I want to become a killer

The plan was set. We were going after the pieces of the access codes—each one hidden in places where danger lurked, where Zenith's influence was most powerful. It wasn't a matter of whether we could do it; it was about how far we were willing to go to make sure Zenith's reign was ended.

Cipher, ever the strategist, took the first piece of the plan. His target: the government facility in Maryland. The code was supposedly locked in a vault deep inside, surrounded by layers of encryption, firewalls, and guards. The odds were stacked against him, but that was why we had Cipher. No system was too complex for him, no wall too high.

Mara would take the second piece, tracking down a former Zenith insider who had defected. The target wasn't just a person but a ghost—a former executive who had vanished off the radar years ago. He knew too much about Zenith's operations, and if anyone could get the second part of the code, it was him.

As for me, I was heading to the third piece—the trickiest of them all. The database that housed the final part of the code was protected by a man who only went by the name "The Architect." A digital genius, a shadow in the world of codes and encryption, The Architect was notorious for working in secrecy, leaving no trace of his involvement. He'd vanished years ago, slipping off the grid and into hiding. Getting close to him meant risking everything—and once we had the code, we couldn't afford to be caught.

I couldn't shake the feeling that the closer we got to the truth, the closer we were to Zenith's wrath.

We split into our respective teams and made our way out of the safe house, heading in different directions. Cipher was already working his magic, setting up our digital footprint so Zenith wouldn't know we were coming. Alan and I would handle the more physical aspect of things. He was the muscle, the one who could hold his own in a fight, if it came to that.

I stared out the window of the car as we sped through the streets. The city was alive with the pulse of a thousand people, each of them unaware of the dark forces at play just beneath the surface. I felt a chill crawl down my spine. It wasn't just about survival anymore. This was a war, and we were on the front lines.

The warehouse in New York was our meeting point, the place where we would regroup once we had all the pieces. It was a nondescript building, tucked away in a part of the city few people dared to venture. Inside, we would make our final preparations before taking the fight to Zenith itself.

I pulled up to a dingy motel near the outskirts of town and checked into a room. The plan was to lay low for the night, rest, and prepare for tomorrow. But I couldn't sleep. The tension was too thick. Every minute we wasted brought us closer to the danger lurking in the shadows.

I knew I had to be ready. But was I ready?

A knock on the door broke my thoughts.

I stood and opened it to find Alan standing there, his face grim. He had been quieter than usual, as if he was processing something.

"We're not alone," he said, his voice low. "There's someone watching us."

I felt the hairs on the back of my neck rise. Zenith's reach was everywhere.

"Who?" I asked, my pulse quickening.

"I don't know. But we need to move. Now."

I nodded, grabbing my jacket and gun. I knew this was it. The walls were closing in, and the more time we spent lingering in one place, the more vulnerable we became.

We moved quickly, slipping out of the motel and into the alley behind it. The sounds of the city echoed faintly in the distance, but I didn't trust it. I had the feeling that whoever was watching us was closer than we thought.

Alan led the way through the back streets, keeping his head low. We had no time to waste.

As we approached the rendezvous point, I saw Mara already waiting for us. She was sharp as ever, her eyes scanning the area like a hawk.

"You're both late," she said, but there was no malice in her tone. Just the calm, steady voice of someone who was always ready for what came next.

"We had company," Alan explained, his eyes flicking around nervously. "Zenith's goons are on to us."

Mara frowned, clearly concerned. "That's not good. We can't afford to be compromised before we even get started."

I stepped forward, my mind already racing with plans. "We don't have a choice. We move now. We get what we need, then we regroup."

Cipher's voice crackled through the earpiece. "The system's ready. But you need to hurry. We've got less than an hour before their internal alert system goes live."

I clenched my jaw. "Understood. We'll make it work."

We piled into the car again, my fingers gripping the seat as we sped toward our destinations. This time, there would be no turning back.

I knew what was waiting for us on the other side—the final battle against Zenith—but I also knew we had a shot. The pieces were falling into place, and once we had the full code, we could finally begin to dismantle the empire that had controlled us all for so long.

But as we neared the first stop, I couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. The world was shifting beneath our feet, and we might not survive it.

.....

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