That evening, the shadows in the alley stretched long and icy, the air heavy with the smell of trash and distant sirens' cries. Ezra Kane leaned against a damp brick wall, his breath unsteady and the holo-device practically burning a hole in his jacket pocket. Thoughts of Kael filled him with a bittersweet ache, a painful reminder of their connection. But the threat from his handler loomed large in his mind—"Time's up, extract or die"—a relentless echo he couldn't shake. Tears streamed down his face as he held the unopened data pad, the reality of betraying Kael twisting like a knife in his gut. Kael had given him everything, and taking it felt monstrous. He reached his breaking point.
Wiping his eyes, he sent a trembling message to his handler: "Meet me, I'll deliver." His heart raced with a mix of fear and determination as he waited, the alley's silence closing in around him. A shadowy figure approached—his handler—his expression as cold as the night. "Proof," the man demanded, his hand outstretched. Ezra hesitated, love for Kael screaming at him to stop, but then the alley erupted with an explosion—Veyra's drones were back, debris raining down. He ducked, adrenaline pumping, and as the data pad slipped from his grasp, he was torn between saving Kael and saving himself while the chaos of the unfolding scandal echoed in the background.
The night thickened, smoke from the explosion swirling around Ezra. The sharp scent of burnt metal filled his nostrils as he tightened his grip on the holo-device while his handler loomed over him, snarling for the proof he demanded. The pain of his hidden love for Kael twisted in his chest, but the threat from his handler pushed him to the edge. Tears blurred his vision, guilt sinking in—he was about to destroy Kael's very spirit. The data pad trembled in his hand, and just as he was about to decide, a deafening roar cut through the air—Veyra's drones unleashed a laser that sliced through concrete, not just a warning but a direct hit.
Ezra dove for cover, heart pounding, as his handler pulled out a gun and fired back. The adrenaline surged through him as he swung the holo-device, smashing it against the handler's wrist and sending the weapon clattering. They wrestled fiercely, fists flying, fueled by Ezra's desperate emotions. A drone grazed his arm, a searing pain igniting—Veyra knew he was stalling, her drones hunting him down for defying her orders. Sirens wailed in the distance, the consequences of the scandal closing in as he pinned the handler down, panting, "I can't!"—before he finally fled, bleeding and broken.