The city never slept.
But tonight, it watched.
Billboards flickered across downtown—luxury ads, stock tickers, breaking news… and then one more screen came to life.
A woman's face appeared.
Her face.
ELARA GREY – ALIAS: THE VIPER – TERMINATION BOUNTY: $10 MILLION.
Within minutes, every mercenary, hacker, and underground soldier in the city knew the name.
And they all wanted the reward.
Inside Velletto Tower, Adrian stood at the glass wall of his office, phone buzzing with nonstop alerts.
"They've put a global mark on her," Rylan's voice came through the comm line.
"She can't even step outside without triggering every scanner in the system."
"Let them come," Adrian said, coldly. "I'll bury anyone who tries."
"You can't protect her from all of them."
"I don't have to. I just need to keep her long enough to finish this."
He hung up, staring out at the storm-ridden skyline.
His reflection in the glass looked like a man already halfway to hell.
Downstairs, Elara stood in front of a mirror.
Her hair was tied back; her eyes were sharper, harder. She'd changed into a black combat jacket.
A faint pulse of light blinked at the edge of her wrist.
A Council tracer mark.
Injected while she slept, most likely by Taron's device.
She tried scraping it.
Cutting it.
Nothing worked. The mark glowed faintly red—alive, pulsing with her heartbeat.
"They're tracking you," Adrian said from the doorway.
"I figured," she replied, not turning.
"It's coded to your DNA. The only way to remove it is to kill the signal source."
"And where is that?"
"The Council's central node."
Elara looked up.
"Where?"
"Under the ocean," he said.
"In a vault city they call Echelon. No one's ever breached it."
"Then we'll be the first."
Adrian stepped closer, his voice low.
"You're not thinking clearly. The moment they sense you near Echelon, they'll detonate that mark."
She looked him straight in the eyes.
"Then you better make sure I get there before they press the button."
Later that night.
The tower's power flickered once. Then twice.
And then went completely dark.
Elara's instincts flared.
She pulled Adrian back just as the first explosive charge detonated in the lobby.
Smoke. Screams. Footsteps.
The Council's bounty hunters had arrived.
"Stay behind me," Adrian ordered.
"Not a chance."
She kicked the desk forward, sending it crashing into the nearest intruder, and fired twice.
Her movements were clean, mechanical—no hesitation, no wasted effort.
Viper.
Adrian fought beside her—fluid, precise, every strike designed to protect her flanks.
But even he couldn't hide the flicker of pride in his eyes.
"You've been holding back," he said between shots.
"I told you. I react."
"I prefer this version of you."
"Careful," she said, reloading. "She doesn't fall in love easily."
He smirked.
"Who said anything about love?"
They both turned as the elevator doors slid open.
A dozen black-clad operatives poured in—each bearing the serpent-and-sword crest.
At their center stood a tall man in white.
The Council's Executor.
"Viper," he said smoothly. "You were never meant to live this long."
Elara raised her weapon.
"Tell your masters I'm done dying for them."
He smiled faintly.
"Then let's end your afterlife."
Gunfire lit the tower like thunder.
When the smoke cleared, Elara was standing over a body.
Blood pooled near her boots.
She turned to Adrian, breathing hard.
"They won't stop."
"Neither will I," he said simply.
He touched her wrist—the tracer mark still pulsing faintly.
"Then we go to Echelon," she said.
"You're serious?"
"I was born in their shadow," she replied. "It's time I burned it down."
Adrian's jaw tightened.
"If we go there, there's no turning back."
"Good."
She holstered her gun, stepped closer, and whispered—
"Because this time, I decide who lives and who doesn't."