Outside, Kai finally moved. He crossed toward the mansion entrance and approached one of the security guards, his posture relaxed, his voice slightly altered to sound unfamiliar.
"Do you know where they went?" he asked, as if he belonged to someone expected.
The guard looked at him briefly, slightly confused but not suspicious enough. "We don't know. Why don't you call them?"
"I tried," Kai replied smoothly. "They're not answering." Before the guard could respond further, another voice interrupted.
"Sir, would you like some coffee?" Both of them turned. Alina stood there, holding a tray, her voice deepened just enough to pass as male. Her posture was convincing, her expression neutral, her presence completely unthreatening.
Kai glanced at her briefly, then looked back at the guard as if nothing was unusual. "Yeah, sure. I've been waiting anyway. Pour me a glass."
She handed him one without hesitation. Kai took a slow sip, acting completely natural.
As she turned to leave, he called out again.
"Hey—come here." She stopped and turned.
"Pour another one," he said, his tone slightly sharper now. "Can't you see my brother is standing here? Give him one too."
The guard immediately raised his hand slightly. "No, it's fine. I'm okay."
Kai looked at him with mild disapproval. "What do you mean it's fine? Night duty isn't easy. Take it."
The guard hesitated, clearly unsure, but Kai didn't give him much room to refuse. "Go on. I'll pay for it."
Alina poured another glass and handed it over. The guard finally took it, still slightly unsure but not suspicious enough to question further. Kai leaned casually against the railing, continuing the conversation as if it were nothing more than small talk. "You alone here?"
"No," the guard replied, gesturing slightly. "There's a team."
Kai nodded thoughtfully, then let out a small sigh. "Yeah… I've done shifts like this before. Not fun. Let me help you out a bit."
He turned toward Alina again. "Give everyone a glass. I'll cover it."
Without hesitation, she began pouring more, handing them over one by one while the guard passed them along to the others. The process was smooth, almost routine, and within minutes, every guard had a cup in their hands
"That's enough," the guard finally said.
Kai nodded, glancing around. "Everyone got one?"
"Yeah," the man replied, a bit more relaxed now. "Thanks, buddy."
Kai gave a small nod, finishing the last sip of his own coffee before stepping back. Alina had already begun walking away, her pace natural, her role perfectly maintained. Within a minute, both of them were back in the car.
Ryan turned immediately, looking between them. "What was that?"
Kai closed the door calmly, removing his hat slightly as he settled into his seat. His voice remained steady, almost indifferent. "I gave them something in their coffee."
Ryan's expression shifted instantly. "You did what?"
"It's a mild sedative," Kai explained, his tone precise. "Fast-acting, temporary. It'll make them drowsy, slow their reaction time, reduce awareness. They won't pass out immediately, but they won't be able to focus either."
Ryan stared at him. "And how long does that last?"
"About an hour," Kai replied. "After that, it fades completely."
Ryan leaned back, still processing. "What if they test the coffee? Or the cups?
Kai's gaze shifted briefly toward the mansion, calm and calculating. "They can try. It won't matter."
Ryan frowned. "Why?"
"Because it doesn't stay in the system long enough to be traced," Kai said evenly. "By the time anyone thinks of testing it, there won't be anything left except the coffee itself."
Silence settled in the car for a moment. Ryan exhaled slowly, shaking his head. "You two are actually insane."
Alina leaned back in her seat, removing the fake mustache with a small, satisfied smile. "Not insane," she corrected casually. "Efficient."
Kai didn't respond. His eyes remained fixed on the mansion ahead. Because now— They had exactly one hour. Ryan unfolded the printed layout across the dashboard, smoothing the creases with his palm as the faint streetlight filtered through the windshield and traced the outlines of the mansion on paper.
His finger moved with precision, marking positions one after another as if he had already memorized every inch of the place.
"This is the outer perimeter," he began, his voice low but steady, carrying the authority of someone who understood security beyond surface level.
"Two guards at the main gate, one rotating every fifteen minutes. These two here patrol the side corridor, and there's another pair near the back entrance." His finger tapped lightly against different points, each location etched into his mind with exact clarity.
"Cameras are placed at every corner, overlapping angles so there are no blind spots in open ground." Alina leaned slightly forward, her eyes following the map carefully.
Ryan paused for a moment, then shifted his finger to a narrow space along the boundary wall. "Except here," he added quietly.
"There's a three-second blind sweep when these two cameras rotate in opposite directions. It's small, but it's enough if you move precisely."
Kai didn't respond immediately. His gaze remained fixed on the mansion outside, watching the slow mechanical rotation of the cameras as if confirming Ryan's words in real time.
"The night surrounding the mansion isn't empty," Ryan continued, folding the map slightly as he spoke. "It's controlled. Every sound, every movement—it's accounted for. The guards aren't relaxed because they're careless. They're relaxed because they believe nothing can happen here."
Outside, the environment reflected exactly that. Security lights bathed the tall stone walls in a pale, almost sterile glow, while cameras moved in steady arcs, their quiet mechanical hum blending into the stillness.
Guards spoke in low tones near the gate, their voices barely audible, carried away by the wind before they could form anything clear. The occasional crunch of boots against gravel marked patrol routes that were followed with disciplined repetition.
Everything looked normal. Perfectly normal and that illusion was exactly what Kai intended to maintain. When the plan had first been discussed, he had made one thing absolutely clear to Ryan. There would be no dramatic entrances, no interference with the cameras, no unnecessary confrontation. Even with the sedative already in the guards' systems, complacency was not an option.
"They're slower, not unconscious," Kai said calmly, his voice cutting through the quiet inside the car.
"That means they can still notice patterns, still recognize something out of place. If we act careless, even for a second, it's over."
Ryan nodded slightly. "And the moment someone realizes something is wrong…"
"It won't stay silent," Kai finished. "It becomes a confrontation."
Alina leaned back in her seat, adjusting the cap over her head. "So we don't get caught."
Kai glanced at her briefly. "We don't get noticed."
The distinction hung in the air. The car remained parked under the shadow of the neem tree, hidden just enough to avoid attention. Inside, the tension wasn't loud, but it was sharp, focused, alive.