Ashes of Our Flame
Episode 11: "The Edge of Loyalty"
Kara stitched Adrian's wound with trembling hands, her jaw clenched tighter than the thread.
They sat in the old mechanic's warehouse Tessa had converted into a new safehouse—steel walls, flickering lights, and silence heavy with everything unsaid.
He winced.
"Hold still," she murmured.
"I've had worse."
"Doesn't mean it doesn't matter."
That silenced him.
She tied the final knot, wiped her hands, and stepped back.
Adrian studied her face—every line of worry etched between anger and something softer. Something that scared him more than bullets.
"I didn't think I'd see you again," he said quietly.
"You almost didn't," she replied, crossing her arms.
He nodded. "Marcus let me go on purpose."
"I know."
"He wants you to see me break."
Kara met his eyes. "Then don't."
---
Tessa walked in with a tablet, dragging Lio behind her.
"We've got chatter," she said. "Marcus is regrouping. He's setting up a rally with his allies to clean up the scandal."
"He's going public?" Kara raised a brow.
"Not just public," Lio chimed in. "He's planning a public funeral."
Adrian frowned. "For who?"
"You," Tessa said flatly. "You were declared dead this morning. Fire at the docks. No body found—but your name's been scrubbed. You're a ghost now."
Kara didn't flinch.
She turned to Adrian. "Use it."
He blinked. "What?"
"You're dead. Which means you're free. Let's bury him with the lie he created."
---
The plan was reckless.
Perfect.
Kara would attend the memorial in disguise—broadcasting Marcus's speech in real time. The goal: get him to confess to the warehouse attack, to the crimes tied to the shipment, and to Adrian's 'death'.
Adrian would remain in the shadows—unless backup was needed.
Tessa handled the tech.
Lio arranged the escape route.
And Kara?
Kara got dressed for war.
A sleek black jumpsuit. Blade hidden in her boot. A stolen Vale Foundation pin at her collar to blend in with the mourners.
The crowd at the memorial gathered like vultures.
City elites in tailored suits. Press crews. Police escorts. Cameras blinking like eyes too scared to see.
At the center of it all stood Marcus Vale—regal in grief, draped in a black coat, voice calm, eyes cold.
"My son," he began, "was many things. But above all, he was loyal."
Kara slipped through the crowd, face masked, camera rolling.
"But loyalty… can be dangerous when misplaced."
Her eyes narrowed.
"I taught my son everything. Power. Vision. Control. But I could not save him… from himself."
A tear. Fake. Well-timed.
"I loved him. And now… he's gone because of them."
Whispers in the crowd.
"Criminals. Liars. Terrorists who hide behind false causes. Who want to burn this city down. But I promise you—this empire will never fall."
Kara's voice rang through the earpiece. "We got it."
Tessa replied, "Uploading live to every major stream."
Marcus continued, "Let this be a warning. Loyalty without order breeds chaos. And chaos ends—today."
That's when the screen behind him flickered.
Glitched.
Then changed.
The livestream of the warehouse meeting played in front of the crowd.
Marcus's voice—recorded—saying: "You think your flame of rebellion matters? One spark in the dark?"
Gasps echoed.
The crowd turned.
Chaos erupted.
Kara pulled her hood low and vanished into the storm.
---
Back at the safehouse, Kara stood in the center of the room, breathless, victorious.
Tessa was dancing.
Lio opened a bottle of stolen champagne.
Adrian stood quietly near the window.
"Why aren't you celebrating?" Kara asked him.
He turned slowly. "Because Marcus isn't gone. Not yet."
"But we ruined him."
"You hurt him," Adrian corrected. "But he's still breathing. And he doesn't lose quietly."
Kara nodded.
"So we end it."
---
The next morning, Kara received a package at the doorstep.
Inside: a single bullet.
And a note.
"One for you. One for him. Let's make it fair." —M.V."
She held it like it was fire.
Tessa took one look and whispered, "He knows where we are."
Kara's heart dropped.
"It's time," she said.
Adrian stepped beside her. "For what?"
She looked him dead in the eyes.
"To finish what we started."
---
They moved fast—burned the safehouse, split the files, disappeared into the underbelly of the city.
Tessa and Lio went dark.
Kara and Adrian went deeper.
She knew Marcus would come for them. But she also knew where he'd be first.
The Foundation's underground vault.
Where he kept his backups, blackmail, and history wiped clean.
Kara had seen the blueprints once before—buried inside the stolen shipment.
She remembered every corridor.
And now she would use them.
---
Night fell like judgment.
Kara and Adrian moved like shadows—black-clad, silent, deadly.
They reached the vault entrance by 3 a.m.
Motion sensors disabled. Guards tranquilized.
Inside: rows of data banks, sealed crates, hard drives.
And at the center of it all—Marcus Vale.
Waiting.
Gun in hand.
As if he knew they'd come.
Adrian raised his weapon. Kara stepped forward.
Marcus smiled.
"My son. My mistake."
Adrian didn't blink. "And I'm here to correct you."
A pause.
Then Marcus raised the gun toward Kara.
"She dies, or you do."
Adrian stepped between them. "Shoot me."
"No," Kara snapped.
"Choose," Marcus hissed.
And then—
The sound of a gunshot.
But not Marcus's.
Kara fired.
Straight into Marcus's chest.
He stumbled back.
Looked down.
Laughed.
Blood poured from his mouth.
"You think… this ends with me?"
Then he fell.
---
The silence that followed was like smoke—thick, choking, unreal.
Adrian dropped the gun.
Kara caught his hand.
And for the first time in months…
There was peace.
---
Two days later, the city erupted with truth.
Files released.
Names exposed.
The Vale empire crumbled like ash.
Kara Voss became a symbol.
The flame that burn
ed the throne.
But she didn't stay to watch it burn.
She vanished—with Adrian at her side.
No headlines.
No final words.
Just two shadows walking into a future they'd fought for.
Together.
---
To be continued in Episode 12...
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