⚫ Chapter 7: The Devil’s Bargain

— In the shadows... some deals are worse than death.

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🕯️ Verdale City – Abandoned Shipyard – 2:11 AM

The storm howled like a beast let loose. Waves crashed against rusted hulls of forgotten ships. Lightning painted the sky in violent white, revealing shadows moving... hunting.

Liana pressed her back against a rusted cargo container, breathing sharp, shallow. Daniel knelt beside her, scanning the dark through the cracked lens of his thermal goggles.

— "Four shooters. Two on the cranes. One by the dock. One moving... fast."

Too fast.

Her eyes narrowed.

— "Not human fast... Specter."

A cold shiver crawled up her spine.

Suddenly—

CRACK! — A bullet ripped through the container, inches from Daniel's head. Sparks flew. Another. And another.

— "MOVE!" she barked.

They sprinted. Metal groaned beneath their feet. Another shot — ping! — missed by centimeters.

Daniel dove behind a forklift. Liana slid under a conveyor belt, drawing her sidearm.

Her comms crackled.

— "Did you really think... you could run?"

A voice. Metallic. Hollow. Death given form.

Specter.

— "You can't hide from the ghost... you built."

Her hands clenched the pistol tighter.

— "Not hiding. Just waiting..."

A grenade flew from her hand — BOOM! — flames erupted, masking her movement. She sprinted through the smoke, scaling a ladder to higher ground.

Daniel flanked right, dropping one sniper with a clean shot. But the second sniper — gone.

No... taken.

A shadow fell.

A whisper of metal.

Daniel turned—too late.

A boot slammed into his chest, sending him flying. He crashed into crates. His vision blurred.

Specter stood over him—towering, armored, masked. Skull faceplate. No eyes. No mercy.

— "Daniel Kross. Priority target. Directive: Terminate."

Daniel coughed blood, pulling a knife, but Specter stomped on his hand, crushing it.

— "Futile."

Suddenly—BANG!

A shot clipped Specter's shoulder—enough to stagger him.

Liana. From above. Rifle drawn.

— "Get the hell away from him."

Specter tilted his head.

— "Echo... You can't kill what's already dead."

She fired again — center mass. But Specter twisted, moving unnaturally fast, dodging bullets as if seeing them before they fired.

A throwing knife flashed — she ducked — it skimmed her cheek, embedding into metal behind.

Too close.

She jumped down, tackling Specter. Both crashed onto the dock — fists, elbows, knees, steel on bone. Brutal. No finesse. Just survival.

Specter's gauntlet grabbed her throat, lifting her like a ragdoll.

Her vision darkened.

His voice—

— "You should have stayed dead."

THUNK!

Daniel—broken arm, bleeding, but standing—jammed an electric baton into Specter's side. Sparks exploded. Specter spasmed, releasing Liana.

— "NOW!" Daniel roared.

Liana drew her blade. A black steel dagger forged for one purpose. Killing ghosts.

She drove it into the gap between Specter's armor plates — deep.

Sparks. A distorted roar. He staggered, glitching like a broken machine.

But... not dead.

Never dead.

— "System damage. Retasking... fallback... fallback."

Specter threw a flashbang — BOOM! — light swallowed everything. When the blindness faded... he was gone. Again.

Silence.

Only the storm remained.

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🩸 The Offer No One Wants

Inside an abandoned shipping office, Daniel collapsed into a chair, clutching his broken arm.

Liana paced, wiping blood from her lip.

Her tablet vibrated — an encrypted call. Unknown ID.

She hesitated... answered.

A voice — cold, composed, male.

— "Liana Morgan... we have mutual enemies."

— "Who the hell is this?"

— "Someone who wants the Syndicate dead... just like you."

Pause.

— "But nothing is free."

Her eyes narrowed.

— "What do you want?"

The voice... smiled. You could hear it without seeing him.

— "A devil's bargain. I help you survive Specter... and in return... you do something for me."

Daniel shook his head violently.

— "Liana... don't. This smells like a trap."

The voice continued:

— "You have 24 hours. Meet me at Blacksite 9. Come alone. Or don't come at all. Your choice."

Click.

Call ended.

Liana stared into the storm. Jaw clenched. Fists tight.

— "Daniel... this war just got bigger."

— "Yeah... but so did the body count."

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💀 Final Scene – Unknown Facility

Deep underground. Metal doors hissed open.

Specter stood before a shadowed figure — masked, wrapped in tactical black, watching monitors of Liana and Daniel.

The figure's voice... distorted, cruel.

— "Specter... reset your protocols. Repair. Reload."

Specter nodded silently.

The figure leaned forward into the light. Half his face scarred. The other... wore the same eyes as Liana.

— "My daughter thinks... she can run from her own blood."

Smirk.

— "Let's remind her... where she truly comes from."

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✔️ End of Chapter 7

🩸 Next Chapter Preview:

The meeting at Blacksite 9 isn't what Liana expected. Traps, betrayals... and a face from her past returns. But this time... not everyone will survive.