The atmosphere at OrgaCorp was electric with panic, alarms blaring like sirens of impending doom.

Renfield stood at the center of the chaos, his sharp features twisted in a furious scowl. "I need a status update!" he barked, his voice cutting through the cacophony.

A junior agent, visibly shaken, rushed forward, his eyes wide with fear. "Alix has gone rogue, sir. She abandoned the assignment and left with..."

"With what?!" Renfield's eyes blazed, the implications hitting him like a punch to the gut.

"The files—and Julian Lake. She may have intel on Project Genesis."

A cold sweat broke out on Renfield's brow. This wasn't just another breach; this was a potential disaster.

Across the room, another executive shouted, "Contain this! Mobilize every available agent—I want her found. Now!"

In the midst of the spiralling chaos, whispers of betrayal rippled through the ranks, anxiety tightening like a noose around their throats.

On the rain-slick streets of the city, neon lights cast an eerie glow against the wet pavement. Alix moved a step ahead, her leather jacket pulled tight against the chill. Julian followed close behind, his eyes scanning each shadow—but his gaze kept drifting back to her, to the way she moved with practiced ease, as if she could take down an entire room of enemies without missing a beat.

Ryder's Commentary: Wow, look at him. Totally entranced. Dude's practically drooling. Get a grip, Julian! She's a walking 'danger' sign!

"Stop staring," he told himself. She's not someone you can get close to.

But it was hard not to look. There was something magnetic about her, something he couldn't quite place. Alix was an enigma, cloaked in layers of danger and secrets, and despite the warning bells in his head, he found himself wanting to understand her.

"Julian," Alix's voice cut through his thoughts, sharp but calm. "You're staring."

He flinched. "I wasn't—"

"Don't even try to lie. You've been doing it since we left The Apartment."

Julian opened his mouth but thought better of it. What could he say? That he couldn't help it? That every time he thought about the mission and the danger they were in, his chest tightened just a bit more?

He settled for a nervous chuckle. "Well, it's not every day I get to see Silver Fox so close."

She rolled her eyes but didn't push it further.

Ryder: This is it, man! Turn up the charm! What could possibly go wrong with flirting with a deadly assassin?

The streets were bustling with the evening crowd as Alix and Julian walked side by side. Julian seemed quieter than usual, his hand brushing against his stomach now and then.

Alix glanced at him out of the corner of her eye but didn't say anything until he slowed down, one hand pressing firmly against his midsection.

She stopped and turned to face him. "What's wrong?"

Julian hesitated, looking slightly sheepish. "I uh... I wanna eat something. I'm hungry."

Alix replied in confusion. "Huh?"

Her eyes widened. Before she could respond, Julian stumbled forward, collapsing onto her. Instinctively, she caught him, her arms wrapping around his shoulders to steady him. His face was dangerously close to hers, and for a moment, her heart skipped a beat.

"Hey—are you... are you okay?" she stammered, her cheeks faintly pink.

Julian mumbled something incoherent, his head leaning slightly against her shoulder. Alix looked around, spotting a small restaurant nearby with a neon sign flickering in the window. She bit her lip, glancing back at Julian, who looked pale but still... way too close for comfort.

"Alright, alright, let's get you something to eat," she said, half-carrying him toward the restaurant.

Once inside, the smell of grilled food and spices filled the air, making Julian perk up slightly. Alix guided him to a booth, practically pushing him into the seat before flagging down a waiter. She quickly ordered something simple but hearty—a plate of stir-fried noodles and dumplings—and slid into the seat across from him.

The food arrived in record time, and Julian wasted no time digging in, his eyes lighting up as he took the first bite. "This is... amazing," he said through a mouthful of noodles.

Alix leaned back, lighting her cigarette. "Did you seriously not eat lunch today?"

Julian shook his head, swallowing another bite. "No, didn't have lunch... or breakfast, or anything for few days."

Alix frowned. "What? ...Why?"

Julian hesitated, avoiding her gaze. "It's just... rent's coming up, and I needed to save what I could. But I... uh, still didn't have enough. Honestly, I don't know what else to do at this point."

Julian's words hung in the air, and for a moment, Alix didn't respond. Her usual sharp demeanour softened as an unfamiliar ache welled up in her chest. The thought made her stomach twist. She prided herself on being composed, but now, she felt an inexplicable surge of guilt and frustration.

Her vision blurred slightly. Quietly, her eyes began to glisten.

Julian looked up from his plate, tilting his head. "Alix?" he asked, his voice laced with concern. "Are you okay? Your eyes... they're getting watery."

