MIKE
My legs were locked around the woman’s waist, her wrist twisted upward as I aimed her own pistol at her. She spat blood, eyes locked on mine like I’d just betrayed her entire bloodline.
“So you were one of them, huh?” she hissed.
I didn’t flinch. “I’m not,” I said coldly.
“But I know enough to see that you’re not just some local with a taste for firearms. Why did you kill that man?”
Her lip curled into a snarl but before she could answer,
BOOM.
The explosion rocked the air like a cannon had gone off two streets over. Glass trembled. The ground bucked.
My focus wavered for just one second, Too long.
She took it.
With a vicious twist, she slammed her elbow into my throat, knocking the air from my lungs. I staggered, the pistol dropping from my hand as she rolled us over and pinned me down.
I struggled then white heat seared through my thigh.
I gasped.
She stabbed me.
The blade went in deep, metal grinding against muscle as pain exploded through my leg. I clenched my teeth, forcing my hand to her throat before she could twist the knife again.
“You talk too much,” she whispered, almost pitying.
The pain throbbed like a jackhammer through my leg, but I didn’t let it paralyze me. With a grunt, I twisted my upper body just enough to reach the pistol again
Bang!
The shot tore through her arm. She let out a cry, stumbling backward and crashing into the wall behind her. Blood painted the floor like a sick mural.
I rolled over, cursing under my breath, and ripped off part of the curtain nearby. Quickly, I wrapped it tight around my thigh, lacing it up to stop the bleeding. My fingers were shaking, slick with blood but I was trained for this. Pain was secondary. Survival was primary.
She was still conscious, clutching her shoulder, eyes wide and filled with rage.
I limped to her, pressing her down, and this time… I didn’t ask permission. I tore off a piece of her own blouse and shoved it against the bleeding wound. She hissed, trying to slap me away, but her strength was fading fast.
“Who are you?” I demanded through clenched teeth. “And what the hell is happening outside?”
Her eyes met mine sharper now, focused. Something in them had shifted.
“You really don’t know,” she muttered, half-laughing through the pain.
“Enlighten me,” I snapped.
“You’re inside a city-wide net,” she said slowly. “The kind that traps rats like you. You think Italy’s peaceful? No… this place is staged. Controlled. You just stepped into their theatre.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Their?”
I held the woman down, watching her face pale with every second as blood soaked the cloth. Her pulse was slowing. I needed answers now.
“Whatever is happening outside,” I said firmly, “I need to know. Is it about the signal loss? Who’s behind this?”
Her head leaned back against the wall, and for a second, I thought she was fading out for good.
But then she smiled. Not the friendly kind. It was distant… cold… knowing.
“Whatever’s happening out there…” she whispered, “it’s not a tourist’s business.”
“Is it Siren?” I pressed, anger rising.
She didn’t answer me. Instead, her eyes drifted slowly… to the little girl standing silently in the corner, wide-eyed, her hands clenched.
The woman’s voice dropped to a faint whisper.
"You know what to do… Zero…”
Zero?
A code name?
The girl Zero stared at the woman, her expression unreadable. Then the woman’s body went limp in my grip, her head tilting to the side as she lost consciousness.
I gently lowered her, checking for breath still alive, but barely.
I looked up sharply at the girl. “Zero?” I said cautiously. “What does she mean by that? What do you know?”
But the girl just blinked… and then, as if on cue, walked to the far wall and began moving a shelf aside.
Behind it,  A panel. Metallic. Hidden.
A compartment.
I kept my gun ready didn’t know what this kid was really up to. She had that look… too calm. Too focused. Like she’s done this before.
I watched as she walked into the next room, completely ignoring me like I wasn’t even there, and disappeared for a full minute. I thought she might be escaping or calling someone, but nope she came back out… carrying a medical kit.
Seriously? A kid just walked out with a med kit like this was a routine Tuesday.
I shifted on my feet, still bleeding out from the stab wound in my leg, but my eyes were on her. She walked over to the woman who was barely breathing at this point and unzipped the bag. It only had one syringe inside.
I stepped closer. “Hey what are you doing?” I asked, confused. “What’s that for?”
Zero didn’t look at me. She just said calmly, “She’s done.”
