The door to the old penthouse creaked open, and Liara stumbled in, arms overloaded with equipment. She dumped everything onto the workbench with a loud clang, stepping back with a wide grin, hands on her hips.

Liara: "There we go... Look at this! We're actually doing this!"

Her excitement buzzed through the empty space. For the first time in years, the weight of Zenithar seemed lighter.

She pulled out her wrist comm and tapped it twice. The static buzzed for a moment before Garret's voice crackled through.

Garret: "Yeah?"

Liara: "Garret! You're not gonna believe this, we've got everything we need! Mapper, upgrades, full tactical overlay kits... hell, we even got backup dampeners! This is it, Garret. This is really happening!"

There was a long pause.

Garret:  "...You sound like you're celebrating the end of a war before the last shot's fired, kid."

Liara:  "Come on, Garret. Don't start with that. Raiga's serious this time, I've never seen him like this. He's really ready to leave."

Garret's sigh crackled over the line, heavy and tired.

Garret: "You sure about that? Because from where I'm standing, he looks more like a man walking deeper into the storm, not out of it."

Liara's smile faltered. Her fingers unconsciously tightened around the edge of the table.

Liara: "He's just... focused. You know how he gets. Quiet, stubborn. But he's doing this for us, Garret. For our future."

The line was silent for a beat.

Garret: "Just be ready, kid. For the part of him you don't wanna face."

Before she could answer, the line went dead.

Liara stared at the mess of gear on the table. Only minutes ago, it had looked like freedom. Now, it felt like a final bet placed with everything left to lose.

———

Garret dropped the comm onto the seat and muttered under his breath. The engine was still cooling when he climbed out, boots hitting pavement like hammer strikes.

His thumb hovered over a second frequency. He tapped in the call.

Raiga: "What now?"

Garret: "I know where you're headed. Don't move yet. We need to talk."

A heavy pause.

Raiga: "Bad time, old man."

Garret: "Yeah? Bad timing's all we've ever had. Pull over. Two minutes, that's all I'm asking."

Raiga: "One."

Garret was already steering back onto the road, the old engine growling under the strain.

———

Raiga stood near a warehouse wall, arms crossed, watching the city pulse beyond the alleys. Garret's battered vehicle pulled up fast, and the door slammed shut before the wheels stopped.

Garret: "You plan on brooding here all day, or are we gonna talk about this mess you've made?"

Raiga didn't even flinch.

Raiga: "You're the one dragging me out here. Get to it."

Garret: "You killed the Five. Not roughed them up—killed them. Now you're waltzing back to Barren like that doesn't mean anything?"

Raiga: "That's between me and him."

Garret barked a humorless laugh.

Garret: "Bullshit. That's between you, him, and every sorry soul caught in his market schemes."

Raiga's gaze cut toward him, cold and sharp.

Raiga: "Say what you need to say, Garret."

Garret: "You really want out? Then you'd better be ready to cut every rope holding you up—including Barren's. You know what's in that convoy, right?"

Raiga: "Dawnspire cargo. Headed to Aetheria."

Garret nodded once, slow and deliberate.

Garret: "High-value fragments. Just passing through Galmera—but Barren's already circling it. You know how this works. He runs the research sites out in the sands. Any fragment found moves through his black channels before it touches Dominion hands. You think he doesn't already have his cut lined up?"

Raiga pushed off the wall.

Raiga: "And you want me to pull that leash tighter before I cut it?"

Garret: "I want to know if you're actually gonna cut it, Raiga. 'Cause you try to sell those fragments back to Barren after you jack his shipment—that's treason. And I don't think you've really faced what that means."

Raiga stared off toward the skyline. His jaw clenched.

Garret: "Don't play silent soldier with me. I've known you too long. Either you break this chain, or you die with it wrapped around your neck. There's no middle ground."

Raiga: "And if I say I'm in?"

Garret: "Then start counting what it's going to cost you. There's no clean end to this, Raiga. You walk away with blood or with nothing. You choose which."

Without another word, Garret turned and headed back to his car.

