Gunshots tore through the silence. The world shattered into chaos.
"MOVE!" Blitz shouted, grabbing Specter and pulling her down as bullets ripped through the walls behind them.
Glass exploded. Concrete cracked. The sound of impact echoed like thunder.
Vex didn't move. Not at first. Her eyes were still locked on him. Phantom.
Another shot rang out... Closer. Too close.
"VEX!" Specter yelled. That snapped her out of it. Vex dropped low just as a bullet tore past where she had been standing seconds ago.
"Snipers—north and east corners!" Specter shouted, scanning rapidly. "We're surrounded!"
"No kidding!" Blitz snapped, firing back blindly. "Who the hell set us up?!"
Phantom stood still in the middle of it all. Untouched. Unbothered. Like the bullets weren't meant for him. Because they weren't.
Vex's eyes narrowed. "…You knew."
A faint smirk. "Of course I did."
Rage flared. Blitz stepped forward. "I'm taking him down!"
"STOP!" Vex's voice cut through the gunfire. Blitz froze. Specter turned sharply.
And in that split second, another sniper adjusted position. A red dot landed on Specter's chest.
"Alisa." The name slipped from Phantom's lips. Soft. Urgent.
Time slowed. His eyes flickered. For the first time, there was something else in them. Not mockery. Not calm. Fear.
"DOWN!" He moved. Faster than any of them expected.
A gunshot cracked, Phantom shoved Specter aside. The bullet hit him instead.
Silence. Specter hit the ground hard, her breath knocked out of her. Her eyes widened. "…What?"
Phantom staggered slightly. But didn't fall.
Blitz stared. "…Did he just"
"GET UP!" Phantom snapped, his voice sharp now. Real. Urgent. "This place is rigged to collapse!"
Another explosion shook the building. The ceiling above them cracked.
"What are you doing?!" Blitz shouted. "He's the target!"
Specter didn't move. Her eyes were still on him. "…Why?"
Phantom looked at her. Just for a second. "…Because you were never supposed to be here."
Vex stepped forward. Her voice low. Dangerous. "…You don't get to decide that."
Phantom's gaze shifted to her. And for a moment, everything else faded. "…You still hesitate," he said quietly.
Vex raised her gun. This time, steady. "Don't mistake it for weakness."
Another explosion. Closer. The floor trembled beneath them.
"ARGH... this place is coming down!" Blitz shouted. "We need to move NOW!"
Phantom turned away first. Toward a hidden exit behind a shattered wall.
"Go," he said. No one moved.
"I said GO!" This time, it wasn't a suggestion.
Specter pushed herself up slowly. Still watching him. Still trying to understand. "Move!" Blitz grabbed her arm.
But Specter didn't follow immediately. "…Come with us," she said.
Silence. Phantom didn't turn back. "I'm not your ally."
Her chest tightened. "…You just saved me."
A pause.
"…Don't make it mean something it doesn't." The words were cold. But his voice, wasn't.
Debris began to fall. The structure groaning louder with every second. Blitz pulled Specter harder this time. "WE'RE LEAVING!"
Specter finally moved. But her eyes, never left him.
Vex was the last to turn. She met his gaze one final time. So many questions.
No answers. Then, she ran.
The three of them escaped just as the building collapsed behind them, swallowed by fire and dust.
Silence returned. Broken. Heavy.
Blitz bent over, catching her breath. "…What the hell just happened?"
Specter stood still. Hands trembling slightly. "…He saved me."
Vex didn't respond. She was staring at the burning ruins. Her expression unreadable.
But inside everything was shifting. Because Phantom was supposed to be their enemy.
And yet, he chose to save one of them. Not her. Not Blitz. Specter.
And that was the most dangerous thing of all.
TBC