Snapped out of her thoughts, Alix blinked, realizing too late that tears had slipped down her cheeks. She quickly touched her face, brushing at the moisture with her fingertips.

"Huh?" she said, her voice wavering just a little before she covered it with a hurried laugh. "Oh, it's nothing. I, uh... the food's just really good here. You know how it is." She forced a smile, hoping he'd drop the subject.

Julian blinked, still holding his fork mid-air. "Yeah... it is." His confusion lingered, but his expression softened. "Thank you for taking me here, Alix."

Her smile faltered for just a second, but she quickly masked it, nodding. "It's no big deal. Just... make sure you eat, alright? Skipping meals is a terrible habit."

Alix leaned back, picking up her glass of water as if to hide the way her fingers trembled. "Don't mention it," she murmured, avoiding his eyes.

Unspoken thoughts lingered between them as they ate, but the air around them felt lighter somehow, as if they'd crossed an invisible boundary into something deeper—something neither of them dared to name yet.

As they walked, Alix's mind buzzed with questions she had no business asking herself. Julian was becoming more than just a mission objective, and that realization gnawed at her. She'd done this dance before, getting close to a target, but this felt... different. Julian was kind, painfully so, and that unsettled her in ways she hadn't anticipated.

In the car, Julian clutched his laptop bag as if it held the answers to the universe.

"Where are we going?" he asked, his voice shaky from the earlier confrontation.

"A safe house," Alix replied curtly, weaving through the late-night traffic. Her hands gripped the wheel with precise tension, her senses on high alert. "I need to see how far OrgaCorp's reach goes. If you're right, we're both on borrowed time."

Julian slumped into the seat, processing her words. "It doesn't make sense. Why would OrgaCorp come after me? I haven't—"

"You accessed something they didn't want you to," Alix interrupted, her tone sharp but not unkind. "Whether you meant to or not, you stumbled onto classified intel, and now they see you as a threat."

"I was just looking for information about my parents," he said, frustration leaking into his voice. "They both worked for OrgaCorp, but they never told me anything about their jobs. And then they died in that accident—except now I'm not so sure it was an accident."

Ryder: Right? "Accident" is code for "we totally killed them because they were getting too nosy." Classic!

Alix tightened her grip. She'd heard of "accidents" that happened to employees who asked too many questions. Her gaze flicked to Julian. "And what exactly did you find?"

Julian hesitated, glancing down at his bag. "Just encrypted files—things I can't fully crack yet. But from what I can see, there's information on covert missions and agents... agents like you."

Alix's jaw clenched. So that was why he was marked for death. But why had OrgaCorp been so quick to target a tech employee?

The car rolled to a stop in front of a nondescript warehouse. Rain poured in sheets as Alix turned off the engine. "We're here," she said. "Stay close, and don't make a sound."

They slipped out of the car, moving quickly through the rain into the warehouse. Inside, the place was stark, filled with crates and equipment.

Julian stared at the towering structure before them, brow furrowed.
"Wait... this is your safehouse?" he asked. "It looks like a warehouse."

Alix lit a cigarette, the smoke curling lazily in the dim evening air. Her tone was dry, like she was already bored with the question.
"Yeah... but no," she said. "It was a warehouse. Back when I worked for OrgaCorp."

Julian looked around, half-amused, half-terrified. "Is this where you take all your targets before... well, you know?"

Ryder: And by "you know," he means before she turns you into a human piñata!

Alix shot him a glance. "If you were my target, you'd already be dead."

She flicked ash to the side and took another drag. Her eyes remained fixed on the rusted exterior.
"If they turned against me—which they have—they'd know about this place. Which means it's not a safehouse anymore."
Then she glanced at Julian with a glint in her eye.
"However..."

She pulled open the metal door and motioned him inside. The interior was colder, darker than expected. Dusty, but not abandoned. There was a hum beneath the silence, something hidden—like the whole place was waiting to wake up.

"Stay here," Alix said, already striding toward a back panel. "I'll disable the security measures."
Julian blinked. "Security measures?"

She didn't answer. Just gave a half-smirk and vanished behind a false wall.

Fifteen minutes later, she led him to a small room at the back with a cot and a terminal against the wall. She nodded at his laptop. "Get to work on those files. I need to know what we're dealing with."

Julian set to work, his fingers flying over the keys as he tried to break through OrgaCorp's encryption. Alix watched him, her mind spinning. She had always trusted OrgaCorp—trusted that her job was simple: follow orders, protect the organization. But now, watching Julian peel back layers of secrets, she felt a sick churn in her gut.

