The forest was a frozen labyrinth, branches hitting their faces, snow crunching under every hurried step. Dimitri and Natalia moved as one, a unit born of desperation and unspoken trust between fueling them. Their breath came in sharp clouds, mingling and disappearing into the icy night, leaving only the sound of pounding hearts and pursuit behind them.
Natalia wondered if they could truly escape successfully with tracker that was planted into the drive she's holding
Every instinct screamed that they were being followed ,and for once, Natalia had no illusions. The tracker had done it's job, someone knew exactly where they were. Someone who wouldn't stop until the drives were in their hands. She had a feeling this person was willing to do anything for the drive, she wondered how far this person was willing to go.
"We need to split," Dmitri hissed, voice low but commanding. "They'll expect us together. You," He jerked a thumb toward her, "take the east ridge. Move fast. I'll draw their attention. I'll meet you at the safehouse in Prague."
Natalia's pulse thundered. "You can't just throw yourself at them alone just like that!"
"I can and I will," he said simply. "You're too important to me to risk. And besides…" His dark grey eyes softened just a fraction, shadowed by exhaustion and unspoken desire. "…I've been wanting to protect you for too long to stop now."
Her chest tightened, part anger, part longing, part disbelief. For months, she had hated him, mourned him, and yet craved this connection that defied logic. And now, faced with imminent danger, he offered her the one thing she both needed and feared, safety and himself.
Before she could argue further, a gunshot cracked through the air. Dimitri dove to the side, rolling behind a fallen pine. Natalia followed instinctively, crouching behind a mound of snow, her hands gripping the laptop tightly and drives as though her life depended on them — because it did.
"Go!" Dimitri shouted. "Now!"
She ran, jumping over roots and fallen branches, her heart hammering against her chest wildly. Every step was measured, every breath stolen. Her thoughts scattered all over in her head, Prague, the decoder, the secrets her father had hidden, the sister she had barely begun to reconcile with , Yelena , all of it hung over her like a dark cloud.
Dimitri's bullets echoed through the trees behind her, precise and deadly, cutting down anyone who dared to pursue him. But the forest was filled with threats, snap traps, silenced rifles, and the faint glint of technology she couldn't yet identify. Each movement seemed to be a risk. Each second could be the last.
Natalia came to a halt near a frozen creek, her boots threatening to break through the thin ice. She slid her fingers over the drives, checking the laptop's status. The encryption was stubborn, but the drive was alive, pulsing with secrets that could topple empires.
And then she froze. Shadows moved in the trees above, faster than any human should have been able to move. She realized they weren't just being followed. They were being hunted by someone trained, someone who knew both her and Dimitri intimately.
A voice whispered through the night. Low, measured, and familiar.
"Natalia Ivan."
Her stomach turned. She knew that voice. She had heard it once, in Moscow, behind a burning warehouse. The same voice that had haunted her dreams since her father's death.
"Show yourself!" she shouted, gripping the laptop like a weapon.
From the darkness stepped a figure she had never expected , Yelena.
But it wasn't the sister she had known. Her eyes were colder, her movements sharper. Blood streaked her coat, snow clinging to her hair. She raised a gun and pointed it at Natalia, then glanced at Dimitri, who had now appeared on the ridge, silhouetted against the snow-dusted moonlight.
"Yelena…" Natalia breathed, heart catching. "You said…."
"Save it," Yelena interrupted. Her voice was hard, unyielding. "We don't have time for explanations. If we stay here, we all die."
Natalia's chest constricted. "I trusted you!"
"And I trusted you to survive," Yelena replied. "Now run!"
Before Natalia could respond, another shot rang out , closer this time. Dimitri flinched, rolling to the side, bullets striking the snow at his feet. He fired back, each shot calculated, precise, and lethal. "Go! East ridge!" he shouted.
Natalia hesitated for a split second. Every instinct screamed to stay, to help him, to fight beside him. But survival demanded obedience. She sprinted to the east, the cold biting at her lungs, the snow threatening to pull her down, each step a torture.
