Night settled heavily over the building.
Quiet.
Controlled. Gf Eg
Inside her office—
Emma stood by her desk.
Fixing documents.
Rearranging reports.
Adjusting details that most people wouldn't even notice.
Everything precise.
Everything in place.
A knock.
"…Yes."
A guard stepped in.
Slightly hesitant.
"Ma'am… there's someone here to see you."
Emma didn't look up.
"Name."
A pause.
"…He doesn't have one."
That—
made her stop.
Her hand froze mid-motion.
Silence.
Then—
a thought.
Sharp.
Immediate.
"…Shadow."
She said it quietly.
Almost to herself.
The guard frowned slightly.
"…Should I let him in?"
A beat.
"…Yes."
The guard nodded.
Stepped out.
Seconds passed.
Heavy ones.
Then—
the door opened again.
No footsteps.
At least—
none that could be heard.
He was just there.
Standing.
Shadow.
No presence.
No sound.
No emotion.
Like he didn't belong to the room.
Or the world.
Emma looked at him.
Directly.
No surprise on her face.
"…You came."
Shadow tilted his head slightly.
A subtle movement.
"I was nearby."
His voice—
low.
Empty.
Emma studied him for a moment.
"…You don't come 'nearby' without a reason."
Silence.
Then—
"Joseph."
Just one word.
Emma's eyes sharpened.
"…What about him?"
Shadow stepped forward slightly.
Still silent.
Still… unnatural.
"He's not playing politics."
A pause.
"He's preparing something else."
Emma didn't interrupt.
Didn't question.
She just listened.
"…Something you won't see coming."
A longer silence.
Emma's gaze didn't waver.
"…That's the point of this game."
Shadow's eyes rested on her.
"…This isn't a game."
That—
hung in the air.
For the first time—
Emma's expression shifted.
Just slightly.
"…Explain."
Shadow looked at her.
Straight.
Unblinking.
"He's not trying to defeat you."
A pause.
"He's trying to break you."
Silence.
Emma's fingers moved slightly.
Resting on the desk.
"…He can try."
Shadow didn't react.
"He will use people."
Another pause.
"Not armies."
Now—
that mattered.
Emma understood immediately.
Her eyes darkened.
"…I see."
Shadow stepped back slightly.
"I've said enough."
Emma watched him.
"…Why help me?"
A rare question.
Shadow stopped.
Just for a second.
"…Because if you fall,"
A pause.
"…everything becomes worse."
Not loyalty.
Not care.
Just… truth.
Then—
he turned.
And like that—
He was gone.
No sound.
No trace.
Just absence.
Emma stood there.
Silent.
Her hand slowly clenched again.
"…People."
A whisper.
The room felt heavier now.
Not from silence—
but from what was coming.
Emma stood still for a moment.
Then picked up her phone.
Two calls.
Short.
Direct.
"Come."
That was all she said.
To both.
Minutes later—
the door opened.
First—
Mostang.
Calm as ever.
A cigarette already between his fingers.
Then—
Kane.
Sharper.
More alert.
Eyes scanning everything the moment he stepped in.
They didn't speak at first.
They just looked at her.
Emma stood by the window.
The city glowing beneath her.
"…Something's wrong."
Kane said it first.
Emma turned.
"Joseph isn't aiming at power anymore."
A pause.
"He's aiming at us."
Mostang's lighter clicked.
Flame rising.
Then fading as he lit his cigarette.
"…Us, huh."
Emma walked closer.
Her voice steady.
But lower.
"You're both targets."
Kane frowned.
"…Expected"
Mostang exhaled smoke.
"…Took him long enough."
Emma's eyes hardened.
"No."
A beat.
"This is different."
They both noticed it.
The tone.
"…He'll use people around us."
Silence.
That—
hit.
Kane's expression shifted slightly.
"…So it starts."
Emma looked at both of them.
Carefully.
"Stay prepared."
A pause.
"For anything."
Mostang nodded once.
No jokes.
No smirk this time.
Kane crossed his arms slightly.
"…We've been through worse."
Emma didn't respond to that.
Instead—
she said something else.
Something heavier.
"Diana and Valeria are dead."
Silence.
Instant.
Mostang's cigarette paused mid-air.
Kane's eyes lowered slightly.
Emma continued.
"The others…"
A small pause.
"I lost contact with them."
The room felt colder.
No names.
No explanations.
Just—
gone.
Emma looked at them.
Directly.
"…We're the only ones left."
A beat.
"White World."
No title.
No pride.
Just fact.
Kane let out a slow breath.
"…Damn."
Mostang looked away slightly.
Toward the window.
"…Didn't think it'd end up like this."
Emma didn't answer.
Because it wasn't the end.
Not yet.
Her eyes sharpened again.
"This isn't where we fall."
A quiet statement.
But absolute.
Kane looked at her.
Then nodded.
"…Yeah."
Mostang took a drag.
Exhaled slowly.
"…Then we don't die."
Simple.
Clear.
The three of them stood there.
Not as soldiers.
Not as subordinates.
But as what remained.
Of something that once shook the world.
And now—
They were all that stood—
between Joseph…
…and everything else.
Emma looked at both of them.
The tension hadn't left the room—
but something quieter settled in.
"For now…"
She spoke calmly.
"We don't move."
Kane tilted his head slightly.
"…We wait?"
Emma shook her head once.
"We prepare."
A small pause.
"Constantly."
Mostang nodded, taking a slow drag.
"…That fits you."
Then—
Emma added something unexpected.
"You can both stay here."
Silence.
Kane blinked.
"…Here?"
Emma turned slightly toward the window again.
"In the building."
A beat.
"It's safer."
That was her reason.
Simple.
Practical.
But it meant more than that.
Mostang smirked instantly.
"…Hell yeah."
No hesitation.
No thinking.
Kane looked at her for a second longer.
Then nodded.
"…Alright."
No pride.
No resistance.
Because the truth was—
They had nowhere else.
No families.
No homes waiting for them.
Just this.
Just her.
Emma didn't react to their answers.
Just gave a small nod.
"I'll have rooms prepared."
But they were already ready.
Of course they were.
Later that night—
The building changed.
Subtly.
Two more lights turned on in the upper floors.
Rooms that had been empty—
now occupied.
Spacious.
Luxury.
Clean.
Too clean.
Kane stood inside his room for a moment.
Looking around.
"…This feels weird."
A place like this—
after years of wandering.
He dropped his bag quietly.
Sat on the edge of the bed.
"…But… it'll do."
Mostang's room—
was already different.
Window open.
Night air flowing in.
He stood there.
Lighting another cigarette.
Looking down at the city.
"…Not bad."
A faint smirk.
But his eyes—
still distant.
And Emma—
She stood alone again.
In her office.
Looking at the city below.
Now—
they were all in one place.
Together.
For the first time in years.
Not as a team like before—
But as what remained of it.
Emma's hand rested lightly in her pocket.
Her eyes steady.
"…This time."
A quiet thought.
"I won't lose them."
Outside—
the city glowed peacefully.
But beneath it—
Something was coming.
And now—
they would face it—
together.
Chapter end