Geneva – 7:12 PM
Darkness swallowed the command complex.
Backup generators failed.
Emergency lights flickered weakly.
Akanksha moved fast through the corridor, armed and alert. Smoke filled parts of the lower level. Security teams were evacuating officials.
This wasn't just a threat.
It was a coordinated strike.
Her earpiece crackled.
"Preyajeet, status?"
Static.
Then—
"I'm inside Zurich relay core," his voice came through faintly. "We've got internal sabotage. Someone's still here."
Her heart pounded.
"They're attacking both nodes simultaneously."
"Yes," he replied. "And they want us separated."
Gunshots echoed in the background of his comm.
Her breath caught.
"Preyajeet—"
"I'm fine," he said firmly. "Focus on Geneva."
But the sound of impact behind him told another story.
Zurich – Relay Core
Preyajeet moved through dim corridors. Tactical lights flickered.
Masked operatives.
Professional.
Not random extremists.
He neutralized one attacker and accessed the central relay chamber.
There—
A secondary device was wired into the decentralized AI backbone.
Not to destroy it.
To corrupt it.
If triggered, it would inject false ethical overrides into the global cooperative system.
Trust would collapse instantly.
He activated manual lockdown.
"Adrian," he said through comms, "I need remote override."
Adrian's voice responded urgently.
"They're blocking me. Manual disarm required."
Timer: 04:58.
Geneva – Lower Command Floor
Akanksha located the breach.
Explosives had been planted near the transparency server hub.
A final warning.
If detonated—
All public verification logs would vanish.
Proof erased.
She crouched near the device.
Precise wiring.
Military sophistication.
Her hands were steady.
But her mind wasn't.
Her comm crackled again.
"Akanksha," Preyajeet's voice was lower now. "It's a trap."
She paused.
"What do you mean?"
"They want one of us to fail."
Timer: 03:12.
Zurich.
Geneva.
Two countdowns.
One choice.
Unknown Location
The strategist watched both live feeds.
"Human decision stress threshold at peak," the system displayed.
"If they split focus, one objective collapses."
They leaned forward.
"Choose."
Geneva
Akanksha inhaled slowly.
If she stayed—
Geneva would be secured.
But Zurich's core corruption could destabilize the entire alliance.
If she left—
Geneva risked losing transparency forever.
Her heart screamed his name.
Her mind calculated consequences.
Preyajeet's voice came through, calm despite the ticking timer.
"Listen to me."
Silence.
"You don't choose me."
Her eyes closed briefly.
"You choose the mission."
Timer: 01:58.
Zurich
Preyajeet began manually disabling the corruption device.
Complex encryption.
Sweat ran down his temple.
"Adrian, guide me."
Adrian spoke quickly.
"Red wire sequence bypass, then internal chip extraction."
Gunfire echoed again nearby.
Operatives were returning.
Timer: 01:22.
Geneva
Akanksha's device displayed a secure drone access route.
She could remotely assist Zurich.
But Geneva's bomb required physical disarm.
Timer: 01:05.
Her fingers tightened.
Then—
She made the choice.
She stayed.
She cut the Geneva detonator wires in rapid sequence.
Timer: 00:14.
Silence.
The device deactivated.
Geneva secured.
Zurich – 00:09
Preyajeet pulled the final chip free.
The corruption device powered down.
Operatives breached the corridor.
He engaged them, defending the core manually until Swiss security forces arrived.
Silence fell.
Both countdowns stopped.
Unknown Location
The strategist leaned back slowly.
"They chose correctly."
No emotional collapse.
No hesitation error.
Mission first.
Always.
But something unexpected had occurred.
Trust metrics between them—
Increased.
The system displayed:
Emotional resilience: Elevated.
The strategist's expression hardened.
"Phase Four incomplete."
Geneva – Later That Night
The building was restored to partial power.
Akanksha stood alone near the balcony.
Preyajeet entered quietly hours later.
Bruised.
Tired.
Alive.
They didn't speak at first.
He walked toward her.
"You stayed."
She nodded.
"You told me to."
"And you listened."
"I didn't want to."
He smiled faintly.
"I know."
She stepped closer.
"I chose the mission."
He gently touched her face.
"You chose the world."
Her voice broke slightly.
"I almost chose you."
He pulled her into a firm embrace.
"You did."
Silence surrounded them.
Because love—
Isn't choosing someone instead of the world.
It's choosing someone strong enough to protect it with you.
Outside—
The storm had passed.
For now.
But somewhere in the shadows—
The strategist prepared something even more dangerous.
Not division.
Not sabotage.
But exposure.
A revelation so powerful—
It would shake the foundation of everything Akanksha believed about her past.