Kai's penthouse.
Lucas slammed his fist on the table. "Hotel manager swears the girl was just staff. But security saw Vernon carry her out like a damn princess."
Victor said, " I have sent a man to threaten the girl's uncle and aunt!"
Kai's lips curved — cold, dangerous. " Good. Then we use the uncle and aunt to get the girl."
---
The rain turned into a downpour.
Vernon drove the back roads, eyes scanning every mirror. Ira sat rigid beside him, tickets clutched in her lap. At the old industrial district, he pulled into the narrow alley behind the mustard-yellow house.
Raj and Meera darted out, each with one bag, faces pale with terror. They climbed into the back seat without a word.
Raj's voice cracked. "The man who came… he said if we run, the whole family burns."
Vernon didn't look back. "He won't get the chance."
Mr. and Mrs Royvane went inside the car.
Vernon started the engine and moved the car on the road dashingly.
Vernon floored it toward the central train terminal on the city's northern edge. The night train to the border was already boarding.
Halfway there, headlights appeared behind them. Three black SUVs. Closing fast.
"Shit," Vernon muttered. He swerved hard right into the abandoned rail yard that flanked the terminal, tires screaming on wet gravel.
The chase ignited.
Kai's voice crackled over the encrypted line in Vernon's tapped scanner. "Target vehicle in the rail yard. Enforcers, take them alive if possible. The girl first."
Vernon killed the lights and drove blind through the maze of rusted containers and freight cars.
Mr. and Mrs. Royvane were worried. Ira was continuously staring at Vernon's fierce face who was driving the car insanely . But he had great driving skills.
Vernon used the terrain like a chessboard — sharp left behind a stack of shipping crates, then a sudden reverse that made the lead SUV overshoot and slam into a concrete pillar. Metal screeched.
The second SUV tried to flank from the left.
Vernon yanked the wheel, scraping the side of his car along a container wall to force it wide. A bullet sparked off the rear fender. He spun the SUV 180 degrees, accelerated straight at the gap between two stationary freight cars. The pursuing vehicle was too wide — it wedged halfway, wheels spinning uselessly.
Only one SUV left.
Vernon's eyes flicked to the clock on the dash. Nine minutes until the train left.
He cut through a narrow service tunnel under the tracks, mirrors shearing off with a shriek. The final SUV tried to follow and got jammed. Horns blared. Enforcers shouted.
They burst out the other side, tires smoking.
The train terminal loomed ahead — floodlights, crowds, the long silver train already hissing steam.
Vernon skidded to a stop behind a row of cargo containers. He turned to the back seat.
"Mr. Royvane, Mrs. Royvane— get on the train. Platform 4. The driver knows the passphrase 'Red dawn.' New identities and safe house waiting at the end of the line. Go. Now."
Raj hesitated. "And Ira?"
Vernon looked at her. Ira was looking back at him with her innocent eyes. Vernon didn't want her to go away from him but he didn't had any other options.
"Go." He said to Ira.
Ira stared at him for some time. She didn't understand why he cared so much for her.
Meera grabbed Ira's hand, eyes wet. "Come with us, dear. Please."
Ira's throat tightened. She looked at Vernon — the man who had broken a door with his shoulder, fed her while starving, always protected her from the vicious monsters, risked everything to get her family out.
Vernon ordered, "Go!!! "
Ira couldn't say anything, couldn't do anything. As if she became a statue of stone.
She shook her head. "I can't run . I have to punish those monsters."
Vernon's jaw tightened, but he didn't argue.
He helped her uncle and aunt out of the car and pointed them toward the platform.
"Go," he told them. "Don't look back. I'm taking her. "
The couple ran into the crowd. The train doors were already closing.
Vernon then turned back to Ira.
Before she could react, he stepped forward, slid one arm behind her back and the other beneath her knees — and lifted her effortlessly into his arms.
Ira gasped.
