The night sky over New Lagos was a jagged scar of lightning, the rain falling in sheets that turned the streets into rivers of oil and blood. Maya crouched behind a rusted container, the weight of the encrypted drive pressing against her chest. She’d been hired to smuggle it out of the megacorp’s vault—no questions asked. The price was enough to buy a new life for her sister, but the job had gone sideways the moment the security drones spotted her.A low whine cut through the storm as a patrol unit rolled into the alley. Maya’s pulse hammered in her ears, matching the rhythm of the rain. She slipped a thin, carbon‑fiber blade from her boot and sliced the lock on the container, pulling the drive free. The alarm shrieked, red lights flooding the alley like a second sunrise.“Move!” she shouted to the empty space, knowing the voice in her earpiece was a silent partner—her old commander, Ghost, feeding her coordinates through a cracked headset.She sprinted, the rain slashing her face, the neon signs of the slum flickering like dying fireflies. Behind her, the drones swarmed, their rotors a deafening chorus. Maya dove into a narrow stairwell, the metal stairs groaning under her weight. Bullets ricocheted off the walls, sparking orange arcs that illuminated the graffiti‑covered walls—faces of those who’d vanished under the corp’s iron fist.At the bottom, a rusted freight door barred the exit. Maya slammed her shoulder into it, the impact sending a shockwave through her bones. The door gave with a screech, and she burst onto the rooftop, the city sprawling beneath her like a circuit board. The rain hammered the metal, turning the surface into a slick, deadly skating rink.She heard the thump of boots—corporate enforcers, their helmets reflecting the storm. Maya’s hand tightened around the drive, feeling its cold edges. She spotted a maintenance crane, its arm extending over the edge, a precarious bridge to the adjacent building where a hover‑van waited.Without hesitation, she sprinted toward it, the wind howling like a wounded animal. The crane’s cables sang as she leapt, grabbing the swinging arm just as a bullet whizzed past her ear. Time seemed to stretch; the rain turned to silver threads as she swung across the abyss, the city lights blurring into streaks.She landed hard on the opposite roof, rolling to a stop beside the van. The driver, a scarred veteran named Kofi, gave a curt nod. “You got it?” he asked, eyes scanning the horizon.Maya held up the drive, rain dripping from her fingers. “Yeah. Let’s get out of here.”The van’s engines roared to life, drowning out the storm. As they lifted off, a massive explosion erupted from the megacorp tower—its core destabilized by the drive’s encryption algorithm, a self‑destruct triggered to erase any trace.Maya stared back at the burning silhouette, the city’s neon veins pulsing like a wounded heart. She had survived another night, but the war was far from over. The drive was safe, and with it, a chance to bring down the corporation that had taken everything from her.She whispered into the wind, “This is only the beginning.” The rain washed away the ash, but the fire in her eyes stayed bright—an ember that would ignite the next strike.