We slip inside, the dimly lit corridors eerily silent. The tension is palpable, every creak of the floorboards setting my nerves on edge.

As we approach the server room, Eva stops abruptly, her hand brushing my arm. “Do you hear that?” she whispers.

I pause, straining to listen. Footsteps. Heavy and deliberate, heading in our direction.

“Adrian,” I murmur. “We’ve got company.”

“Hold your position,” Adrian replies. “I’ll reroute them.”

The footsteps fade, and I exhale slowly, motioning for Eva to follow me. We reach the server room without further incident, the hum of machinery filling the space.

“Get the drive,” I say, pulling it from my pocket.

Eva moves to the console, her fingers flying across the keyboard as she inserts the drive. “Adrian, we’re in,” she says.

“Good,” Adrian replies. “Extracting the data now. Hold tight.”

The Unexpected

As the data uploads, the door bursts open, and armed guards flood the room. I react instantly, shoving Eva behind me and drawing my gun.

“Don’t move,” one of the guards barks, his weapon trained on me.

I calculate my options, but before I can act, Eva steps forward, her hands raised.

“Wait!” she says, her voice steady. “We’re not here to hurt anyone. We just want the truth.”

The guards exchange glances, their hesitation giving me the opening I need. I disarm the nearest one, using him as a shield as I take down the others.

“Dominic!” Eva shouts, her voice laced with urgency. “The data’s almost done!”

I dispatch the last guard just as Adrian’s voice crackles through the earpiece. “We’ve got it. Get out of there.”

The Escape

The building is in chaos as we make our way back to the loading dock. Alarms blare, and red lights flash, casting an ominous glow over the corridors.

“We’re almost there,” I say, gripping Eva’s hand as we sprint toward the exit.

But as we reach the final stretch, a figure steps into our path.

“Conrad,” I growl, my gun snapping up to aim at him.

He smirks, his expression infuriatingly smug. “You’ve come a long way, Dominic. But this is where it ends.”

Eva steps beside me, her voice steady. “Not today.”

Before Conrad can react, I fire. The bullet grazes his shoulder, and he stumbles back, giving us the opening we need to escape.

The Cliffhanger

Back at the safehouse, the tension doesn’t dissipate. Adrian’s team combs through the data, their expressions growing graver with each passing moment.

“This isn’t just Falcon,” Adrian says finally. “It’s a coalition—a network of powerful players all working together.”

I step closer, my fists clenching. “Who are they?”

Adrian hesitates, then turns the screen toward me.