Chapter five
1320 Words
“Down!”
I pulled him just as the bullets tore through the wall behind us. No time to think. No time to plan. Just instinct.We moved at the same time.Left. Cover. Return.
Alexander didn’t hesitate. That told me everything I needed to know he wasn’t just a man with power. He knew how to survive.
Gunfire echoed through the alley, sharp and controlled. They weren’t spraying blindly. Every shot had a purpose.“They’re closing in,” he said.
“I can see that.”Three from the front. Two moving along the sides. One staying back.Command.
Always one.I leaned out slightly, tracking movement.“Six,” I said. “Maybe more behind.”
“Then we won't stay here.”
“No.”I glanced behind us.Dead end.Not good.But not impossible.“Up,” I said.He looked at me once, then nodded.
We moved toward the fire escape at the far end, bullets hitting metal as we climbed. Fast. No hesitation.Halfway up, one of them shouted something.Not to us.To each other.That meant, “They don’t want to lose us,” Alexander said.
“They won’t,” I replied. “Unless we make them.”We reached the second level and broke through a window without stopping. Glass shattered. We were inside.Dark hallway.Empty.
Temporary advantage.“Which way?” he asked.“This way.”I didn’t slow down.Didn’t explain.He followed anyway.Good.That meant he trusted me.Or at least trusted the situation more than his doubts.
We moved through the corridor, taking turns without hesitation. I could hear them behind us now.Closer.Faster.“They know the layout,” he said.
“So do I.”That wasn’t entirely true.But I didn’t need the layout.I needed patterns.And I could already see one.“This building connects,” I said. “Two exits.”
“And you’re guessing which one they’ll block.”
“I’m not guessing.”We reached a stairwell.I stopped.Listened.Footsteps below.Blocking.“Not this one,” I said.We turned immediately.Back into the hall.Another turn.Then A door.Locked.
Alexander stepped forward and forced it open.Inside An apartment.Empty.Unfurnished.But not unused.I saw it instantly.“Someone’s been here,” I said.“Recently,” he added.That meant something else.This wasn’t random.This was prepared.“They expected us to come this way,” he said.“Yes.”
“So we change it.”
“No,” I replied.He looked at me.“Explain.”
“We don’t avoid the trap,” I said. “We use it.”That got his attention.“How?” he asked.I moved to the window, checking the angle.“They’re pushing us here for a reason,” I continued. “So we give them what they want.”
“And then?”
“We take control.”He watched me for a second longer.Then nodded.“Alright.”No hesitation.Good.
I moved quickly, scanning the room.There.A bag.Hidden but not enough.Inside,Weapons.
Clean.Loaded.Prepared.“Definitely a setup,” he said.“Yes.”I handed him one.“You know how to use it?”He gave me a look.“I’ll manage.”That was enough.Footsteps outside.Closer now.
“They’re here,” he said.“I know.”I stepped back, positioning myself near the door.“Wait for it,” I said.The handle moved.Slow.Careful.They thought we were cornered.Good.The door opened And I moved.Fast.First man down before he could react. The second one raised his weapon, but Alexander was faster.Two shots.Clean.Precise.They dropped.We didn’t stop.More is coming.
We pushed forward, out of the apartment, into the hallway again.But this time,We weren’t running.
We were moving through them.Controlled.
Deliberate.Every step is calculated.Every move is intentional.At the end of the hall, one of them stepped forward.Different.Not like the others.
Calm.Focused.Leader.He didn’t raise his weapon.He just looked at me.And smiled.That was wrong.“You remember me,” he said.
Alexander glanced at me.I didn’t respond.But my body did.Tension.Recognition.Something I couldn’t hide.“Thought so,” the man continued.“Who is he?” Alexander asked quietly.I didn’t answer immediately.Because I already knew.And that made this worse.“He shouldn’t be here,” I said instead.“That’s not an answer.”
“No,” I replied. “It’s a problem.”The man stepped closer.Slow.Confidence.“You left without finishing,” he said to me.“I finished enough.”
“Not for us.” Us?.That word again.Always a group.Never just one.“You’re done,” I said.He shook his head slightly.“No,” he replied. “You are.”
Before I could move,he pressed something.A small device in his hand.And everything changed.
The lights went out.Darkness.Total.Then,A loud sound.Not a gun.Something deeper.Structural.
“Move!” Alexander said.I didn’t wait.We ran.The floor shook beneath us.Explosion.Not here.Below.
But close enough.“They’re collapsing it,” he said.
“No,” I replied. “They’re flushing us out.”Same strategy.Different levels.We reached the stairwell again.This time,Clear.We moved down fast, skipping steps.The building groaned around us.
Cracking.Shifting.Unstable.“They’re forcing us outside,” he said.“Yes.”
“Why?”I didn’t answer.Because I already knew.And I didn’t want to say it yet.We burst through the exit door,Right into them.More men.
Waiting.Weapons raised.Exactly where they wanted us.“Drop it,” one of them said.We didn’t.
Not yet.I scanned quickly.Positions.Angles.Weak points.Then,I saw it.The same man from upstairs.
Standing behind them.Watching.Waiting.“For someone who disappeared,” he said, “you’re making a lot of noise.”I stepped forward slightly.
“Let this end,” he continued.“It already did,” I replied.“No,” he said. “It’s just starting.”Alexander moved slightly beside me.Not in front.Not behind.
Beside.Equal.That mattered.“They want you alive,” he said quietly.“Yes.”
“And me?”I didn’t look at him.“Optional.”He almost smiled.“Good to know.”The man raised his hand slightly.Signal.They tightened formation.No escape.Not this way.
“You come with us,” he said to me, “and he walks away.”I didn’t respond.“You don’t,” he continued, “and he dies first.”That was the move.Divide.Control.Predictable.But effective.Alexander didn’t speak.Didn’t move.He was waiting.For me.Always for me.Because this Was my past.My problem.My choice.I exhaled slowly.Thinking.Calculating.Every outcome.
Every risk.Every possibility.There was only one that worked.And I hated it.“I'll go with you,” I said.
“No,” Alexander said immediately.I ignored him.
“You let him walk,” I continued.The man smiled.“Of course.”
“Isabella…”
“Don’t,” I cut him off.“This isn’t your decision.”
“It is.”I finally looked at him.Really looked.“You don’t understand what this is,” I said.“Then explain it.”
“I can’t.”
“Try.”I shook my head.“No time.”There was more.So much more.But not here.Not now.The man stepped forward again.“Decide.”I already had.I dropped the weapon.Silence.Tension.Final.
Alexander’s jaw tightened.“You’re making a mistake,” he said.“Yes,” I replied quietly. “But it’s mine.”The men moved in.Close.Controlled.One of them grabbed my arm.I didn’t resist.Didn’t fight.Because this part Had to happen.Alexander stepped forward.Instantly.Weapons shifted toward him.“Don’t,” I said sharply.He stopped.Barely.“This isn’t over,” he said.“No,” I agreed. “It’s not.”The man leaned closer to me.Lower voice.“You always come back,” he said.I met his gaze.“No,” I replied. “This time, I’m ending it.”
He smiled again.Like he didn’t believe me.Like he knew something I didn’t.They started pulling me back.Away.Distance growing.Between me and Alexander.Between past and present.Between truth and lies.But just before I was pushed into the car,Something happened.Fast.Unexpectedly.A shot rang out.Not theirs.Not his.Different angles.Different direction.The man holding me dropped instantly.Chaos.Confusion.Everyone turned.Weapons shifting.Searching.And in that single moment,Everything changed again.Because whoever just fired that
shot Wasn’t on their side.And wasn’t on ours either.
- Writer