Done? What the hell did that mean? Before I could stop her, she injected the woman with the syringe. The effect was immediate. The woman’s body started convulsing. I dropped down to hold her in place, tried to stop her from hitting her head, but I was still trying to piece together why
“What the hell was in that shot?!” I barked, looking at Zero.
She just blinked and said, like it was nothing, “She died.”
“What?!”
And just like that, The woman stopped. No more movement. No twitch. No breath. I quickly checked her pulse , nothing.
I stared at Zero, completely thrown. She wasn’t crying. She wasn’t panicking. She just looked at me and said,  “That’s how it’s supposed to go.”
I sat there, stunned.
I was still catching my breath, my leg bleeding under the makeshift tourniquet I tied, and this little girl Zero was staring at me like 
Then she looked me dead in the eyes and asked, "Are you really a tourist?”
I didn’t reply. No way I’d be the first one to crack. So instead, I fired back. “What is going on?”
She didn’t flinch. Just reached into her pocket and pulled out a snack some kind of chocolate bar, I think. 
She unwrapped it. Took a bite. Didn’t say a damn word.
I watched her walk over to a chair, plop down, swing her legs like it was recess time, and continue munching away like this was her show and I was just background noise.
No answers were coming from her not while I was standing around asking politely. So I limped toward the door. I had to regroup, report, anything but before I could grab the handle, she called out.
“You’ll be killed if you go out.” Her voice didn’t tremble. No fear. Just fact.
I turned around slowly, glaring. She was still chewing.
“Yeah?” I said, walking over, ripping the snack out of her hand. “Then you better start talking. Now.”
She shrugged like I just took a stick of gum instead of her chocolate, then leaned forward a bit, and whispered “Siren.”
What?
I kept my cool and asked carefully, “Why did you say that name?”
Zero’s expression changed again. That blank mask dropped for a moment serious now. Sharp. Focused. “Why do you know Siren?”
There it was. That question again flipped back at me.
I had to think fast.“I heard it. From the locals,” I lied smoothly. “Just stories. You know… creepy mafia whispers, that kind of thing.”
She didn’t react. Just stared like she could hear the lie through my teeth. But she didn’t press. She sat calmly on that chair, legs swinging, now watching me like I was the one being interrogated.
I took a breath, wiped the sweat off my brow, and limped a few steps closer.
“Are you… working under Siren’s orders?” No games. I asked it straight.
Zero blinked once. No hesitation. “Yes.”
Just like that.
I stared at her, not sure if I was more shocked by the answer or how easy she gave it.
“Then why?” I asked, slowly. “The locals here… they talk about Siren like the devil in designer heels. not the good guy, kid. So why are you helping them?
Zero frowned. It wasn’t the confused look of a child it was something else.
“Because I’m alive.” She said it like it was the most obvious answer in the world. “I was supposed to die,” she added softly. “A long time ago. But they saved me. they gave me a home. A name. Food. I was nothing before them.”
"You really think she’s the good guy?”
Zero shook her head. “I don’t know what that means. I just know… I don’t want them to be mad.”
Her voice dropped lower. Her eyes darted to the woman lying dead nearby. “I wasn’t supposed to tell you anything. If they finds out a tourist knew about us… they’ll be angry. I don’t want that.”
I knelt down slowly in front of her, ignoring the sting in my leg. " But what you don’t know is there are people out there that they hurt.”
She looked down. Her small fingers tightened on her knees.
For a second, she didn’t say a word.
Then…
That damn beeping again.
It came from the back of the room like a subtle countdown. Before I could even stand fully, Zero was already moving. She didn’t say a word. No goodbye, no warning, nothing. She just stood up, walked to the door, and slipped out like we hadn’t just witnessed a gunfight or a woman seizing on the floor.
Curious and still suspicious I limped over to the dusty window and peeked out.
People were coming out of the other doors nearby. Calm. Casual. Like nothing happened. A man lit a cigarette. Two women walked side by side, chatting like it was laundry day.
I shook my head, checked my surroundings, and slipped out the apartment door. As soon as I stepped into the sunlight and tried to blend in with the foot traffic, I felt it—
Tap.
A hand on my back. I froze instinctively. My fingers were already curling toward my concealed weapon before I turned.
“What the—”
And then I saw him.
