The morning air had that too-clean feel — the kind that didn’t belong in real life. It clung to Kai’s jacket as he jogged the last stretch toward school, the weight of a near-late bell pressing against his chest.

  He wasn’t usually late. But last night had bled into morning.

  The celebration.

  Evan’s idea, of course. “We need to mark the win,” he had convinced everyone before Kai could say no.

  Leonard had taken over from there — called in food, drinks, even music. The whole top floor of the building had felt alive in a way Kai hadn’t expected.

  Jonah, Felix, Lina, and Evan had been glued to the monitors at first, replaying the takedown of the guards and the rescue of Natalie like it was some heist movie they couldn’t get enough of.

  Marcus had lifted a table with one hand just to show off — again — talking about “see the muscles” like he was a bodybuilder.

  Even Iris had smiled more than once. Mara was quiet but her presence was warm.

  And Kai…

  Well, he didn’t want the party.

  But he stayed.

  And somewhere between the laughter and the food, he allowed himself to admit that maybe… maybe they’d earned it.

  Leonard had pulled him aside near the end of the night. His voice was low, but the pride in it was clear.

  “I don’t know how you pulled that off, kid. You solved it faster than any team I ever worked with.”

  That sentence had stayed with Kai. Even now, as he reached the school gates.

  The hallway was mostly empty — the warning bell had already rung.

  Kai moved quickly, slipping into the classroom just as the second bell chimed.

  Everyone was already seated.

  Evan caught his eye from the back and gave him a subtle thumbs up — the universal code for “We did good.” Kai gave a half-smirk and slid into his chair.

  Biology class.

  The teacher stood at the board, scribbling diagrams in blue marker: lungs, veins, oxygen pathways.

  “And dolphins,” she was saying, “are a perfect example of anatomical specialization. They can stay underwater for over ten minutes because their heart rate slows drastically during dives. It’s called bradycardia. Their muscles even store oxygen independently. They’re built for it.”

  Kai’s eyes were on the board.

  But his thoughts weren’t.

  They were drifting — to her.

  The substitute. The one who wasn’t really a substitute.

  His father’s friend. The woman who had blinked and altered reality without breaking stride.

  They hadn’t spoken since that day in the café, but her words echoed clearer than anything the teacher was saying now.

  “They’ll come looking soon.”

  Kai knew she was right.

  He’d pushed his abilities further with each mission. Altering reflexes. Strength. Memory. Vision.

  He had reshaped people. Even himself.

  But he also knew he hadn’t scratched the surface of what he could do — or what his team might need to survive what came next.

  He needed her help.

  But trust came slow. Especially now. Especially in this world.

  Still…

  As the teacher droned on about muscle oxygenation, Kai made a silent note to himself.

  Find her. Soon. Before something else finds them first.

  The hallway was quiet after the bell rang.

  Too quiet for a school this crowded. Lockers clicked open. Conversations blurred like distant static.

  Evan walked beside Kai, backpack slung over one shoulder, grinning with leftover adrenaline from the night before.

  “I’ve been thinking,” Evan said. “Darren and Marcus — the way they moved during the rescue? I want that.”

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  Kai raised an eyebrow. “You want to be able to throw people across a room?”

  Evan smirked. “Don’t you?”

  Before Kai could respond, both their phones buzzed.

  Same time.

  They stopped walking.

  The message was short. Leonard’s name at the top. The text beneath:

  Come now. It’s urgent.

  Kai stared at the words, already feeling the shift in atmosphere.

  That wasn’t Leonard’s usual style. Which meant something was wrong.

  “What should we do?” Evan asked, already knowing the answer but needing to hear it.

  Kai slid his phone back into his pocket. “We go.”

  Evan blinked. “What about your theater class? You’ve never skipped before.”

  Kai’s voice was even. “It won’t matter if I miss one class. But it might matter if I miss this.”

  The words hung between them like a locked door already swinging open.

  They turned around without another word, heading toward the lot.

  The drive was quiet.

  Evan didn’t blast music like usual. No jokes, no side comments. Just the low hum of the engine and the occasional shift of tires over road paint.

