The first shot nearly took her head off, and it wasn't a mistake.
The bullet slammed into the concrete wall beside Liv, fragments scattering as they grazed her skin. She didn't stop, didn't turn. Her body had already moved before her mind could catch up.
"Sniper. Twelve o'clock," she said calmly.
"I don't see—"
"High ground. Left rooftop."
She shifted immediately, lowering her stance and slipping into the narrow side of the building, using shadows and blind spots like second nature. Two more shots followed — cleaner, closer, and far too precise to be a warning.
Someone was actually trying to kill her.
"We fall back," a voice on comms tightened.
"Not yet."
Liv paused for half a second, just enough to read the pattern. Direction. Rhythm. The space between shots. Too clean.
She raised her weapon and fired once.
Silence.
No return fire. No movement.
And that was worse.
"He repositioned," someone muttered.
Liv already knew.
"Target status?" another voice cut in.
"Not secured," Liv replied shortly.
"We're losing time."
"We're losing control," a different voice interrupted, calm and sharp.
Kai.
No one said his name, no one needed to.
Liv didn't look back. Her focus stayed forward.
"The perimeter is compromised," Kai continued. "Reset formation. All units stay within range."
No panic in his tone, just calculation. That made everything worse.
They had run missions like this dozens of times without failure. But now — they were the ones being hunted.
"West access is locked."
"Who locked it?"
"…Not us."
That answer froze everyone for half a second. Long enough to realize this wasn't just a breach. It was a takeover.
Liv pressed her comm. "All units, stay in visual. No one moves alone."
"You're the one who usually breaks that rule."
The voice tried to sound light. Failed.
She didn't respond. She was already moving.
She stopped just before the open area.
It was a small plaza, maybe thirty meters across, flanked by two low buildings and a dead-end alley on the far side. No parked cars, no vendors, no cover except a single concrete planter in the middle. Too clean. Too exposed.
No gunfire. No footsteps. No sound. Like everything had been held back.
Her eyes scanned ahead. Empty.
But something was there — something she couldn't see — and that was exactly the problem.
It felt like someone was waiting. Watching. Calculating.
"Liv," Kai's voice returned. "Report your position."
"Still on route."
"You're off route."
"Not enough to matter."
A pause, short and sharp.
"Don't make me pull you out myself."
She didn't answer, but her steps slowed just a little.
She raised her weapon slowly. Her breathing steadied. Her focus narrowed.
Everything else disappeared.
Pftt.
The shot came without warning. Fast. Precise. Straight for her head.
Liv moved on instinct, but she knew — she was too late.
Pftt.
Two shots, almost at the same time.
The bullet meant for her stopped mid-air, then dropped. Not because she dodged, but because someone shot it.
"What the—?!"
Comms exploded.
"Second sniper?!"
"Not on radar!"
Silence didn't return. Instead, something tighter settled in.
Liv didn't move. Her gaze lifted to the rooftop across from her — a four-story building with a crumbling parapet and a water tower on the left. Empty. No figure, no shadow, no movement. Like it never happened.
"…did you see that?" someone whispered.
Liv didn't answer. Her thoughts had already shifted. Not to the one who tried to kill her, but to the one who stopped it.
Someone just saved her. And it wasn't her team.
"All units, fall back. Now."
This time, Kai didn't leave room for argument.
Liv stayed for half a second longer, still staring at that rooftop. Looking for something that wasn't there. Or maybe someone who didn't want to be found.
"Liv."
Kai's voice dropped. Lower. Sharper.
She moved. Finally.
As she pulled back, one thing stayed with her — not the bullet, not the mission, not the target.
Him.
Because whoever that was, he didn't just see them. He read them. Faster. Cleaner. More precise.
And worst of all — he chose not to kill her.
Which meant this wasn't over.