DARIAN P.O.V (point of view)
~Escape Under Fire~
The first shot hits the wall above the stairs, clean and precise. Not warning fire, but execution intent.
I move before the sound finishes echoing, dragging Adanna down as glass rains from the window. The safehouse lights die completely now, plunging us into a dark broken only by muzzle flashes below.
"They're inside," I mutter. "Three, maybe four."
Her breath is steady... too steady. She's past panic.
"There's a back stair," she whispers. "I saw it when we came in."
I nod. "You stay on my left. Match my steps."
Boots pound upward, voices clipped, efficient. Syndicate trained.
Azaan didn't send amateurs.
I fire once, not to kill, just to stall then shove the door open and we run. The stairwell smells like dust and old water. Bullets spark against concrete behind us.
At the landing, I push her against the wall, covering her with my body as something explodes below. The building shudders.
