The metal door opened again.
CLANG.
Footsteps entered the room.
Izana didn't look up at first.
He already knew they had come back.
The two agents from before stepped inside, their silhouettes sharp beneath the interrogation light.
One of them held a pair of hand restraints.
The other carried Izana's phone.
"Well," the first agent said. "Looks like we're taking a little trip."
Izana slowly lifted his head.
His eyes were calm.
Unreadable.
The second agent stepped forward and grabbed his arm roughly.
"Up."
Izana stood.
His ribs protested immediately.
Pain shot through his side where the earlier blows had landed.
But he didn't show it.
The agent tightened the restraints around his wrists.
Metal this time.
Cold.
Unforgiving.
"Since you were kind enough to tell us about this Blackridge warehouse," the first agent said, "you can show us exactly where it is."
Izana said nothing.
They shoved him toward the door.
The hallway outside smelled faintly of oil and concrete.
Dim lights flickered overhead.
It was evening now.
The sky outside the building had darkened into deep blue.
Clouds stretched across the horizon.
The agents pushed Izana forward.
Hard.
"Move."
They exited the building and stepped into the cool evening air.
The temperature had dropped slightly.
A black car waited in the lot.
Engine running.
One of the agents opened the back door.
Izana was shoved inside.
Two men slid in beside him immediately.
One on each side.
Another agent took the driver's seat.
The last one climbed into the passenger seat.
The door slammed shut.
The engine growled.
The car pulled away from the building and onto the road.
Streetlights flickered on one by one as the evening deepened.
The city blurred past the windows.
One of the agents pressed the cold barrel of a gun lightly into Izana's ribs.
"Start giving directions."
Izana looked forward.
Silent for a moment.
Then he spoke.
"Left at the next intersection."
The driver obeyed.
They turned.
"Straight."
Another turn.
Another street.
The agents listened carefully.
The passenger in the front scribbled something in a small notebook.
"Keep going."
Minutes passed.
The city lights slowly faded behind them.
The streets became quieter.
Darker.
Industrial.
Finally the car turned onto a gravel road.
Crunch.
Crunch.
The sound of tires against stone echoed in the quiet evening air.
The car slowed.
Then stopped.
One of the agents opened the door and stepped out.
The evening wind moved through the empty lot.
In front of them stood an old warehouse.
Large.
Metal walls.
Rust creeping along the edges.
Several windows were broken.
The building looked abandoned.
One of the agents grabbed Izana's arm and dragged him out of the car.
"Well?" he asked.
Izana looked at the building calmly.
"This is it."
The agents exchanged satisfied glances.
"Finally," one of them muttered.
They shoved Izana forward.
"Walk."
Gravel crunched beneath their boots as they approached the warehouse.
The evening sky had darkened further now.
The last traces of sunlight had disappeared behind the distant buildings.
Wind whistled softly through broken panels in the warehouse walls.
The large metal doors stood closed.
One of the agents pushed Izana toward them.
"Open it."
Izana looked at the doors.
Old steel.
Heavy.
One of the agents loosened the restraints just enough for him to move his hands.
"Try anything stupid," the man warned quietly, "and you're dead."
Izana didn't respond.
He stepped forward.
His fingers wrapped around the cold metal handle.
For a moment everything was still.
Then he pulled.
The doors groaned as they opened.
CREAK.
A second later—
THUMP.
Something small rolled across the floor inside the warehouse.
One of the agents frowned.
"What the—."
The smoke bomb detonated.
White smoke exploded outward in a violent cloud.
The agents immediately began coughing.
"Shit!"
"WHAT IS THIS—."
The smoke swallowed the entrance.
Visibility disappeared instantly.
Shapes moved within the smoke.
Fast.
Precise.
One agent raised his gun blindly.
Too slow.
A shadow slammed into him.
CRACK.
He collapsed to the ground.
Another agent swung his arm wildly through the smoke.
A fist struck his jaw.
Hard.
He dropped instantly.
The third agent stumbled backward, coughing.
"CONTACT—."
He never finished the sentence.
A sharp strike to the neck dropped him where he stood.
Within seconds the chaos was over.
The smoke still hung in the air, drifting slowly toward the evening sky.
Through the fading white cloud a figure stepped forward.
Dante.
He reached Izana immediately.
"Boss."
A knife flashed in his hand.
The restraints fell away with a quick turn and pull.
Izana rolled his wrists slightly as blood returned to his hands.
Dante studied him quickly.
"You alright?"
Izana wiped the dried blood from the corner of his lip.
"I've been worse."
Behind them several men moved through the smoke.
Trusted members of Izana's organization.
They quickly secured the unconscious agents.
Weapons were kicked aside.
Hands were bound.
Dante grabbed Izana's arm.
"We need to move."
Izana nodded once.
They moved quickly around the side of the warehouse.
Behind the building another car sat hidden in shadow.
Dante opened the passenger door.
Izana slid inside.
Dante ran around to the driver's seat and jumped in.
The engine roared to life.
The car pulled away from the warehouse, disappearing onto the road.
The evening streets stretched ahead of them.
For the first time since his capture—
Izana was free.
Dante glanced over briefly while driving.
"You had us worried."
Izana leaned back slightly in the seat.
Silent for a moment.
The streetlights flickered past the windows.
Then Dante asked,
"Home?"
Izana looked out the window.
The city lights were getting closer again.
He shook his head.
"Not yet."
Dante raised an eyebrow.
"Where to then?"
Izana answered calmly.
"The jewellery shop."
Dante blinked once.
"…The jewellery shop?"
Izana nodded.
"Yes."
Dante exhaled slowly.
Even after being kidnapped.
Beaten.
Interrogated.
His boss still had priorities.
Dante shook his head slightly and pressed the accelerator.
"Alright."
The car sped through the evening streets.
And Izana stared ahead quietly.
Thinking of Leah.
And the ring waiting for him.