The abandoned subway station was damp and cold, the flickering overhead lights barely holding onto life. Ochieng, Sienna, Zane, and Jabari stood among the ruins of a forgotten world, catching their breath.
"We can't keep running," Zane said, checking his ammo. "Kairo won't stop until we're buried six feet under."
Ochieng wiped blood from his lip. His mind was already moving faster than his body. "Then we don't run," he said. "We turn this around. They become the hunted."
Jabari smirked, crossing his arms. "You got a plan, genius?"
Ochieng glanced at the old, rusted subway map on the wall. A memory flickered in his mind—an underground facility once used by the city's elites to hide secrets.
He turned to the group. "Yeah. And it starts with us disappearing from their radar."
Sienna frowned. "Disappear? How?"
Ochieng's lips curled into a smirk. "By making them think we're already dead."
---
The plan was simple but dangerous. Jabari had connections with an old crime syndicate who could forge death certificates, fake police reports, and even create crime scene evidence.
Within hours, news of Ochieng's "death" spread like wildfire. A staged explosion at a rundown motel, complete with fake bodies, left the city buzzing.
The Architect's men, including Kairo, arrived at the scene, inspecting the wreckage.
Kairo kicked over a burned corpse. "You really think this is him?"
One of his men, a forensic specialist, nodded. "DNA matches."
Kairo's jaw tightened. Something didn't feel right.
But for now, they had no reason to chase a dead man.
And that's exactly what Ochieng wanted.
---
With the enemy off their trail—for now—Ochieng and his team moved carefully through the underground network, gathering resources.
They needed weapons, allies, and leverage.
Jabari led them to an old warehouse where a group of former mercenaries, men who had been betrayed by the system, were waiting.
"These guys hate the Architect as much as you do," Jabari said.
Ochieng stepped forward. "Then let's give them a reason to fight."
The room fell silent. Then one of the mercenaries, a scar-faced man named Malik, chuckled.
"You're crazy," Malik said. "But I like crazy."
One by one, the men swore loyalty to Ochieng.
The war had officially begun.
---
Kairo sat in a private bar, drinking whiskey, when his phone rang.
"Speak," he answered.
A distorted voice on the other end sent a chill through him.
"You should've made sure he was dead."
Kairo's eyes darkened. "What do you mean?"
The caller hesitated. "Ochieng is alive."
The glass in Kairo's hand shattered.
"I'll handle it."
He hung up, eyes burning with rage.
Ochieng had fooled him once.
It wouldn't happen again.
---