The meeting point was an upscale restaurant Audrey had rented out entirely.
Melissa stood on the sidewalk, squinting at the "Closed for Private Event" sign.
"Isn't this a bit much, Audrey?" Melissa asked, her voice flat.
"I just want to spoil her rotten," Audrey replied, smoothing her designer coat.
"By renting the entire restaurant?"
"Don't be such a drama queen. Let's get inside."
The interior was hollow, the clink of silverware absent.
But the silence was broken the moment a small streak of sunlight in a silk dress spotted them.
"Papa Bear!!" the little girl shrieked, her face lighting up with pure electricity.
"Baby Bear!" Melissa knelt just in time to catch the five-year-old impact.
They collided in a tangle of hugs and laughter.
"How have you been?" Melissa asked, tucking a stray hair behind the girl's ear.
"I'm very well, thank you," Sofia said, suddenly sitting upright.
"Aunty Orange has been teaching me etiquette."
Melissa raised an eyebrow. "And how long will that last?"
Sofia leaned in, whispering, "Not for long."
"Sofia, behave yourself," Audrey warned.
The girl's face twisted into a scowl.
"I don't like it when you call me Sofia. Call me Baby Bear!"
"Oh, please let her act her age," Melissa defended.
Audrey shot her a look of pure dissatisfaction, but Melissa ignored it, turning back to the child.
"Now, is Baby ready to go see Mummy Bear and Aunty Bear?"
"Yes!!"
Audrey groaned, heading for the bar.
"Really? Mummy Bear and Aunty Bear? Why do you want this girl to act like a child?"
"Because she's five, for Pete's sake! Why do you want her to act like a diplomat?" Melissa countered.
"I'm going to take a glass of champagne," Audrey muttered in defeat.
Melissa turned back to the girl.
"So, Baby, how do you feel about moving back with us?"
"I'm super duper excited!"
The heavy mahogany doors swung open and Derrick stepped in.
He wasn't just walking; he was vibrating.
His eyes darted to the windows, his skin a shade of sickly pale.
"Derrick? You look panicked," Melissa noted, her internal alarms beginning to hum.
"I'm fine. Just thirsty." He grabbed a glass and gulped the water down like he'd been trekking through a desert.
Audrey and Derrick locked eyes, a rapid sequence of hand signals passing between them—a silent, desperate code.
"Is there something you guys would like to say?" Melissa asked, her voice dropping an octave.
"Um, I have an idea," Audrey said, her voice forced.
"Let's go somewhere fun. The beach? A theater? A picnic?"
"Let's go have pizza!" Sofia cheered.
CRACK.
The floor-to-ceiling glass vanished, replaced by a storm of crystalline shards.
"Fuck!" Derrick screamed.
The rhythmic thud-thud-thud of suppressed gunfire tore into the upholstery.
Melissa reacted before her brain could register the fear.
She lunged, sweeping Sofia off her feet and diving beneath the heavy oak table.
"What the fuck is going on, Audrey?" Melissa hissed as plaster rained down on them.
"We need to get out of here! Car is at the curb!" Derrick yelled.
"Go! Move!" Audrey commanded.
Melissa gathered Sofia into her arms, pinning the girl to her chest as she made a tactical dash for the exit.
They scrambled into the black SUV.
The engine roared to life just as three dark sedans screeched around the corner.
As the chase intensified, Melissa felt the world start to slip.
The smell of the leather, the sound of the tires—it triggered a blackout.
A dark, jagged memory of her past began to bleed into the present.
She froze, her hands trembling, her eyes glazing over.
"Melissa! Snap out of it!" Audrey screamed, shaking her.
"You can't blackout now! We need you! Sofia needs you!"
"Papa Bear... I'm scared," Sofia whimpered, her tiny hand gripping Melissa's sleeve.
The touch was an electric shock.
Melissa's eyes snapped into focus, cold and sharp as flint.
She pulled the girl into a crushing embrace.
"It's okay. Papa Bear's got you." She looked at Derrick.
"Start talking. Now."
"I accidentally stole a top-secret file from the Russian government," Audrey shouted over the wind.
"They've been tracking me for three days."
"Then give it to them!"
"I can't! It contains the blueprints to wipe out half the earth's population!"
Melissa stared at her. "So your honeymoon was fake?"
"It was our escape plan! We needed you to take Sofia so she'd be safe!"
SMASH.
The rear window disintegrated.
"Give them the file, goddamn it!" Melissa roared.
"I don't have the freaking file!" Audrey wailed.
"How was I supposed to know that playing a high-stakes video game on the dark web would download a genocide mission into my hard drive?"
"You're running for your life and you rented a restaurant?!"
"I didn't know they'd find me so easily!"
"We're talking about the Russians, Audrey!" Derrick yelled.
Melissa's jaw set.
"We can't go to the police. We take matters into our own hands. Baby Bear, Papa Bear needs you to be brave. Bend down and stay put." She looked at Audrey.
"Headphones. Now."
Audrey fished them out of her bag.
Melissa jammed them onto Sofia's head, cranking the volume to drown out the world.
"Audrey, grab a gun. Derrick, move over. Let me drive."
"What?" they both yelled.
"You drive like an old lady, Derrick. Scooch!"
They swapped seats in a chaotic blur of limbs as the SUV swerved.
Melissa gripped the wheel, her eyes locked on the road with predatory intent.
"Derrick, get us off the grid. Hack the satellites, the traffic lights—everything. Audrey, buy me time!"
"On it!" Audrey hit a button. A hidden compartment beneath the passenger seat clicked open, revealing a matte-black submachine gun.
"Derrick, be my eyes!"
"Sharp right!"
Audrey leaned out, firing a controlled burst.
The lead pursuer's driver slumped over; the car veered wildly, slamming into a brick wall.
"Watch the school bus!!"
Melissa slammed the brakes, the SUV performing a violent, smoking donut to avoid the yellow bus.
A second car pulled alongside, a passenger aiming an AK-47.
"Shit! Get down!"
Melissa ducked as bullets stitched a line across the dashboard.
She whipped the wheel, ramming the side of the enemy car and sending it spinning.
"Babe, pass me the bullets!" Audrey shouted.
Derrick pulled a box of ammunition from his bag.
"You just carry that with you?" Melissa barked.
"Just in case!"
"Derrick, find me the beach!"
"Up ahead, left!"
Melissa drifted through the intersection.
The SUV was riddled with holes now.
Suddenly, Audrey hissed, clutching her arm.
"Darling, are you alright?" Derrick gasped.
"Just get us out of sight!" Audrey groaned.
"Melissa, take a right... no, your other right!"
Melissa slammed the car into reverse, tires screaming, then floored it onto the right-hand ramp.
They barreled onto a massive bridge, the gray Atlantic churning hundreds of feet below.
"Melissa, don't tell me you're going to jump," Derrick whispered, his face turning ghostly.
"Hang on tight," Melissa said, her voice a low, terrifying calm.
"Are you crazy? Melissa, we're all going to die!" Audrey screamed.
Melissa didn't answer. She didn't slow down.
She aimed the SUV directly at the concrete barrier and pressed the pedal to the floor.
The world went silent for a heartbeat as the metal snapped, and they plummeted into the abyss.