The city was still asleep when they reached LeGaled's headquarters.
Tall. Silver. Silent.
Like a monster pretending to be human.
Aira's hood shadowed her face as she studied the entrance.
Akil stood close enough that their shoulders brushed — steady, grounding.
She didn't pull away this time.
"Security looks… normal," she whispered.
"That's what scares me."
Akil's voice was low, wary.
While waiting for the right time to move to the side gate, Aira asked what had been burning in her mind:
"Why are they hunting us this fast?. We haven't even exposed anything yet."
Akil paused.
His throat worked once before he spoke.
"They don't care about the truth getting out."
His eyes looked darker than night.
"They care that you know the truth."
"What do you mean?"
"Aira… the files you saw in that room?"
He swallowed.
"They weren't supposed to exist outside elite government circles."
She stared.
Chills ran down her spine.
Aira finished for him:
"It's not a scandal. It's a downfall."
Akil nodded.
"That makes you the biggest threat… even with zero proof."
Her breath caught.
She wasn't just a runaway.
She was a liability.
A ticking bomb.
Akil stepped closer — voice fierce:
"That's why I won't let them take you."
Aira didn't respond with words.
But she didn't look away.
---
Inside the beast
Akil typed a code into the side lock.
The green light flashed.
He smirked slightly. "Still remember."
Aira whispered, impressed, "Show-off."
They slipped inside — dark hallway, pipes humming above.
Aira fell into step behind him, close enough that she could smell his cologne — sharp, clean, distracting.
She shouldn't be noticing that.
Not now.
Not when her life was on the line.
"Stay behind me," Akil murmured.
"No," she whispered. "We have each other's backs."
Akil looked at her — really looked.
Something proud lit in his eyes.
Something warm.
They continued.
Pausing only when voices echoed nearby—
Two guards approaching.
Akil pulled Aira into a narrow storage gap.
A tight space — barely enough for one person.
Their bodies pressed together — no choice.
Aira's heart pounded against his chest.
Akil's breath touched her cheek.
Her fingers clutched his shirt.
"Don't move," he whispered.
"I'm… trying," she breathed, failing miserably.
Bootsteps passed.
Slowly.
Akil's arm wrapped around her waist — anchoring her.
She wasn't sure if it was to keep her still…
…or because he needed the contact too.
Aira looked up — his face inches from hers.
"Akil…"
his name left her lips like a secret.
His eyes flicked to her mouth.
Then back to her eyes.
Time stopped.
Just when their lips almost brushed—
CRACK!
A flashlight beam cut through the crates.
A gun cocked.
"HEY! WHO'S THERE!?"
Akil cursed under his breath—
"Run!"
He shoved Aira ahead — she sprinted, adrenaline on fire.
Shots rang out — metal pinging around them.
Aira turned a corner—
And froze.
A dead-end.
She spun around—
Akil was coming,
Danger Tightens
Voices echoed through the vent. Guards below.
Searching. Waiting.
> "The girl is priority. She has the files."
Akil and Aira exchanged a look — the kind that required no words.
They were running out of time.
Aira crawled toward a maintenance grate and carefully peered through.
Her blood turned to ice.
Two suited men were scanning blueprints of the building — her building — marking every exit.
"They're planning to trap the whole place…" she breathed.
"No one will get out alive."
Akil leaned beside her, jaw tight.
"They'd rather destroy evidence than let it reach the police."
Aira's stomach twisted with guilt.
"This is my fault. I made them desperate."
Akil turned her face toward him — firm, gentle.
"This is their fault. They created the crime. You're doing what's right."
Heat rose in her chest. Her throat thickened.
No one had ever said that to her before.
She nodded, eyes fierce again.
"Let's end this."
---
The twelth floor
They dropped from the vent into a dark, empty corridor. Emergency lights flickered like a warning.
Aira's pulse quickened as she ran to the panel — the exact spot she remembered. Her fingers tore it open and—
There.
A sealed envelope.
The evidence.
Her breath hitched.
Akil kept watch behind her, scanning shadows.
"Hurry," he urged.
Aira tucked the evidence into her jacket — heart racing with hope and terror.
"We have it," she whispered. "This is enough to destroy them."
Akil's lips parted in something like a smile — exhausted, relieved—
BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.
Alarm lights shattered the darkness.
A thick metal door slammed shut at the end of the hallway.
A security lockdown.
Aira's heart shot into her throat.
Trapped.
Akil grabbed her hand. "We run. Roof access. Now."
They sprinted, lungs burning — reaching the stairs—
But a tall figure stepped out of the shadows.
A man in a flawless black suit.
Eyes like knives.
The Director.
"Aira," he greeted, calm as a viper.
"You brought the boy. How sweet."
Aira moved instinctively in front of Akil — like a shield.
"You'll never get the documents," she spat.
The Director smiled thinly.
"Oh, I don't need them. I only need you."
Akil surged forward — but three guards appeared behind the Director, guns raised.
Aira's panic flooded fast —
Not for herself.
For Akil.
"No!" she shouted, hands raised.
Akil stared at her — confusion, hurt, anger —
"Don't," he rasped.
"I'm not letting them take you."
Aira stepped closer, lowering her voice so only he could hear:
"If they shoot you… I'll never forgive myself."
His eyes widened — a flicker of something real.
The Director clapped mockingly.
"You two make a lovely pair. Shame it must end here."
Aira's jaw clenched.
"Let's make a deal," she said coldly.
"I go with you. He walks free."
Akil turned to her sharply — fury blazing.
"Aira—! No—"
She ignored him.
The Director tilted his head, intrigued.
"And the file?"
"In a safe place," she said.
"You want it? You keep me alive."
Akil grabbed her arm, eyes desperate.
"Aira, don't do this. I can fight—"
"You're already hurt," she whispered.
"And I can't lose you."
Her voice broke.
Just a little.
Akil froze — that confession hitting deeper than any bullet.
The Director snapped his fingers.
Guards grabbed Aira.
She didn't fight.
Not yet.
Akil lunged — roaring — but another guard struck him down, the butt of a gun smashing against his skull.
"Aira!" he shouted as he hit the ground.
She screamed his name — but they dragged her away.
The last thing she saw was Akil — struggling to crawl after her — blood streaking the floor.
The last thing she felt—
Was his gaze on her.
Terrified.
Not for himself.
For her.
---
They were separated.
But not defeated.
Because now — they had the truth.
And the truth was deadly.