Agent Tiger. He looked at me like I’d just risen from the grave. Before I could even open my mouth
“What the hell are you doing here?” He grabbed me by the arm and yanked me into a tight alleyway between two buildings like we were about to do a damn drug deal.
“Nice to see you too,” I muttered, still trying to process how the hell he got here.
Agent Tiger didn’t smile. “Italy’s locked down tighter than Fort Knox, Agent Mike”
He scoffed. “. Who sent you?”
I leaned closer, eyes narrowing. “Question is… who sent you, Agent Tiger?”
I didn’t even think twice. The second my brain connected the dots my hand pulled the Glock from under my coat and raised it fast, dead-on aimed at Agent Tiger’s chest.
He didn’t even flinch. “Easy, Mike.” He lifted both hands, eyes calm but focused.
“You’re not wrong for being paranoid but if I was here to shoot you, I wouldn’t have tapped your shoulder like a damn neighbor returning sugar.”
I kept the barrel steady. “You and Leon. You both just happen to be in Italy"
“I’m not with Leon,” he cut in, voice sharp but controlled. “That’s the reason I’m here Agent Mike. I’m following him.”
My grip didn’t loosen.
“Under whose order?”
He shook his head. “No one’s. This is personal.”
That made me pause. Tiger wasn’t the kind of guy to toss words like personal around. The guy followed rules like they were his religion. So, if he went off-book, it meant something serious was going on. Still, I didn’t lower my gun until he slowly stepped back and pointed toward a narrow hallway to the left.
“It’s not safe to talk here,” he muttered, eyes scanning the rooftops. “Come on. I know a place.”
We ducked into a crumbling building,
Agent Tiger didn’t waste time. “Leon’s been off for a while,” he started, standing near a boarded-up window, arms crossed. “But after your little president-kidnapping confrontation I started digging.”
He added “I think it’s more personal than business.”
I blinked. “What do you mean”
Tiger exhaled hard, like he’s been sitting on this theory too long. “ he knows Siren won’t kill him. And she knows he won’t kill her. At least… not yet.”
He turned, finally meeting my eyes. “A long history one, Mike. One that goes deeper than anything on file. And if I’m right, Leon’s confidence in Italy? It’s not because he’s reckless. It’s because he knows he’s safe. Not from the mafia. Not from us. From her.”
Agent Tiger squinted at me. Hard. “You really came here without knowing anything, didn’t you?”
“You really don’t know anything, Agent.”
I bit the inside of my cheek, looked away, exhaled slow. He wasn’t wrong. I had been digging but every answer just led to a darker question. Frustrated? Yeah. A little. Okay, a lot.
Then Tiger added another jab, one that didn’t miss. “So the Director didn’t tell you anything about Siren? Who she really is? What she’s capable of? Don’t tell me you just went along with his decision to send you here?”
I didn’t answer. Couldn’t. Tiger let out this half-laugh, dry and bitter like he’s been through this road before. “Do you really trust the Agency that much, Mike?” he said, eyes narrowing.
“The Director?”
I clenched my jaw, fists balled up at my sides. I wanted to say yes. That I had a plan. That I wasn’t just stumbling around Italy hoping my gut would magically solve this.
But all I had was instinct.
So I just looked at him and said, “I trust the truth. That’s it.”
Tiger gave me this look. Like maybe I’d just passed some test or completely failed it. I couldn’t tell.
I crossed my arms and leaned against the chipped brick wall behind me, mind spinning as pieces of my investigation collided with everything Agent Tiger just said.
I looked straight at him. “Then tell me this,” I said, voice low. “Why is the Director so afraid of her? Of Agent Shade?”
The moment that name left my mouth, I could almost see the chill crawl down Tiger’s neck like even he didn’t like saying it out loud. But instead of answering right away, he just… smirked.
“Agent Dereck didn’t tell you anything?” he asked, brows raised like I was the punchline to some inside joke.
I blinked. “Dereck? What the hell does Dereck have to do with—”
And then it hit me. That lool Dereck gave me that day. He knew something. Maybe a lot of things.
Tiger chuckled again, shaking his head. “Of course. You don’t know.”
“President Ford was the one who deleted Agent Shade’s identity. Wiped her out of every global system. CIA, Interpol, AIA… it was a full blackout. Only a few of us even remember she existed.”