  Kai leaned against the window, the glass cool against his forehead. His mind drifted.

  The SUV pulled into the lot. They didn’t waste time. Through the lobby, up the elevator.

  They passed the hallway without speaking. The door to Leonard’s office stood closed.

  Kai knocked once, out of habit.

  “Come in,” Leonard’s voice called.

  When they entered, the air felt… heavier.

  Iris and Mara were already seated near the window. Both looked up as Kai stepped in.

  Iris’s expression was unreadable, but her eyes were sharp — something was happening.

  Mara didn’t speak, but her body language was tense. She was alert, legs crossed, back straight, like someone bracing for a storm.

  Leonard stood behind his desk.

  He nodded once toward Kai and Evan. “Good. You’re here. We don’t have much time.”

  Kai stepped forward slowly.

  “What happened?”

  Leonard’s words sank into the room like a stone in still water.

  “The girl’s father,” he said, “wants to meet you.”

  Kai tilted his head slightly. “The girl we saved?”

  “Natalie,” Leonard confirmed. “He reached out this morning. Said he was deeply grateful, and that your team may have done more than the authorities ever could. He wants to thank you in person.”

  The tension that had clenched Kai’s spine slowly loosened.

  No emergency.

  No threat.

  Just… gratitude.

  Evan let out a quiet sigh of relief beside him. “So we’re not about to be hunted down?”

  Leonard shook his head. “Not this time. He asked that you come to his office downtown. He’s sending cars, private. Very discreet.”

  Kai nodded slowly, absorbing the information.

  Mara leaned forward, arms resting on her knees. “Who is he exactly?”

  Leonard gave a small smile. “You’ll know him when you see him. But let’s just say… if you’re trying to expand your influence, this man isn’t a bad person to have owe you a favor.”

  Kai’s eyes narrowed, but not from concern. Calculation.

  Iris was silent, watching him closely.

  Then Kai spoke.

  “Why didn’t you go yourself?”

  Leonard gestured toward him. “Because he didn’t ask for me. He asked for the people who saved his daughter. That means you. You’re the leader here, Kai.”

  The weight of those words didn’t feel heavy anymore.

  Not like they once did.

  Mara, Iris, and Evan all turned to look at Kai at once — subtle, but expectant. They didn’t pressure him. They just waited. Like always.

  Kai’s eyes drifted to the window.

  Downtown skyline. Corporate towers

  A part of him had been thinking about this for a while — expansion. Real power. Connections that would allow him to move pieces on a bigger board.

  He thought about the Order. About the future. About the battles still waiting.

  A businessman who owed them a favor… could be a valuable opening.

  Kai turned back to Leonard.

  “We’ll meet him,” he said.

  Leonard nodded, already reaching for his phone. “I’ll tell him to send the cars.”

  Evan leaned over and whispered, “Think he’ll offer us money?”

  Kai didn’t answer.

  But his silence was sharp — thoughtful.

  Because this meeting… could be about much more than money.

  Time passed in quiet conversation and glances exchanged over coffee mugs. The mood had shifted — lighter now. Whatever tension they’d expected coming in had dissolved into something else: curiosity.

  Then the phone on Leonard’s desk rang.

  He picked it up, listened briefly, and nodded once.

  When he hung up, he turned toward Kai.

  “They’re here.”

  Everyone stood without a word.

  Kai led the way, with Iris, Mara, and Evan close behind. The hallway to the elevator was unusually silent.

  As they stepped out through the main entrance, the city’s overcast sky reflected off three identical black SUVs parked at the curb.

  Clean. Tinted. Engines still running.

  Three men stood beside them — sharp suits, earpieces tucked discreetly, posture straight as steel. They weren’t average drivers. These were professionals.

  One of them stepped forward the moment he saw Leonard.

  He gave a respectful nod. “We were sent by Mr. Grayson.”

  Leonard nodded in return, but then tilted his head toward Kai.

  “Actually,” Leonard said calmly, “he’s the boss.”

  He gestured toward Kai, who stood silent and composed beside him.

  The man blinked, eyes adjusting to the realization. Then he dipped his head toward Kai with genuine respect. “Apologies, sir. I wasn’t informed.”

