Bruno spat to the side.
"I think that woman lies more than she breathes."
"But if the container's already with Corvin… then the lab's just an empty shell."
"We dragged our asses here for nothing."
Gideon coughed in the earpiece.
"Guys… I checked the tracking on open channels. Corvin's black sedan just pulled out of the underground garage at his headquarters."
"Heading northwest. Steady speed, no maneuvers."
"If that's our trail, you've got about 40–50 minutes before he enters a dead zone with no coverage."
Flash nodded without looking at Ethan.
"Then we get in the car and go. Intercept on the road or wait at the endpoint."
"Bruno, start the engine."
"Gideon, keep us updated."
Bruno had already turned toward the stolen car,the same one they'd taken from the drunk guy two hours earlier.
The door creaked as he opened it.
Ethan didn't move.
Flash noticed first.
"Ethan?"
Ethan slowly lifted his head. His eyes were empty, not from fear, but from something deeper.
"I'm not going with you."
The words fell quietly but clearly.
Like a shot fired somewhere in an empty field.
Bruno froze with his hand on the door handle.
"What did you say?"
Ethan repeated, louder this time:
"I'm not going with you."
Flash stepped closer.
"Explain why not."
Ethan pulled his hand out of his pocket. His fingers were gripping Maria's notebook so tightly the paper had crumpled.
"She knew."
"Maria knew it would end exactly like this. She didn't just leave logs and a chip."
"She left me. Me alone. Because only I can get close enough."
Flash frowned.
"That's bullshit. No way."
"We're a team…"
"No," Ethan cut him off.
His voice trembled but didn't break.
"You're the team. And I… I'm the one she loved. And the one she used."
"Anna said: 'You're already part of their plan.' I don't know what that means."
"But if I'm right… and Corvin and his people need me, then Corvin will sense me before he senses any of you."
"And you, he'll just kill."
"Me? He'll want to take alive for questioning. I can buy you time, right?"
Bruno swore through his teeth.
"So that's why you want to go alone?"
"So they can take you alive?"
Ethan looked straight at him.
"So I can get closer than any of you can. So I can see what they're doing with the container."
"So I can… finish what she started."
Flash took another step. Now he was almost nose-to-nose.
"This is suicide, Ethan."
"You're not a hacker, not a shooter, not even trained military."
"Just a guy who loved the wrong girl."
Ethan gave a faint smile, the first one all evening.
"That's exactly why I have to go."
"Because I'm not a strategist. I won't calculate risks."
"I'll just go and do what needs to be done. And you… you're too smart to die for nothing."
Ethan pulled one of Flash's vials from his pocket and took a long swallow, enough for about 24 hours, so the vampires wouldn't be able to do anything to him.
Gideon exhaled quietly in the earpiece.
"Ethan… I've got you on thermal from the backup camera."
"Corvin's already in the hills. If you want to intercept him, you need to move right now."
Ethan nodded more to himself than to them.
"Then stop wasting time arguing."
"Follow me at a distance."
"If I'm wrong, come pull out the body."
"If I get lucky… I'll let you know."
Flash stared at him for a long time.
Then slowly nodded.
"Fine."
"But if you don't check in after twenty minutes, we're coming for you."
"And screw your stupid plan."
Ethan turned to the car. He opened the back door, pulled out his backpack, knife, spare magazine, first-aid kit, flashlight.
Everything he had.
Bruno slid behind the wheel and started the engine. The car coughed, vibrated, then came alive again.
Ethan closed the door.
He looked at Flash.
"Thanks for everything."
Flash gave a short nod.
"Don't you dare die. And don't thank me, we still have to meet again."
Ethan turned and walked into the darkness of the alley. Like a man who had already made his decision and no longer wanted to go back on his word.
Ethan didn't say goodbye.
Not because he was angry, he just didn't have any words left and didn't know what to say to them at the end.
Everything that needed to be said, he had already told Maria that last night.
The rest didn't really matter anymore.
The taxi stopped at an intersection where night cars flashed past like ghosts in the stream of yellow headlights.
The engine idled quietly, waiting for the red light to turn green.
Ethan sat in the back seat, leaning slightly forward, elbows on his knees, fingers drumming nervously on the worn backpack.
His gaze was locked on the taillights of the black sedan ahead, two red eyes flickering in the darkness like a warning signal.
The air inside the cab was heavy, thick with the smell of old leather, cigarette smoke, and a faint trace of gasoline seeping from the engine.
"Stay on that car," he said quietly to the driver, eyes never leaving the target.
His voice was steady but carried a slight rasp, fatigue building up like smoke in his lungs.
"Just no sudden moves. Don't get too close."
The driver, an older man with gray stubble and eyes accustomed to night shifts, glanced briefly in the rearview mirror.
Something flickered across his face, not curiosity, but a tired kind of acceptance. In this city, everyone knew better than to ask extra questions, especially at night when the shadows hid more than they revealed.