{ Mia }
The night air cut sharp against my skin as I ran, the oversized black coat snapping behind me like a shadow that didn't belong. I didn't look back at the mansion. I couldn't. My lungs burned, my ankle ached with every step, but none of that mattered. Not now.
I slipped into the city's dead zone—an old industrial block where the lights rarely worked, and the silence tasted like rust and smoke. The building loomed in front of me, half its windows broken, its bricks marked with the stains of time. Perfect for hiding something. Or someone.
I pressed my back against the crumbling wall, sucking in a breath. My fingers trembled as I whispered, "Scarlett."
Her voice buzzed to life in my ear, sharp and sarcastic as always. "Took you long enough. What's the plan, genius? Or are we improvising like usual?"
"Invisible," I muttered, forcing my body into the familiar shift. A shimmer ran down my skin, and the world bent around me. I looked down—my hands were gone, the coat blending into nothing. My breath steadied. Hidden.
"Scan the perimeter," I whispered.
A pause. Then Scarlett's voice came back, clinical. "Ten heat signatures inside. Two guarding the front entrance. Two in the hallway. Two covering the backyard exit. Two stationed at the stairs. Two more on the upper floor."
My throat tightened. Ten. Too many to just stumble through. Too many to fight head-on.
"Suggestions?"
"Yes. Don't get caught. Don't get killed. And maybe next time, bring a bazooka."
I rolled my eyes, even though no one could see me. "Useless."
But the layout clicked into place in my mind. Two at the entrance—I could wait for a gap, slip past when they turned. The hallway guards would be harder. The backyard—maybe a distraction there. The stairs… the stairs were the choke point. Get past them, and upstairs would be mine.
I crouched low, creeping along the side of the building until I reached the front. The guards stood with their hands in their pockets, smoke curling from a half-dead cigarette. Their eyes scanned the dark lazily, but their posture screamed bored professionals.
I waited for the moment. My heartbeat synced with their movements—the flick of a lighter, the turn of a head, the scratch of a boot. Then I slipped past, silent as a shadow, the ground cold beneath my shoes.
Inside, the hallway stretched long and narrow, smelling of mold and gasoline. Two guards leaned against the wall, rifles slung across their shoulders. One hummed under his breath. The other scrolled through a phone.
I pressed myself flat against the cracked plaster, every nerve screaming to move faster, but patience was survival. I waited, invisible, while Scarlett's whisper ticked in my ear. "Their blind spots overlap every twenty seconds. You've got a window. Small, but there."
I nodded to myself. Counted. One… two…
I slipped through, holding my breath, brushing so close to one of the men I could smell the sweat on his collar. My pulse roared in my ears, but neither of them twitched. Not even a glance.
At the end of the hallway, faint light spilled from the backyard. Two more men. I crouched behind a stack of old crates, whispering, "Scarlett. I need a distraction."
"You want fireworks? I can overheat their radios. Make it sound like they've got chatter from the boss. Might buy you ten seconds."
"Do it."
Static crackled faintly from their earpieces. One guard stiffened, tapping his radio. "—what? Say that again?"
The other leaned closer. "Who's talking?"
Their confusion was all I needed. I slid past the crates, hugging the wall, and darted for the stairwell. Two more guards. The choke point.
They stood alert, rifles ready, not bored like the others. These two were the gatekeepers. If I made a mistake here, it was over.
I crouched low, hands trembling against the banister. My mind spun. I needed a way up. A way past them.
Scarlett's voice came in soft this time. "You're running out of time, Mia. You've got one shot. Make it count."
I closed my eyes, breathed deep, and began to move.
I crouched low behind a busted window frame, eyes locked on the two men guarding the hallway. Ten in total, Scarlett had said. Two outside, two in the hall, two in the yard, two on the stairs, two upstairs.
I didn't have time to fight ten. I needed to break the chain.
"Scarlett," I whispered. "Any weak spots?"
Her voice buzzed in my ear. "Floor joint under the left guard in the hall is unstable. Too much weight, it'll snap."
Perfect.
I drew in a breath, let my body fade until I was nothing but air. Invisibility wrapped around me, steady now. My eyes burned faintly as I focused. A thin, unseen beam lanced from my gaze, heating the wood just enough. I watched from the shadows as the plank blackened, fibers splitting like a spiderweb under strain.
Then it happened. The left guard stepped back, boots right on top of the weak spot. The board cracked, splintered, and swallowed his leg up to the knee.
"Shit!" he yelled, grabbing the doorframe to steady himself.
The other guard rushed to help, crouching low, both hands on his partner's arms. For a second, neither of them was watching the stairs.
My moment.
I slipped past, silent as breath, climbing the staircase two steps at a time. Every creak made my chest tighten, but their curses downstairs covered it. By the time they realized the noise wasn't normal, I was already halfway up, pressing my back to the wall.
Scarlett whispered again. "Two more guards at the top. Stationary. No line of sight yet."
I grinned to myself, tightening my fists. One trick down. More to go.
The stairs creaked once under my weight, and the two guards at the top shifted, their backs against the railing. One of them muttered something about the cold; the other just leaned on his rifle, bored.
Idiots.
I slid low, invisible, waiting for the right moment. When the first guard turned his head, I struck. A quick sweep of my leg sent his balance tipping, and before the second even realized what was happening, I grabbed his collar and slammed his face against the wall. He crumpled, silent. The first one tried to yell, but my fist cut him off fast. His head hit the rail with a dull crack. Both were out cold.
I dragged their bodies into the corner, heart thudding hard, and let the invisibility go. My skin prickled as the air seemed to recognize me again. Being unseen always left me feeling stretched thin, like I didn't quite exist until I snapped back.
"Scarlett," I whispered, barely breathing. "Scan. Room ahead—tell me who's inside."
A pause, then her voice came low, steady. "One person. Female. Heartbeat is irregular, elevated. She's crying."
My throat tightened. Lily.
I pushed forward, stopping at the cracked door. My hand hovered over the knob for a second. Then I turned it slowly, keeping the hinges from squealing.
The door opened just enough for me to slip in.
And there she was.
Lily sat tied to a chair, wrists bound tight with rough rope, her face streaked with tears. Her small shoulders shook with every sob. She looked up, eyes red and wide, whispering through broken breaths, "P-please… I didn't… I don't know anything, please don't hurt me…"
For a second, my chest ached so hard I almost forgot why I was here.
"It's me," I said quickly, stepping out of the shadows. "Lily, it's me. You're safe now."
Her sobs stilled. She blinked at me, disbelief cutting through the fear.
"…M-Mia?"