Kane stood behind shattered glass, watching Kevin disappear into the night.
His smile was gone.
"They chose each other," Elena said beside him.
Victor nodded slowly.
"Yes," he said. "Which means the game finally begins."
Shalom collapsed into Kevin's arms two streets away.
"You idiot," she sobbed.
He laughed weakly. "You shot first."
She hit his chest. "I thought you killed me."
"I did," he said. "Just not today."
They held each other, shaking.
Above them, unseen, drones adjusted their position.
The Circle was wounded.
But not defeated.