Allen stepped out of the chamber without haste. He closed the reinforced door behind him.
His face remained calm. He reached into his pocketm. Pulled out a compact communicator and tapped a coded sequence without looking down.
The line connected.
"Sako Murasaki," Allen said in a greetings.
"Listen carefully. There will be an assassination attempt tonight."
A short pause followed on the other end.
"Go immediately. Find Julio Santana and take him with you. Do not alert the crowd or any member."
He lowered the communicator slowly.
.....
Midnight wrapped the city in a heavy stillness.
The distant hum of power lines and the occasional bark of a stray dog were the only sounds that dared to break the silence.
Sako Murasaki walked casually on the street. Hands tucked casually into the pockets of his fitted black shirt.
His posture was confident.
That made strangers move aside without knowing why. His black hair was neat, unmoving despite the slow wind that drifted through the street.
Beside him, Julio Santana walked with equal composure. Her dark skin caught the streetlight in warm tones and her light yellow hair.
The fancy dress she wore made her look like someone returning from a celebration, not someone walking toward danger.
Sako Murasaki slowed his steps as the junction opened into a wide car parking area.
The place had been marked earlier. An ordinary location on the map.
Julio Santana walked beside him with her usual mix of ease and awareness.
She looked relaxed on the surface. Scanning corners, rooftops and reflections in car windows.
They stopped near the edge of the parking area. Sako raised one hand slightly, signaling her to halt.
"Stay behind me and don't do anything until I say."
Julio leaned slightly to the side.
"I see movement." she whispered. "Four… no, five figures near the far gate. They are placing something deliberately."
Sako narrowed his eyes. Focusing on the distant silhouettes crouched near the outer wall.
"…They are breaching security points. Look at their spacing. That is coordinated placement."
Julio's expression hardened slightly.
"They're attacking the Martial's home? Right now… while the entire city thinks he is safe among allies?"
Sako exhaled slowly, gaze fixed on the figures ahead.
"Yes, and that means this isn't chaos… this is intention. We will observe until we understand exactly who they believe they are killing tonight."
The masked figures crouched near the wall.
"…You placed it wrong earlier. If the timing slips, the conflict begins before the signal." one of them muttered.
"It won't slip. We will follow the sequence exactly."
From a short distance away, Sako Murasaki adjusted his posture and began walking straight toward them.
His steps carried no urgency or suspicion. The masked figures barely reacted, assuming he belonged there.
He stepped into the lift lobby, pressed the button once. Then turned his head slightly toward them.
"Who are you?" Sako asked suddenly but casual at the same time.
"Maintenance crew at midnight… without clearance tags?"
"Shut up. Mind your own business and leave." one of the masked one said.
The words had barely settled when movement exploded behind them.
Julio Santana attacked in like a viper from behind. Her heel struck the first man's knee with surgical force, forcing it inward with a sharp crack before he could even turn.
At the same instant, her palm snapped upward into another man's throat. Just enough to steal breath and collapse his balance.
She spun low, sweeping two attackers off their feet in a single flowing arc. Their bodies fell on the ground almost together.
She pivoted again. Driving her elbow into the ribs of a fifth man while her fingers hooked the sixth's wrist, twisting it sharply until the weapon dropped with a metallic clatter.
The seventh tried to shout.
Julio's hand struck the side of his neck with precise force, shutting down his body's response like flipping a switch.
Seven bodies collapsed within a second.
Julio Santana straightened her posture and brushed a strand of pale yellow hair away from her face.
She exhaled once. Then glanced toward Sako Murasaki with a faint smirk curling at the corner of her lips.
"That was easier than I expected. Seven at once and none of them even managed to attack properly. Either they were overconfident… or terribly unlucky tonight."
Sako didn't smile back.
Instead, he crouched beside the nearest body and began pulling a coil of thick rope from his belt. His movements were slow, deliberate, almost unsettling in their patience.
"Don't celebrate too early." he said quietly, voice flat but edged with warning.
"If we hadn't shown up when we did, this place would already be burning… or worse. Look at their placement points. This wasn't vandalism. It was preparation."
Julio's expression shifted slightly as she followed his gaze toward the masked ones.
"You think they were setting bombs?" she asked.
Sako nodded once.
"Not sure. Could be signal charges...?"
Sako grabbed the rope around one man's wrists.
He didn't just tie them. He wound the rope again and again, pulling it so tight the fibers dug into flesh.
The knots were crossing in unnatural patterns that made escape nearly impossible.
One of the unconscious men suddenly jerked awake mid-binding.
"A—ahh—! You—bastard—!"
Sako didn't even look up. He tightened the knot with even more force.
The man's voice came into a strangled groan as pain forced his breath uneven.
"Good. Stay awake. I prefer it when they understand exactly how trapped they are."
Julio watched in him lifting her eyebrows with fancy. Then bit her lips.
"You always tie them like that? Feels excessive… even for you."
Sako finally glanced at her.
"Excessive is when you leave space for regret. I am very busy person as you can see and most importantly, shut up."
He finished binding the last man. Then stood up and wiped his hands once against his shirt as if removing dust.
From his pocket, he pulled out his communicator and tapped the line open.
"Allen Iverson, the area secured. Seven hostiles have been restrained. Send a troop unit here immediately without any noise."
"Yes," he added. "They were setting something up."
He ended the call and slipped the communicator away.
Julio leaned against a nearby car. Folding her arms loosely. Though her eyes remained alert.
"Funny. People think danger looks loud… chaotic… dramatic. But most of the time, it starts exactly like this. Quiet hands doing ugly work in the dark."
Sako gave a low hum of agreement.