I want to become a killer

The aftermath was swift. Within hours of the broadcast, the world had turned upside down. News stations couldn't stop reporting on the revelations we had exposed, showing footage of powerful politicians and corporate elites scrambling to save face. Public outcry was immediate, as protests erupted in major cities around the world. The data had opened Pandora's box, and now everyone wanted answers.

Zenith, however, wasn't the kind of organization to crumble so easily. It was like a hydra, and cutting off one head only made more appear. But for the first time, the world was looking directly at it.

I sat in the dim room with Alan and Mara, watching the chaos unfold on a cracked screen. News anchors, one after another, spoke about the data dump, about the names we had exposed, the murders, the political manipulations, the blackmail, the wars they had engineered from the shadows. It was overwhelming, but not unexpected. Zenith had always operated in secrecy, and now, that secrecy was gone.

But as much as I should have felt triumphant, I didn't. Something gnawed at me. I felt no relief, only the cold weight of what was to come. The world had seen the truth, but that truth was a dangerous thing. It would be used to destroy or to build, and no one knew which side would win.

"Have you heard from our contacts?" Alan asked, breaking my reverie. His voice was flat, almost mechanical, as if he had compartmentalized his emotions and locked them away for the moment.

Mara, still typing furiously on her laptop, didn't look up. "Some are already mobilizing. Others... not so much. They're too afraid to get involved now that the spotlight's on Zenith. They know the consequences."

I nodded grimly. Fear was Zenith's greatest weapon, and it was one they used with ruthless precision. Their reach was vast. Anyone who stood up against them had a price to pay, and I knew that better than anyone. But we had already crossed the line. There was no turning back now.

"You know what this means, right?" I said, my voice cold and unwavering. "They'll come for us. They'll come for everyone who helped us."

Alan's jaw tightened. He'd always been pragmatic, but now, I could see the strain of everything we'd done wearing on him. The risk was higher than ever, and yet, it was the only way forward.

"We fight back," Alan replied simply.

Mara looked up for the first time, her expression grim. "And how do we do that, Alan? Zenith has eyes everywhere. We can't just go public again. They'll hunt us down."

"Then we go underground," I said. "We find those who can help us fight back from the shadows. The ones who won't hesitate to strike when the time comes."

There was silence for a moment. The weight of my words hung in the air. We weren't just fighting for survival anymore. We were fighting to change the system, to dismantle an empire that had caused untold damage to the world.

Alan turned his attention to the screen, his eyes narrowing. "We need to find leverage. Something more than just data. Something that will make Zenith bleed."

I leaned back in my chair, staring at the screen as the chaos unfolded. As much as the data had shocked the world, it was only the first step. The real battle was just beginning. We needed to be smart, to stay ahead of Zenith's retaliation. Their agents would be hunting us now, and we couldn't afford to be careless.

"The problem," I said, "is that we've made them aware of us. Now they know we're a threat. And Zenith doesn't let threats live."

Alan nodded, his face a mask of determination. "So we eliminate the threat."

"We do this right, and we might be able to put them on the defensive," I said, my mind racing. "But we can't do it alone. We need allies. And we need to stay hidden. No more mistakes."

Mara's fingers paused over her keyboard as she looked up at me, a flicker of hope in her eyes. "You think there are still people out there who can help us?"

I leaned forward, my gaze steady. "I know there are. People who want change. People who are willing to take down Zenith, no matter the cost."

Alan stood up, pacing again, his eyes scanning the shadows. "The problem is that we're not just dealing with one person or one faction. We're dealing with a global network. They'll have agents everywhere—tracking us, waiting for us to make a mistake."

"You're right," I replied, my voice low. "But they don't know what we're capable of. They don't know how far we're willing to go to finish what we started."

The tension in the room was palpable. Each of us was grappling with the enormity of what lay ahead. We had exposed Zenith, but we had also exposed ourselves. And now, there was no more hiding in the shadows.

"We can't stay in this safe house forever," Alan said, his voice tinged with urgency. "We need a new plan. A way to strike back before they can regroup."

I looked at Mara, then back at Alan. We were all in this together, for better or for worse.

"We need to go to ground," I said finally. "We find the people who are still loyal to the cause. We connect with those who are willing to fight, not just against Zenith, but for a new world. A world where organizations like Zenith no longer exist."

Mara nodded slowly. "And what do we do once we've got their support?"

"We make them bleed," I replied, my voice hardening with conviction. "We take away their power. Their money. Their connections. We cripple them from the inside."

Alan grinned, a dark, cold smile. "I like the sound of that."

The path ahead was unclear, and the danger was more real than ever. But we had made our choice. There was no going back.

Zenith would fall.

And we would be the ones to bring it down.

.....

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