From the shadows, a squad of armed men poured into the alley, cutting off their escape.
Gunfire erupted.
Hayamei fired instinctively, covering Malik as he pushed Na'Nami toward a narrow side street.
"Go!" Malik shouted. "I'll hold them off!"
Hayamei hesitated—then dashed after them, heart pounding.
⸻
They slipped through the twisting streets, breath ragged.
Behind them, gunshots echoed like thunder.
Ghost's voice came in on the burner.
"Hayamei, we've got bigger problems. Your father's planning to launch the protocol city-wide. The countdown's started."
Hayamei's eyes burned with determination.
"No more running." The rain had soaked them through by the time Hayamei and Malik slipped into the labyrinth of backstreets. Na'Nami clung to Hayamei's side, her small fingers gripping tight like a lifeline, and Hayamei couldn't stop the surge of protective fury that flared inside her. Every step was haunted by the image of her daughter becoming a puppet in her father's cruel game.
Malik's breath came in short bursts, every so often glancing over his shoulder as if expecting an ambush. The weight of his news sat heavy in the damp air. Neural implants. Children turned into drones. The "Blackout Protocol." It was worse than she feared.
"Why haven't we heard about this?" Hayamei demanded. "This kind of weaponizing... it would have made the news."
Malik shook his head. "They've covered it up. My intel says it's all classified under the father's projects. A total blackout on information. Only a select few know. Even Ghost just got wind of it."
Hayamei's mind raced—Ghost. Her complicated, conflicted Ghost. She'd just gotten a hint he might still be an ally, but everything about him was a question mark now. Could she really trust him? Could she trust anyone?
The streets around them were a twisting maze of flickering neon and shadowed doorways. Somewhere in the distance, a siren wailed—a constant reminder that the city was always listening.
"Listen," Malik whispered urgently, stopping near a fire escape. "We need to regroup with Aiyana and Ghost. But we have to be careful. My sources say your father's men are everywhere, hunting for any sign of you."
Before Hayamei could respond, the faintest sound—a footstep too deliberate, too close—echoed from an alleyway behind them.
"Move!" she hissed, pulling Na'Nami closer as Malik disappeared into the shadows.
Out of the darkness, a squad of black-clad men emerged, weapons raised. The rain slicked the pavement, making each step slippery but deadly.
Hayamei's training kicked in instantly—she fired, each shot precise, forcing the attackers back.
But there were too many.
Gunfire cracked like thunder around her.
Malik shoved Na'Nami toward a narrow side street. "Go! Get her out of here!"
Hayamei hesitated. Her heart screamed to stay with Na'Nami, but the swarm of enemies was closing fast.
Suddenly, a gunshot rang out, cutting through the chaos. Aiyana appeared from the shadows, limping but steady, her weapon blazing as she took down two attackers.
"Hayamei! This way!" Aiyana shouted.
Hayamei grabbed Na'Nami's hand and followed, dodging bullets and shattered glass.
The chase led them to a derelict building—a forgotten relic from a different time. Inside, the air was thick with dust and fear, but it was safer than the rain-soaked streets.
Malik slumped against the wall, blood seeping from a wound in his side. "We're running out of time," he gasped.
Hayamei tore a strip from her shirt to bandage him, ignoring the sharp pain in her own side where a bullet grazed her.
Outside, distant explosions lit up the skyline. The father's operation was escalating. The countdown had begun.
Ghost's voice crackled on her burner, tense and urgent.
"Hayamei, listen carefully. The Blackout Protocol isn't just a threat — it's active. The father's going to deploy it city-wide. Thousands of kids, like Na'Nami, under his control. The time to stop this is now."
Hayamei swallowed hard, the weight of the war pressing down like a vice.
"No more running," she repeated, voice steady but fierce.
Aiyana met her gaze. "We fight. Or we lose everything."
Malik coughed, blood bubbling at his lips. "You're the only hope. The father trusts no one else with this."
Hayamei knelt beside him, eyes fierce. "Then I'll make damn sure he regrets that trust."
Outside, the sounds of sirens, gunfire, and chaos converged into a terrifying symphony. The city was a battlefield.
Hayamei stood, pulling Na'Nami close.
"This ends," she vowed.
Her voice was a whisper that echoed into the storm.
"This ends now."
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