"He had a good set of abs, no doubt," Lara muttered to herself.
She was still replaying the image in her head when her phone buzzed.
"Did you get him?" came the voice on the other end.
"No," Lara said quietly. "He slipped away. But there was another guy after him too. I stayed hidden—didn't want attention."
"Good. Don't take risks," the voice warned. "You're a public figure. Stay careful."
"Yeah," Lara replied, already distracted. She ended the call and stared at the dark window.
Who was that guy chasing my target? she wondered. That's not random.
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Meanwhile, in Zain's room—
"I got this from the City B gang leader's right-hand man," Rain said, tossing a pen drive onto the table.
Zain picked it up, plugging it into his Mac. "Good. Something's better than nothing."
He glanced sideways. "You didn't let him go, did you?"
"No," Rain said flatly. "He's dead. No use keeping him alive. And no one will trace it back—he came to City A for a little fun on the side. Didn't tell a soul."
Zain nodded. "Clean, then."
He worked through the files, cracking the password with practiced ease. A moment later, his lips curved slightly. "Got it."
Rain watched him, impressed. "You're scary good at this."
Zain smirked. "What am I not good at?"
Rain didn't miss a beat. "Dating. Oh—sorry. You'd actually have to try that first."
Zain shook his head, half amused. "That's the best insult you've got?"
"It's the truth," Rain grinned.
Zain ignored him and got back to work, forwarding files, making calls, setting things in motion. Within minutes, his team was fully engaged.
"We should be able to shut down their illegal operations by next week," Rain said.
Zain leaned back slightly. "Hopefully."