The flashlight beam burned into Liora's eyes.
She instinctively raised her hand to shield them.
Three men stood across the abandoned platform, their dark coats dripping with rainwater. The faint yellow emergency light above them flickered weakly, casting long shadows across the cracked tiles.
For a moment, no one moved.
Then the man holding the flashlight chuckled.
"Well… this saves us the trouble of searching."
His voice echoed through the empty subway station.
Adrian slowly stepped forward, placing himself slightly in front of Liora.
The movement was subtle.
But it was clearly protective.
"Still alive, Adrian?" the man continued. "You're harder to kill than expected."
Adrian's expression didn't change.
"You should have aimed better."
One of the other men scoffed.
"Still arrogant."
The third man lifted his handgun lazily, pointing it toward Adrian's chest.
"Boss said to finish it tonight."
Liora's heart nearly stopped.
Her eyes widened as she stared at the gun.
Adrian, however, didn't react.
His posture remained relaxed—almost bored.
"You three?" he said quietly.
A faint smirk appeared on his face.
"That's disappointing."
The man with the gun frowned.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means," Adrian replied calmly, "he should've sent more."
The man's patience snapped.
"Enough."
He pulled the trigger.
BANG.
The gunshot exploded through the empty station.
Liora gasped.
But Adrian had already moved.
Faster than she could process.
He stepped to the side just as the bullet struck the pillar behind him.
Before the shooter could react—
Adrian lunged forward.
Despite the injury in his arm, his movements were terrifyingly precise.
His fist slammed into the man's jaw with a sickening crack.
The man collapsed instantly.
The other two men reacted immediately.
"Get him!"
One rushed forward while the other raised his weapon again.
Adrian grabbed the fallen man's wrist and twisted sharply.
The gun slipped from his hand.
Adrian caught it mid-air.
Another shot rang out.
BANG.
The second man dropped to the ground.
Liora stood frozen near the bench.
Her mind struggled to process what she was seeing.
Everything had happened so fast.
Adrian turned just as the last man charged toward him with a knife.
The blade flashed under the flickering light.
Adrian blocked the strike with his forearm.
The impact forced a grunt from him.
His injured arm trembled slightly.
The man noticed.
A cruel smile spread across his face.
"You're slowing down."
Adrian's eyes turned colder.
"You talk too much."
The knife slashed toward him again.
This time Adrian caught the attacker's wrist.
Then—
CRACK.
The sound of bone breaking echoed across the station.
The knife clattered to the floor.
The man screamed.
Adrian kicked him backward.
The man crashed into the platform wall and slid down, unconscious.
Silence returned to the station.
Heavy.
Oppressive.
Liora stared at Adrian.
Her breathing was uneven.
The man standing before her now looked nothing like the wounded stranger she had found in the alley.
He looked dangerous.
Terrifying.
Like someone who belonged in a much darker world.
Adrian bent down and picked up one of the guns from the floor.
Then he checked the chamber calmly.
As if this was routine.
Liora finally found her voice.
"You… you…"
She couldn't finish the sentence.
Adrian glanced at her.
"You're surprised."
"That was… insane."
He shrugged slightly.
"They were amateurs."
Liora stared at the unconscious men around them.
"You broke someone's arm."
"He'll live."
"That's not comforting."
Adrian walked toward the stairway and looked upward, listening carefully.
Rain could still be heard faintly above the city.
No other footsteps.
For now.
He turned back toward her.
"You see now why I told you to leave."
Liora hesitated.
"You're… not normal."
A faint smile appeared on his lips.
"That's one way to put it."
She crossed her arms nervously.
"Who are you?"
Adrian didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he walked over and grabbed his jacket from the bench.
He winced slightly as he put it back on.
Then he looked at her again.
"Someone with many enemies."
"That's not a real answer."
"It's the safest one."
Liora sighed.
"You're impossible."
"And yet you're still here."
She couldn't argue with that.
Before she could say anything else—
A distant sound echoed from the stairway above.
Sirens.
Police.
Adrian's expression darkened.
"That's not good."
"Isn't that a good thing?" Liora asked.
"For you, maybe."
"For you?"
"They'll ask questions."
"And?"
"I prefer not answering them."
Liora frowned.
"You just saved my life."
"That doesn't make me innocent."
Her heart sank slightly.
Adrian walked toward the tunnel entrance.
"Where are you going?"
"Somewhere they won't find me."
"You're leaving?"
He stopped.
For a moment, the silence stretched between them.
Then he looked back over his shoulder.
His eyes softened slightly.
"Go home, Liora."
His voice was quieter now.
"Pretend tonight never happened."
"But—"
Before she could finish—
He disappeared into the darkness of the subway tunnel.
Leaving her alone on the empty platform.
The sound of approaching sirens echoed closer above the city.
And Liora stood there, staring into the darkness where Adrian had vanished.
But deep down…
She knew something.
This was not the last time she would see the man in the rain.