CHAPTER 5: VELVET LIES
1050 Words
Rain exploded behind the motorcycle as Kaedrin tore through the streets of Neo-Vesper City at reckless speed.
Vaelora held tightly to the back of his coat while black vehicles chased them through glowing midnight traffic. Neon reflections blurred across wet roads beneath roaring thunder.
Another sniper bullet shattered a holographic billboard above them.
Glass rained down onto the highway.
Kaedrin swerved sharply between speeding cars.
“You always attract this much chaos?” he shouted over the storm.
Vaelora fired behind them one-handed.
“Only on weekdays.”
One pursuing motorcycle flipped violently after her bullet pierced its front tire.
The rider disappeared beneath traffic.
Still, more vehicles kept coming.
Too many.
Kaedrin’s expression darkened as he glanced into the side mirror.
“They’re forcing us east.”
Vaelora noticed it too.
Every escape route westward had already been blocked.
This wasn’t random pursuit.
Someone was controlling the city grid itself.
Traffic lights suddenly changed ahead.
Steel barricades erupted from the road.
Civilian vehicles crashed into one another in panic.
Kaedrin cursed under his breath.
“Hold on.”
The motorcycle accelerated harder.
Straight toward the blockade.
Vaelora narrowed her eyes.
“You’re not serious.”
Kaedrin smirked faintly for the first time.
“Trust me.”
“I absolutely do not.”
The barricade rushed closer—
Three meters.
Two.
One—
Kaedrin hit a hidden ramp beside a construction lane.
The motorcycle launched into the air.
Vaelora’s breath caught sharply as they flew over flashing police vehicles and crashing traffic below before slamming hard onto the opposite highway.
The tires screeched violently.
Then they vanished into the lower districts of the city.
Minutes later, Kaedrin finally slowed inside an abandoned industrial zone buried beneath towering holographic advertisements.
Factories stood empty.
Windows broken.
Fog curled through the streets like living smoke.
Vaelora climbed off the motorcycle immediately and aimed her pistol at him.
“Talk.”
Kaedrin removed his gloves slowly.
“You point guns at everyone who saves your life?”
“You still haven’t explained why you’re helping me.”
Lightning flashed overhead.
For a moment, his scarred face looked almost haunted.
“I told you already,” he said quietly.
“You were supposed to be dead.”
Vaelora’s finger tightened slightly on the trigger.
“And yet here I am.”
Kaedrin stared at her carefully.
Almost searching for something beneath her face.
“Five years ago,” he said slowly, “an operation inside the Black Aether Sector went wrong.”
The name hit Vaelora strangely.
A faint flicker.
A fractured memory.
Screaming.
Fire.
Blood on white walls.
Then gone.
Her headache sharpened instantly.
Kaedrin noticed.
“You recognize it.”
“No.”
Lie.
He could tell.
Before either could speak again—
Kaedrin’s encrypted wrist device vibrated sharply.
He checked the screen.
His expression hardened immediately.
“What is it?” Vaelora asked.
He looked up slowly.
“A meeting.”
“With who?”
“Someone dangerous.”
Vaelora laughed coldly.
“That doesn’t narrow it down.”
Kaedrin ignored the comment.
“There’s a casino downtown called Velvet Mirage.”
Vaelora froze instantly.
Draven Mordaine’s territory.
One of the most untouchable black-market operators in the world.
Weapons.
Information.
Human trafficking.
Assassinations.
If it was illegal, Draven profited from it.
Kaedrin slipped the device back into his coat.
“An underground auction is happening there tonight.”
Vaelora’s instincts sharpened immediately.
“What kind of auction?”
Kaedrin looked directly into her eyes.
“The kind where governments buy secrets they can’t officially admit exist.”
Thunder cracked overhead.
Vaelora’s pulse slowed dangerously.
Project Helix.
Someone was moving fast.
Too fast.
“Who invited you?” she asked carefully.
Kaedrin’s gaze darkened.
“Nobody invites me.”
Before Vaelora could answer—
Her communicator suddenly activated with static.
Nysera’s voice burst through weakly.
“Vaelora—can you hear me?”
Relief flickered briefly across Vaelora’s face.
“Nysera. Where are you?”
“Safe for now.” Heavy breathing followed. “Listen carefully. Somebody inside Central Intelligence leaked every active operative connected to Helix.”
Kaedrin immediately focused.
Nysera continued urgently.
“And Vaelora… your name is at the top of the kill registry.”
Vaelora stayed silent.
She already knew.
But Nysera’s next words changed everything.
“There’s more.”
Static crackled violently.
“Someone placed a bounty on your identity.”
Kaedrin frowned.
“What kind of bounty?”
Nysera answered quietly.
“Dead or alive.”
Vaelora felt cold suddenly.
Nysera continued.
“And tonight at Velvet Mirage… your real identity is being auctioned to the highest bidder.”
Silence.
Even Kaedrin looked surprised.
Vaelora’s gray eyes darkened slowly.
That meant somebody knew who she truly was.
Not Ghost Orchid.
Not the assassin.
The real woman beneath all the lies.
And in their world—
Identity was more valuable than gold.
Kaedrin looked toward the glowing skyline in the distance where the Velvet Mirage casino tower shimmered red through the rain.
Then back at Vaelora.
“If that information gets sold,” he said calmly, “every assassin on the planet will come hunting you.”
Vaelora holstered her pistol slowly.
“Then we stop the auction.”
Kaedrin studied her carefully.
“You planning to walk through the front door?”
Vaelora’s lips curved slightly.
“Of course not.”
For the first time that night—
Kaedrin smiled.
Very small.
Very dangerous.
And somehow—
That smile worried her more than the bullets had.
---
One hour later—
The Velvet Mirage Casino glowed like a jewel in the heart of Neo-Vesper City.
Music thundered beneath dazzling lights while luxury vehicles lined the entrance. Wealthy elites entered beneath armed guards and holographic waterfalls cascading down glass walls.
Above the casino floor—
Hidden beneath layers of luxury—
The real business waited underground.
Secrets.
Weapons.
Power.
And tonight—
Vaelora Vex herself was for sale.
As Vaelora stepped from the shadows wearing an elegant crimson gown stolen from a diplomat three blocks away, Kaedrin stared briefly.
Then looked away.
“You clean up well,” he muttered.
Vaelora adjusted the diamond knife hidden beneath her sleeve.
“So do serial killers.”
Kaedrin smirked faintly.
Then together—
They walked toward the gates of hell.
- Writer
