Chapter 5: Extraction Point
The air inside the penthouse was thick with tension.
Kian Lei Raizhen leaned against the table, arms crossed, dark eyes unblinking as Aira Ke mapped out the plan on a whiteboard he'd dragged into the living room.
"This isn't just about grabbing Liling Zhang," Aira said, her voice cutting through the heavy quiet. "It's about doing it fast, clean, and without alerting Zhou Renwei's surveillance teams."
Kian's mouth curved into a faint smirk. "No pressure."
Aira ignored him.
"Liling is scheduled to give a press conference at LongHe Tower tomorrow morning at ten. Afterward, she usually slips into the underground parking deck. That's our window."
Kian nodded slowly. "She'll be watched."
"Not if we create a distraction," Aira said, her eyes flashing. "I've arranged for a protest to be staged outside LongHe Tower. Media frenzy. Police presence. Zhou's men will be stretched thin."
"And Liling?"
"I already have a burner phone in her possession. Tomorrow, when the chaos starts, she'll slip into Service Elevator B and meet us on Level -3."
Kian whistled low under his breath. "You've been busy."
"You're not the only one who knows how to build networks," Aira said, a glint of satisfaction in her voice.
For a second, a rare smile broke over Kian's usually guarded features.
But it was gone in a blink.
"This isn't over once we extract her," he warned. "Zhou will retaliate. Hard."
"I know."
Their eyes locked across the table.
No illusions.
No guarantees.
Only one unspoken promise:
Fight. Or die trying.
---
The next morning, Jing City woke to chaos.
Hundreds of protesters swarmed LongHe Tower's polished entrance, their chants rattling glass windows. Banners waved in the smoggy air, cameras flashed, and security teams barked orders no one obeyed.
It was beautiful.
And terrifying.
Exactly as Aira Ke had planned.
Dressed in a courier uniform, a cap pulled low over her eyes, Aira weaved through the outer perimeter, a duffel bag slung across her shoulder.
Inside, Kian Lei Raizhen moved like a shadow—his black hoodie blending with the sea of plainclothes officers. His earpiece crackled softly.
"Service Elevator B. Two minutes," Aira whispered into the mic.
"Copy," Kian replied.
High above, in a VIP lounge overlooking the chaos, Liling Zhang clutched the burner phone with shaking hands.
She was small, slight, with sharp cheekbones and a mouth set in grim determination.
She wasn't a fighter.
She was a survivor.
And today, survival meant betrayal.
With a glance over her shoulder, Liling slipped through an unmarked door and disappeared into the staff corridors.
---
Meanwhile, Kian reached the Service Elevator first.
He scanned the hallway—two guards by the main elevators, none near Service B.
Good.
The elevator dinged.
Doors slid open.
Empty.
He stepped inside and wedged the emergency stop just as Aira rounded the corner.
She jumped in beside him, heart hammering.
"You sure she'll come?" Kian asked under his breath.
"She doesn't have a choice," Aira said grimly.
Seconds later, Liling stumbled toward them, face pale but determined.
"Go!" she gasped.
Kian yanked her into the elevator.
Doors slid shut.
The three of them plunged downward—seconds stretching into forever.
Aira gripped the duffel tighter.
Inside it: burner phones, fake IDs, a change of clothes.
Everything they'd need to disappear.
At Level -3, the elevator jolted to a halt.
The doors creaked open.
And immediately—a shout.
Security.
Zhou's men were faster than expected.
Kian reacted first, shoving Liling behind him as he pulled a smoke grenade from his jacket and hurled it down the corridor.
White mist exploded outward, swallowing the guards' shouts.
Aira grabbed Liling's wrist. "Move!"
They sprinted through the smoke, boots pounding the concrete.
Shots rang out—sharp, deadly cracks that echoed off the underground walls.
Kian cursed under his breath, ducking low as a bullet sparked off a support beam inches from his head.
"Left!" Aira shouted.
They barreled around the corner and burst through an emergency exit into a narrow service alley.
Waiting there—just as planned—was a nondescript gray van, engine idling.
Kian yanked the side door open.
"In!" he barked.
Liling scrambled inside.
Aira followed, slamming the door shut behind her.
Kian threw himself into the driver's seat, tires screeching as they tore out onto the main road.
Behind them, Zhou's men spilled into the alley too late.
---
Inside the van, Liling curled into a ball, sobbing quietly.
Aira sat beside her, one hand steady on the younger woman's trembling back.
"You're safe now," she said, voice gentler than it had been all day.
Liling lifted her tear-streaked face.
"No," she whispered. "You don't understand."
Kian flicked a glance at them through the rearview mirror. "Understand what?"
"They know," Liling gasped. "They know I contacted you."
Aira felt ice slide down her spine.
"How?" she demanded.
Liling shook her head violently. "I don't know! Someone tipped them off. Someone inside your network."
Betrayal.
Again.
Aira clenched her fists, struggling for control.
"Names," Kian said tightly. "Who?"
"I don't know!" Liling cried. "But Zhou isn't just going after me. He's going after you too. Both of you."
Aira exchanged a grim look with Kian.
There would be no safehouses.
No laying low.
The war had officially begun.
And Zhou Renwei was coming for blood.
---
They stashed the van in a crumbling parking garage in the Old Quarter, switching to stolen motorbikes for the next leg.
Jing City blurred around them—alleys, neon, endless concrete.
Finally, they reached one of Kian's backup safehouses: a decrepit apartment block abandoned after the last financial crash.
Inside, Aira collapsed onto a battered couch, every muscle trembling with exhaustion.
Kian stood over Liling, handing her a bottle of water.
"You stay here," he said. "No phones. No windows."
"I understand," Liling whispered.
Aira scrubbed a hand over her face.
"We need to find the leak," she said. "Fast."
Kian nodded, jaw tight.
"And we need to move on Zhou," he added. "Harder. Faster."
They couldn't just survive anymore.
They had to win.
---
Hours later, under the cracked ceiling of the safehouse, Aira Ke stared at an old city map spread across the floor.
One location circled in red:
Zhou Renwei's private estate outside Jing City.
It was fortress-like. Heavily guarded. Virtually impenetrable.
But if they could get inside—if they could find the documents or footage proving Zhou's ties to LongHe International—they could bring the entire empire crashing down.
Kian knelt beside her, his shoulder brushing hers lightly.
"Tomorrow night," he said. "We breach it."
Aira looked up at him.
No fear.
Only fire.
"Together," she said.
Kian's lips quirked into the faintest smile.
"Together."
Outside, sirens wailed.
Inside, two fugitives planned the fall of a king.
And this time—
They weren't running.
They were hunting.
---