After a long silence, Julian leaned back with a frustrated sigh. "I've barely scratched the surface, but it's bad. Really bad."

Alix stepped closer, her curiosity piqued. "How bad?"

"There's a shadow division—off-the-books ops, assassinations, and... something called Project Genesis. I can't access what that is yet, but it's big."

A chill ran through her. She'd always known OrgaCorp had its secrets, but this was something else. She'd been a part of their game, carrying out missions without understanding the full extent of what it was.

"Keep going," she said, her voice hardening. "We need more."

Julian nodded, focusing on his laptop, but before he could progress, the lights flickered. A second later, the terminal went dead.

Alix narrowed her eyes. "Looks like they're here already."

Meanwhile — Outside

"Alright. Perimeter's sealed. Agent 051, lead the entry team."

One of the soldiers glanced at the warehouse map.
"Sir, we were told the first security measure would be laser traps."

Renfield nodded. "Correct. But the suits you're wearing should neutralize the effect. Proceed."

They moved inside cautiously—silent, methodical.

"Sir," came a voice over comms. "There's no sign of lasers. The hallway's clear."

Then—PSSSSHHHTT.

A thick, pale gas hissed from the vents below.

"Wait, what the hell is th—"

Thuds. One after another. Bodies dropping.

Renfield straightened, alarm spiking.
"Agent 051, report. Agent 051, do you copy?"
Static.

Then—BANG. BANG.
Gunshots. Muffled. Close.

"Dammit! What's going on in there!?"

Inside the Warehouse

Julian jolted as lights flickered overhead. "Alix...?"

No answer.

Alix stood pressed to the wall, eyes sharp, calm. She reached up and tapped a near-invisible notch. Click.

The panel rotated, spinning her into another room. She rolled across a dusty table as bullets shattered a window nearby. Sliding under it, she grabbed a hidden pistol taped beneath. Her boots hit the floor—only for the floor beneath her to slide open. She dropped down into darkness.

The trapdoor snapped shut behind her.

Above, OrgaCorp agents stormed the main floor. Guns raised.

Suddenly—THUMP. THUMP. THUMP. THUMP. THUMP.

Cardboard cutouts of Alix sprang up all around them, mounted on spring-loaded rigs. Half the squad fired in reflex panic.

"HOSTILE—NO WAIT—"

Too late.

From below, Alix rose into view.

Real. Silent. Deadly.

She dropped them with precision shots. No wasted movement. No hesitation.

The final soldier tried to flee—only to find the exit sealed tight behind a heavy steel wall. He turned.

Alix stepped from the smoke.
"You should've stayed outside."

Pop. One last shot.

Silence.

*

Alix stood among the fallen soldiers, eyes scanning the quiet carnage. Her finger tapped a button on the wall, and a dusty screen flickered to life. Surveillance footage. She rewound it casually, watching the squad get gassed, confused, and then obliterated by her traps.

Then, she dialed.

The call connected with a sharp click.

"Renfield," she said, voice like ice wrapped in silk. "Why would you think I'd be here... when I knew you all would come after me?"

A pause.

"I did change the security combination before I left, by the way. You really should have updated your intel."

She leaned slightly toward the screen, watching his squad fall like dominoes.

"And on the surveillance... well. I saw everything. Quite a show your men put on."

Renfield's jaw clenched on the other end. Click. He hung up.

Alix exhaled smoke into the silence.

*

Julian stumbled into the room, wide-eyed. His breath hitched at the sight—bodies sprawled, blood staining the concrete, bullet casings still warm.

He turned away, hand over his mouth. "God..."

Alix looked at him, unfazed, her voice casual.

"Alright..." she said, stepping over a fallen agent. "Now it's a safehouse."

She reloaded her pistol, holstered it.

"Hopefully they'll think we're not here—and won't send anyone else once they realize how dangerous this place is."

Julian stood frozen near the wall, staring at the bodies like they might move again.
Alix, lighting another cigarette, glanced over.
"Hey."
His eyes didn't meet hers.
"Don't worry, it's okay." She walked up to him, tone almost... casual. "I'll clean it later."
A beat.
"C'mon." She grabbed his wrist. "Let's get food. You're hungry, right?"

She pulled him out into the street, city lights flickering on above them.
And somewhere, through a passing car window, Taylor Swift sang:
"Someday, I'll be... living in a big ol' city..."

Alix added playfully. "And all they're ever gonna be... is mean."