The east ridge was treacherous, ice-laden and steep. Natalia slid several times, barely catching herself on tree roots. The wind tore at her hair, stinging her face, but she pushed onward, driven by adrenaline, desperation and determination. Each step was measured, each heartbeat a heavy thud against the cold silence of the forest.
Behind her, she could hear Dimitri's voice, sharp and commanding, guiding her even as bullets splintered the ice around him. He was alive. He was still fighting. And she could not afford to look back.
Finally, after what felt like hours but was likely only minutes, she stumbled into a small clearing. A snow-covered vehicle waited, engine running softly, headlights off. A man in black stepped out, the Prague contact Yelena had mentioned , tall, lean, eyes sharp and calculating.
"You're late," he said, voice clipped, as Natalia fumbled and struggled with the laptop, connecting it to a secure interface.
"I… we…" she panted. "It's coming for us. We don't have time!"
He raised an eyebrow. "Then you'll decrypt it while moving." He showed her a vehicle behind him giving her the car key, before she could ask where he was going, he Disappeared into the forest faster than any human being.
As Natalia worked, sweat mingled with snow on her forehead. Dimitri's promise to protect her weighed down on her. She imagined him, out there in the forest, struggling, alone, holding back impossible odds. Her chest tightened, a blend of fear, anger, and something more, something deeper , the pull of their connection, forbidden yet irresistible.
And then she felt it ,a presence behind her, subtle but unmistakable.
She froze.
Dimitri stepped into the clearing silently, pulling her into a half embrace, one arm around her waist. His breath was warm against her ear. "I told you," he murmured, voice low and raw. "I won't let them take you away from me."
Her pulse skyrocketed. She looked up at him, and for a moment, the forest, the snow, the threats, everything faded. Only his eyes remained ,dark, protective, and filled with a promise and longing she could not resist.
And in that instant, she kissed him. Not gentle, not careful, but desperate, a collision of months of fear, loss, and unresolved passion. His hands moved to her back, pulling her closer, shielding her from everything , from the cold, from danger, from the secrets,from the world that had conspired to keep them apart.
But the kiss was interrupted.
A new sound , faint, metallic, a humming that made her blood run cold. Natalia's head turned towards the tree line.
"Tracker?" she gasped.
Dimitri's eyes went hard. "Worse than that."
From the snow, a small drone emerged, its camera lens glowing red. It hovered, scanning, then beeped.
"They've found us," Dimitri said, teeth gritted. "And they're sending more of them."
Natalia's heart lurched. "We can't outrun them forever."
He pressed his forehead to hers. "Then we fight. Together."
Her hands clenched the drives. "If we die, at least they'll know the truth."
He kissed her again, softer this time, a promise and a plea, then whispered, "No. We survive."
The sound of engines returned, louder this time. Snow exploded around the clearing as masked men emerged from the trees, rifles raised, moving like ghosts.
Dimitri grabbed Natalia's hand. "Run to the vehicle. Now!"
She followed, heart hammering, adrenaline flooding every nerve. The laptop interface glowed as she decrypted the first layers of data. Every second was life or death. Every step could be the last.
As they reached the vehicle, Natalia glanced back. Dimitri's silhouette was already moving like a shadow through the approaching fire. The forest erupted in chaos ,bullets, snow, smoke, and light.
Then she saw it ,a figure she recognized immediately, stepping from the trees, impossibly calm amid the storm of gunfire.
"Yelena."
No hesitation, no fear. Only that cold, deadly precision she had once called sister. Her sister was unrecognizable, almost like a robot with no emotions.
And in that moment, Natalia realized that the line between ally and enemy was gone. She could trust no one. Not even family.
Dimitri turned toward her, gun ready, expression unreadable. "Hold on," he whispered.
And then the figure raised a hand, like she was passing a signal and the drone behind them exploded in a fiery arc, sending snow and shrapnel flying.
Natalia screamed.
The forest went up in fire.