Aira slipped through the south hallway — heart thundering like a ticking bomb in her chest. Every camera she passed felt like an eye pressing into her skull. She kept her head down, breathing slow, clutching the stolen evidence under her shirt.
Freedom was three doors away.
Then—
⚡ All lights blasted ON.
A voice thundered through the speakers:
> "I admire your courage, Aira Malik."
The Director.
Aira froze as doors slammed shut around her.
> "Every girl promises to fight back.
You're the first to almost make me nervous."
Almost.
Aira's palms turned ice cold.
But fire flared in her voice:
"You're terrified.
Because I took something you can't hide."
His chuckle echoed like a death sentence.
> "You took an envelope.
What you really stole… was our time.
And we always take it back."
An alarm SCREECHED.
Guards stormed both ends of the hallway.
Aira ran.
---
Akil's Reckoning
"Lock and load!" the investigator shouted.
Akil snapped the gun's magazine into place — hands steady, eyes lethal.
"Alpha team — breach on my mark!"
The van screeched to a halt beside LeGaled's back entrance.
For a split second — panic clawed at him.
What if he was too late?
Then he saw Aira's terrified face in his mind.
Her sharp tongue.
Her shaking hands.
Her trust when she whispered she believed him.
Something inside him snapped into armor.
> "I'm going in first."
He didn't wait for permission.
---
The collision
Aira reached the fire exit — slammed the card to the reader—
Nothing.
ACCESS DENIED
Her breath shattered.
"No… No no no!"
Guards were almost on her —
Then—
BOOM.
The wall exploded inward.
Aira dropped to the ground, ears ringing, dust filling her lungs.
Through the smoke — a shadow stepped in.
Tall. Broad shoulders. Wild eyes.
Akil.
His voice cracked when he saw her.
"Aira…"
She couldn't breathe.
Not because of smoke.
He was here.
For her.
She stumbled up — legs weak.
Akil grabbed her hand, clutching it like it was the last real thing in the world.
"I told you — I won't let them touch you."
His voice was raw. Honest. Afraid.
Before she could respond — bullets tore the air.
Akil dragged her behind cover, shielding her with his body.
"You shouldn't have come," she choked, tears rising.
"I wasn't going to lose you," he fired back.
He didn't realize what he just confessed.
She did.
Her heart cracked open, painfully.
---
The psycholygical twist
As they sprinted toward the exit, massive screens lit up across the facility — showing dozens of files.
Girls' faces.
Hospital forms.
Debt records.
Aira's file enlarged — with one highlighted line:
> "Primary Target — Emotional Vulnerability Test"
Akil froze.
"What does that mean?"
Aira's voice trembled:
"It means… they chose me because I would do anything to save someone."
Akil's face twisted into rage.
"That's not vulnerability."
He grabbed her face gently, forcing her to look at him.
"That's strength."
Her vision blurred with tears.
Aira Malik, who refused to trust anyone…
felt her walls crumbling.
---
Cornered
A steel shutter slammed down—cutting off their escape.
More guards advanced.
The Director stepped into view, calm as a god at war.
"Love always exposes the weak point," he said, smiling.
"And now we know yours."
Aira stiffened.
Love?
Akil's heartbeat stumbled.
The Director nodded toward Akil:
> "Your fear of losing her makes you blind.
Our research proves:
Protectors panic.
Lovers break.
And both… obey."
Akil's grip tightened on the gun.
Aira whispered, shaken:
"Don't listen to him."
But the truth had cut them both.
They were not strangers anymore.
Not enemies.
They were something far more dangerous.
The choice
The Director raised a syringe — black fluid sloshing inside.
"Come quietly," he told Aira,
"and the boy walks free."
Aira instinctively stepped forward — tears falling.
She'd sacrifice herself again.
For her brother.
For Akil.
For anyone she ever cared about.
Akil grabbed her wrist — voice breaking.
"Don't.
You don't get to choose this time."
Their foreheads touched — breath against breath.
A promise forged.
Then—
He pressed a small device into her hand.
A detonator.
"When I say run…"
He whispered the same words from the first night.
"…you run."
---
The Detonation
He turned — fire in his eyes — and charged the guards.
Bullets flew.
Screams ricocheted.
Alarms wailed.
Akil shouted:
"NOW, AIRA!"
She hit the switch.
🔥 EXPLOSION 🔥
The facility shook. Glass shattered.
The shutter flew off its frame.
Aira ran — crying, shaking, terrified—
But this time…
She wasn't running away.
She was running toward him