The masked man straightened slowly after Liam spoke, dust still drifting in the air from Sergei's crash landing. He adjusted the cuff of his sleeve like he was about to begin a polite conversation instead of a fight.
Then he looked directly at Liam and asked, calm and curious.
"Who are you?"
The question echoed faintly through the tunnel.
Liam did not answer.
He did not give his name. He did not give a speech. He simply lifted his arm and rolled up his sleeve with slow, deliberate movements. The fabric slid over muscle, exposing his forearm as if he were preparing for nothing more than a casual spar.
The masked man chuckled under the black cover on his face.
He could not see Liam's expression clearly in the dim light but one thing was obvious. The boy standing in front of him had no fear. No tension in his shoulders. No nervous shifting of weight.
Just calm.
Cocky calm.
That amused him.
Without another word he vanished.
Again, not a blur, not a dash.
Just gone.