Garret: "Decide fast. That convoy hits District 6 in two nights. After that... it's over."

Raiga watched him go, the city closing in again around the edges of his thoughts.

⸻

The corridors of the Iron Apex swallowed sound like a tomb.

Raiga moved through them in silence, flanked by Vex Crawler and Sven Gunnar. The two Covenant lieutenants barely looked at him but kept close, as if they'd been told not to leave him unsupervised.

Vex broke the silence first, voice low and dry.

Vex: "Heard you've been busy, Shadow. Cleaning out the trash a little too thoroughly these days."

Raiga didn't bother to answer.

They stopped before the heavy doors to Barren's chamber. Vex glanced back, something unreadable in his half-mechanical eyes.

Vex: "Try not to break anything this time."

The doors hissed open.

Barren stood at the far end of the room, as always, behind his wide steel desk, the city bleeding neon through the panoramic windows at his back. He didn't turn when Raiga entered—just took a long pull from his cigar.

Barren: "You've been busy, Raiga."

Raiga stayed near the entrance, arms crossed.

Raiga: "Didn't know I had to report every move."

Barren turned, smoke curling from his lips. His eyes locked on Raiga with a dangerous kind of calm.

Barren: "Normally, you don't. But killing the Five? That's loud, even for you."

Raiga's expression didn't change.

Raiga: "They had it coming."

Barren smiled faintly, tapping ash into a metal tray.

Barren: "They always do. But that's not why you're here."

A long pause. The weight in the room was heavier than usual, like something was coming that couldn't be unsaid.

Barren: "Tell me, Raiga... how far are you really planning to run?"

Raiga's eyes narrowed.

Raiga: "I'm not running."

Barren: "No? Strange, from where I'm standing, looks like you've got one foot out the door and the other already in the sand."

Raiga's jaw tightened.

Barren: "Relax. I'm not here to drag you back in. Quite the opposite, actually. I've got something big for you."

Raiga didn't speak. He waited.

Barren: "There's a convoy. Coming in from Dawnspire. Official Dominion transport, high priority. Word is, whatever's inside could change the balance of power for anyone who holds it."

Raiga's pulse spiked, but his face didn't twitch.

Raiga: "Sounds like a lot of noise for something you're not even sure about."

Barren: "Oh, I'm sure. I'm always sure before I put my hands into fire. And this, my friend, is the hottest flame we've seen in years."

He took a slow sip from his glass, watching Raiga carefully.

Barren: "Now, here's the part you'll like. I want you to take it. Hit the convoy. Clean. Fast. Bring back whatever's in that cargo. Do that..."

He leaned closer across the table, voice dropping.

Barren: "...and I wipe the slate clean. You walk away from all this. No more debts. No more calls in the night. Hell, you and your girl can vanish off the grid and live fat for a decade if you don't blow it all in one place."

Raiga didn't answer. His mind was already spinning ahead.

Barren: "One condition, though. You give me back the penthouse. And the car. Fair trade, wouldn't you say? But with the credits I'll pay you for this job... you won't be crawling back here. You'll be living like kings in the interior regions. Far from this mess."

Raiga's mouth tightened.

Raiga:

"You're offering freedom for a price? Sounds like I'm buying my own chains off you."

Barren: "You think freedom's ever been free, Shadow? You want out? This is it. One clean job, and you're gone."

Raiga turned his head, staring out the window.

Raiga: "And if I say no?"

Barren: "Then you keep working for me. Until there's nothing left of you to work with."

Raiga clenched his jaw, his mind racing. This was the same convoy Garret wanted. And now Barren? There was no way this was coincidence. And worst of all...

He couldn't show a single crack.

Raiga: "When's the move?"

Barren: "It'll be in District 6. Two nights from now. You'll get the full route details tomorrow. Take some time, Shadow. Think it over."

Barren turned back to the window, already dismissing him.

Raiga left without another word, his mind spiraling.

Outside, his comm vibrated. Liara.

For the first time in a long while, he didn't want to answer.