  Kai met his gaze but didn’t say much. A quiet nod was enough.

  The man stepped back, opening the nearest SUV door with a practiced hand.

  Mara and Iris exchanged a glance, both registering the change in atmosphere. They weren’t just guests now. They were being treated like something more.

  The rest of the drivers moved in sync, opening doors for the others.

  Kai paused for half a second, then slid into the middle car, followed by Evan.

  The engines hummed low.

  Then, like a procession moving toward something larger, the SUVs pulled away from the curb — clean, smooth, deliberate.

  The city began to blur by outside the windows, but inside the cars, the team said little.

  They were all thinking the same thing.

  Who exactly is Mr. Grayson?

  And what does a man like that really want from people like them?

  After nearly half an hour of smooth, uninterrupted driving, the black SUVs rolled to a slow stop.

  Through the tinted windows, the city had grown denser, taller — and now, it gleamed.

  They had arrived.

  The doors opened in perfect unison. One by one, the group stepped out.

  Kai was the first to lift his eyes.

  The building before them was… impossible to ignore.

  Sleek black glass curved upward like a monument, catching the reflections of surrounding towers. It wasn’t the tallest in the city — but it felt like the center of it. The epicenter of power.

  A narrow strip of red carpet had been unfurled from the curb to the entrance, where a woman stood waiting. She wore a navy-blue suit, sharp and elegant, a silver badge clipped near her collar. Professional. Focused. Her expression softened as she saw them.

  One of the drivers leaned in and whispered something in her ear before stepping back and returning to position.

  The woman smiled. “Mr. Grayson is expecting you. Thank you for coming on such short notice.”

  Her voice was respectful — not rehearsed, not forced.

  She turned, gesturing for them to follow.

  The group moved in unison, like they’d done this a hundred times before — even though for most of them, this was a first.

  Evan’s head tilted as he took in the space around them.

  “Okay… this place is insane.”

  Marble floors. High arched ceilings lined with rows of floating light fixtures. Live greenery framed every window. Massive digital art displays rotated through minimalist images of oceans, cities, constellations.

  Mara whispered low, mostly to herself. “Feels like walking into the future.”

  And she wasn’t wrong.

  They passed a circular fountain built into the lobby — water flowing in a controlled spiral, rotating around a central sculpture shaped like a turning key. The air was cool, but not cold. Everything smelled faintly of pine and money.

  At the end of the hall, the woman led them into a private elevator.

  No buttons — just a single scanner.

  She pressed her access card to it, and a small chime sounded. The number at the top flickered to life.

  Top floor.

  The elevator ascended silently. No music. Just rising light and rising tension.

  When the doors opened, the silence deepened.

  The floor was different here — quieter, more muted, like a library hidden inside a vault. The hallway stretched out before them, lined with matte black panels and framed art worth more than entire apartment buildings.

  Four guards stood in strategic places along the walls — not threatening, but unmistakable.

  They nodded slightly as the group passed, their eyes scanning every move.

  At the end of the corridor, the woman stopped before a single, large double door. She scanned her card again. The lock clicked softly.

  Then the doors opened.

  The room inside was more like a high-end museum than an office.

  Polished blackwood floors. Massive windows overlooking the city skyline. A wall-length fish tank on one side, and a minimalist modern fireplace on the other. Three attendants in tailored butler uniforms stepped forward — one offered refreshments, the others pulled out chairs.

  They were prepared.

  Kai’s group moved slowly, each of them taking a seat in silence.

  But their eyes were on the chair at the far end of the room.

  It was turned away from them, facing the window — where a man sat speaking into a sleek black phone.

  Only his silhouette was visible — tall, composed, with the posture of someone who’d been powerful long enough to carry it lightly.

  After a few quiet moments, he ended the call.

  The chair turned.

  The man faced them.

  His eyes were calm. Sharp. Silver hair, crisp suit, presence like gravity.

  “Welcome,” he said. His voice was smooth — the kind that commanded boardrooms and press conferences with the same sentence.

  “It’s a true pleasure to finally meet the ones who saved my daughter.”

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