**Yet** the night refused to surrender its grip. Darkness cloaked the city like a predator, its silence broken only by the faint hum of streetlights and the occasional echo of distant footsteps. For Mia, it was the kind of night she’d learned to fear.

She crouched low behind a rusted dumpster in the alley, clutching the stolen drive against her chest. Her breathing was shallow, her heart pounding like a war drum. The data on the drive was her ticket to freedom—or her death warrant.

Yet, even now, she wasn’t sure if it was worth the risk.

The sound of boots crunching on gravel snapped her out of her thoughts. She glanced down the alley and spotted them: three men dressed in tactical gear, their movements precise, their eyes scanning the shadows. She couldn’t tell if they were mercenaries, bounty hunters, or worse. All she knew was that they were here for her.

Yet she couldn’t run. Not yet.

She pressed herself against the wall, her fingers finding the grip of the knife strapped to her leg. It wasn’t much, but it was all she had. The men were closing in now, their voices low and deliberate.

“Split up. She’s close,” one of them said, his tone cold and calculated.

Mia’s mind raced. She’d been trained for this, once upon a time. Her father had taught her how to fight, how to survive, how to disappear. Yet he wasn’t here now. And if she didn’t move soon, she wouldn’t be either.

The first man passed her hiding spot. His shadow loomed large against the alley wall, his rifle sweeping from side to side. As he turned his back, Mia slipped out silently, her movements fluid and practiced.

Yet her foot caught on a loose piece of debris. The faint scrape was enough.

“Over here!” the man barked, spinning around.

Mia darted down the alley, her pulse a thunderstorm in her ears. The men were on her now, their footsteps pounding, their shouts growing louder. She reached the end of the alley and vaulted a chain-link fence, landing hard on the other side. Pain shot through her ankle, but she forced herself to keep running.

Ahead, the city’s skyline glimmered like a promise she couldn’t yet reach.

Yet she ran toward it anyway.