"W-what are you doing?!" she whispered, startled, her hands instinctively clutching his coat as the ground suddenly disappeared beneath her feet.
"Getting you on that train," he said flatly, already striding forward.
Her eyes widened in shock. "No— put me down! I told you, I'm not running!"
Her eyes filled with tears.
She struggled lightly, but Vernon's grip only tightened. He carried her in a firm bridal hold, as if she weighed nothing at all.
Rain poured around them, soaking his hair and shoulders, but he didn't slow down. His long strides were steady, determined — unstoppable.
"Put me down!" Ira protested, her voice trembling. "I have to stay! I need to punish them!"
"You're not fighting them," he replied coldly, without looking at her.
"But—"
"No."
His voice was quiet — but absolute.
Ira looked up at him.
His jaw was clenched. His eyes were sharp and dark.
Her heart tightened.
Behind them, Raj and Meera hurried toward Platform 4, glancing back anxiously. When they saw Vernon carrying Ira like that, their eyes widened in surprise.
They quickly turned and rushed ahead.
Ira pushed lightly against his chest. "You can't just decide for me…"
"Yes, I can."
"You're being unfair!"
"I don't care."
Her breath caught.
The rain dripped down his sharp features. He looked fierce, dangerous — yet the way he held her was careful… protective… almost gentle.
"I won't run away…" she whispered softly.
"You're not running," Vernon said quietly.
"Then what am I doing?"
"You're surviving."
Ira fell silent.
Ira's Uncle and Aunt already went inside the train. They were worrying about Ira.
The train hissed loudly, steam rising into the rain-filled night. People rushed around them, but Vernon moved straight through the crowd, shielding Ira with his body.
Her fingers slowly tightened around his collar.
Her heart was beating fast.
She didn't know why.
She didn't understand why he cared so much.
But she knew one thing—
For the first time… she felt safe… in his arms.
An enforcer appeared ahead, blocking the way . Vernon brought Ira down .
Then he reached towards the man. He slammed into the man shoulder-first, sending him tumbling down the metal steps. Another came from the side.
Vernon used the nearby railing as leverage, swung his leg in a brutal arc, and kicked him off the catwalk into a pile of crates.
Ira's breath came in sharp gasps. "They're everywhere."
"Not for long," Vernon said. He spotted the maintenance ladder leading down to the platform. "One more minute. You get on the train. I'll hold them here."
Below, the last two enforcers were climbing up fast.
Vernon pushed Ira toward the ladder. "Go. Now."
She hesitated at the top rung, looking back at him — bleeding, exhausted, standing alone against the closing net.
"Go," he said, voice rough. "You need to be safe."
She climbed down, legs shaking, and jumped onto the platform just as the train doors began to close.
Vernon turned to face the two enforcers climbing toward him. He raised his gun, breath steady.
Kai's voice crackled again through the earpiece one of them wore. "Take the girl. Leave Vernon if you have to."
The train whistle blew a final warning.
Ira stood at the open door, one foot still on the platform, eyes locked on Vernon above.
He looked down at her once — eyes fierce, desperate.
The doors started sliding shut.
Vernon fired twice. One enforcer dropped. The other lunged.
Vernon met him head-on, fist cracking across the man's jaw, buying the last precious seconds.
The train began to move.
Ira's hand gripped the door frame, rain mixing with tears on her face.
Vernon shoved the enforcer off the catwalk, then sprinted for the ladder.
Too late.
The train picked up speed.
Ira watched him run along the catwalk above, parallel to the tracks, long coat flapping in the wind.
Their eyes met for one final second.
He mouthed a single word.
"Go."
The train pulled away from the station, carrying Ira and her family into the night.
Vernon stood on the catwalk, chest heaving, blood dripping from his knuckles and shoulder, watching the red taillights disappear into the rain.
He had done what he came to do.
Ira was going out of the city.
She will be safe now.
Vernon thought.
**To be continued…**