I stayed quiet, breath caught in my throat.
“But here’s the kicker,” he added. “It didn’t kill her, Mike. It made her more powerful. Untouchable. Off-the-record means off-the-grid, she became her own shadow.”
My jaw tightened. “But why?” “What did Shade know that made the President wipe her clean from the world?”
Tiger just gave me a look. Then dropped another bomb like it was just a side note “Agent Dereck knew who she really was. Hell, he might’ve even known why President Ford put a bounty on her head.”
I stared at him, pulse loud in my ears.
“And I’m guessing you already knew who Dereck really was too… right?” Tiger said, stepping closer.
“The question is did you ever stop to ask what he knew? Or were you too busy chasing ghosts?”
Agent Tiger was leaning against the crumbling wall, eyes unfocused, like he was being haunted by ghosts only he could see. His voice was calmer now but heavy, like every word carried weight.
“A long time ago… back when I was still a rookie,” he started, “I heard the name Shade. At first, it was just whispers. A legend. No face. No identity. Just… fear. No one knew who she was. No one dared to ask.”
He glanced at me, almost bitter.“Until I was assigned to a task force. A quiet, off-the-books unit. That’s when I met her, Agent Shade. She didn’t talk much. Kept to herself. But man… she moved like someone who had seen the guts of the world and walked out unshaken.”
I stayed silent, letting him speak. I could tell this wasn’t something he ever really talked about.
“What shocked me the most wasn’t just her skills it was her pull. I watched her walk into meetings with AIA, CIA, FBI heads and speak like she owned the room. Like they answered to her. Even the late President Wallace listened.”
I blinked. Wallace?
“Of course, we were warned,” he went on, “We weren’t supposed to talk to her. We weren’t supposed to question her. But Agent Leon? And Agent Ice? They did.”
Tiger looked down, almost ashamed. “Then one night… I saw her with Director Leo. She was furious, Mike. Screaming, cursing. And then she shot him. Point-blank. Put director in a coma for weeks.”
“Two days later, the Agency was ambushed. Full-on attacks. Bounties on our heads. Director Xu at the time believed it was Shade’s retaliation. So we… we framed her.”
“Branded her rogue. A threat. Criminal.” His voice was tight now, regret seeping through.
“Then President Wallace died. Ford stepped in. And poof Agent Shade never existed. They wiped her from every system. Every log. Every mention.”
“And the agents ? One by one, they were killed.”
He looked at me dead in the eye. “No one survived, just a few others who kept quiet.”
I could feel the chill settle in my chest as I tried to piece the story together. “Years later, word came down… Agent Shade was dead. That’s what they said, what they wanted us to believe. But us Elites?”
“We knew she wasn’t. Leon knew she wasn’t. But we didn’t know where she was.”
He sighed, the exhaustion clear. “Then rumors started from the underground about someone named Siren. And it all connected. But by then, She was untouchable. Powerful. Far too deep. And we? We were already too late.”
I shook my head, voice low and tense.
“That still doesn’t answer the truth…” Tiger looked at me, jaw clenched.
“The truth? It’s layered. Twisted. We kept digging and found rot so deep we couldn’t even see the bottom.”
“You want to know the truth?” he said, stepping closer.
“You’re already standing in it. And if you’re not careful, it’ll bury you like the rest of us.”
Agent Tiger glanced at his watch like we were on a schedule I didn’t even know existed. He clicked his tongue once, stood straight, and looked me dead in the eye. “Let’s go.”
I squinted at him, eyebrows raised. “Go where?”
He already started walking toward the exit, casually tossing back over his shoulder “To where Agent Leon is.”
I blinked, then took a step forward, just to make sure I heard him right. “Wait, you know where Leon is? And you just now mention it?”
He shrugged like it was no big deal. “Was waiting to see if you’d start connecting dots. You didn’t, so now I’m dragging you.”
I jogged to catch up with him, my mind racing. “Hold up! how do you even know where he is?”
He didn’t stop walking. Just said “Because I’ve been following him longer than you have. He moves like a ghost, but even ghosts leave traces if you know where to look. Plus,” he gave me a quick side glance, “I’ve got a few eyes on the ground.”