The city didn't sleep. Not really. New Marseille, with its flickering neon lights and trash-strewn streets, was always awake in some way — either in the shadows or on the surface. You could feel it in the air, thick with desperation, power, and fear. Tonight, Alina could feel the weight of it on her shoulders as she made her way back to the underground bunker.
She slipped into the alley, her boots silent on the wet ground. The usual buzz of streetlife had dulled to a low murmur in the distance, and the rain had let up, leaving the air thick with moisture. She didn't feel the cold anymore; her mind was elsewhere. The job was done, but the gnawing feeling in her chest hadn't gone away.
Killing Terry wasn't a hard choice. He had betrayed them. He had crossed the line. But why did it still feel so empty?
Alina shoved the thought away as she approached the steel door to the bunker. She punched in the code and stepped inside, the familiar scent of stale coffee and burnt-out cigarettes filling her nostrils. The moment she entered, the atmosphere shifted. It was always like this when she returned — a sense of unease, but also a strange kind of comfort.
The lights flickered above her as she moved deeper into the room. Nix was already there, sitting at the table, flipping through a pile of paperwork with a cup of coffee in hand. His dark eyes didn't leave the pages when she entered, but he spoke anyway.
"I see you finished the job."
"Yeah," Alina replied, her voice flat. She walked over to the table and sat down across from him. "Terry's gone."
Nix looked up from his papers, his expression unreadable. "I told you he was a liability. Did it hurt?"
"Do you want the truth?" Alina asked, leaning back in her chair, her gaze fixed on him.
"No," Nix replied, setting the papers down. "I don't think I do."
She let out a quiet laugh. "Then why ask?"
He didn't respond right away. His fingers drummed on the edge of the table as he considered her words. The silence stretched between them, heavy and thick, until he finally spoke.
"You know, you're becoming good at this," he said, his voice softer now. "I don't know if that's something I should be proud of or worried about."
Alina didn't say anything. She just stared at the table, her thoughts swirling in a whirlwind of doubt and anger. She knew what she had to do. She always knew what she had to do. But it didn't make the blood on her hands any easier to deal with. She wasn't just a killer. She was a person. Somewhere deep inside her, there was still a flicker of humanity. The question was: How long would it last?
"We need to move on," Nix said, breaking her thoughts. "This city is changing, Alina. There's talk of bigger moves, bigger players coming into town. If we want to stay ahead, we need to start making some power moves."
"What do you mean?" Alina asked, her eyes narrowing.
"I mean," Nix said, standing up and moving to a nearby map on the wall, "we're gonna make a play for the West End. The turf there is valuable. Whoever controls it controls a lot of money. And we need that money."
"Who's the target?" Alina asked, pushing her chair back and standing up as well.
"A guy named Damian Cole. He's got a stranglehold on the West End. If we can take him down, we take his territory. The money, the power… it's all there for the taking."
"Damian Cole…" Alina repeated the name, tasting it on her tongue. She had heard of him before. A powerful businessman with connections to all the right people. Not the kind of man you took down easily.
"Yeah," Nix said, turning to face her. "He's dangerous. But so are we."
Alina met his gaze, her eyes sharp. "What's the plan?"
"We start small," Nix replied, his voice low. "We make our presence known. We hit his shipments, disrupt his operations. We make him nervous, make him start looking over his shoulder. Once he starts showing signs of weakness, we move in for the kill."
Alina nodded, her mind already working through the possibilities. She knew how this game was played. She had played it before. It was just a matter of strategy. Patience.
And the right moment.
"I'll get started," she said, turning toward the door.
Nix didn't stop her, but his voice followed her as she reached the exit.
"Be careful, Alina," he said quietly. "This game… it doesn't end well for most people."
"I know," she said, her voice cold. "But I'm not most people."