Kyle didn't like this plan.
Hell, he didn't like anything about this.
Felix led the way through the darkened city streets, moving like he owned the night. His confidence grated on Kyle's nerves, but Gia had insisted they at least listen to the guy.
Kyle walked close beside her, his eyes constantly scanning their surroundings. The Order could be anywhere. Watching. Waiting.
Gia tugged on his sleeve. "You're glaring again."
Kyle blinked. "I'm not."
"You are," she teased, a small smirk on her lips.
Felix snorted ahead of them. "She's got you figured out already, huh?"
Kyle ignored him and focused on Gia. "You sure you're okay to be walking around? You're still recovering."
She gave him a look. "I'm fine, Kyle. You don't have to hover."
He wanted to argue, but she wasn't wrong. He just—
Damn it. He cared too much.
He cared about her.
And he didn't trust Felix at all.
The Meeting
Felix finally stopped in front of an old, abandoned bookstore. The sign was half-broken, swinging slightly in the breeze.
"This is it?" Kyle asked, unimpressed.
Felix shot him a grin. "You expected a high-tech lab?"
Kyle scowled. "I expected less dust."
Felix ignored him and knocked on the door three times. Then twice. Then once.
A few seconds passed. Then, the sound of a dozen locks clicking open filled the silence.
The door creaked open just enough for a single glowing eye to peer out.
"…You brought guests," a voice rasped.
Kyle tensed immediately. Something about this person felt off.
Felix lifted his hands. "Relax, Doc. These two need your help."
The door opened wider, revealing a man in his late forties, wearing a tattered lab coat and thick-rimmed glasses. His left eye was cybernetic, glowing a faint blue.
Kyle hated him already.
The scientist's gaze landed on Kyle first. His eyes flickered with recognition. "Ah. The Blood Weapon."
Kyle's fingers twitched. His blood simmered beneath his skin, waiting. "And you are?"
The man smirked. "The one who used to be responsible for containing people like you."
Kyle almost lunged right there.
Gia grabbed his wrist. "Kyle—"
Felix chuckled. "Easy, hotshot. He's on our side now."
Kyle seriously doubted that.
The scientist stepped back, gesturing them inside. "Come in. Unless you'd rather be out here when The Order finds you."
Kyle clenched his teeth and stepped inside.
A Dangerous Truth
The room was filled with old equipment, stacks of documents, and glowing monitors displaying classified data.
Kyle's eyes locked onto a screen showing a list of experiments.
Subject 06: Terminated.
Subject 11: Failed Extraction.
Subject 15: Pending Dissection.
His stomach twisted.
The scientist followed his gaze and smirked. "Familiar with their work?"
Kyle's fingers curled into fists. "What do you know?"
The scientist leaned back in his chair. "I know The Order is closer than ever to fully extracting abilities. Permanently."
Gia stiffened. "But… that's not possible, right?"
The scientist's cybernetic eye flickered. "It wasn't. Until now."
Kyle's blood went cold.
"They were going to try it on me," he muttered.
The scientist nodded. "And they still will. If they catch you again."
Kyle felt Gia's grip tighten on his wrist.
Felix exhaled. "That's why we're here, Doc. We need to know how to stop them."
The scientist chuckled. "Oh, it's simple."
Kyle raised an eyebrow. "Somehow, I doubt that."
The scientist leaned forward, his voice dropping to a whisper.
"You don't stop them by running. You destroy them."
Silence filled the room.
Kyle could feel Gia's heartbeat racing beside him.
Felix grinned. "Now we're talking."
Kyle exhaled slowly. He knew there was no turning back now.
Because if The Order wanted war?
Then war was exactly what they were going to get.
______