Day 6
_PDV NICKE_
Monday 06, 12 AM...
- Yes, everything is under control. Allya informed me of what happened during my absence.
- We pay them, and they don't even do us a service. Let them do their damn job. Clawin almost sold us to Exus! We can't afford any more mistakes, I say, already angry at Lega Echi's incompetence.
- That was my order. Calm down. I told them to do something else. We've changed plans. Exus is officially our ally, Ace whispers, focused on Nashtia.
- She discovered everything. She dug into Lega Echi's data, captured their boss, made him talk... then she confronted me the night before last, Ace continues, a sly smile on his lips.
I grit my teeth.
Damn it.
- So, you negotiated. We're allies now? I ask, my gaze sliding unabashedly over Moya Zlaya's controlled curves. She moves like a weapon. Every gesture is precise. Calculated.
Ace nods slowly.
- Kira is quite special. Guess what? With a simple call, she convinced their boss to spill the whole truth. I didn't hear everything, but... she threatened him. Not physically, she said something, and he collapsed. He talked.
I feel a shiver run down my spine. That kind of control... it's rare.
I knew it.
- Kira, I murmur between my teeth. I'm not surprised.
She resembles me in her way of anticipating, forcing people to choose their side without them understanding how.
She was born for this.
I turn my eyes away from Moya Zlaya and fix them on Nashtia. Her gaze meets mine for half a second.
She knows, and Kira will know too.
- Do you trust her? I finally ask.
Ace doesn't answer right away. He takes a long breath, as if the question forces him to rethink the entire chessboard.
- I didn't need to choose; Exus has already won. He breathes out, slumping into the chair.
Either we ally, or we lose.
The silence between Ace and me stretches, tense like a string ready to snap. On the dance floor, bodies move, but I see only her. She doesn't look at me.
She doesn't need to.
Her bare back, her precise movements, the way she keeps her neck slightly turned... everything about her is a coded message.
She knows I'm watching her.
And she punishes me with her indifference.
Ace gets up and walks away, perhaps aware that he has nothing more to say, or maybe just smart enough to withdraw before my anger finds a target. I remain alone, my eyes fixed on her.
Kira.
She leaves the dance floor. Her gaze brushes mine for a moment, then she slips away, heading for the private stairs. She hasn't called me, she hasn't said anything. But I get up immediately.
I follow her.
The stairs slide slightly under my steps. I know where she's going, a high, glass-walled room.
When I enter, she is there, alone. One leg folded on the couch, a glass in hand. The wind gently lifts her hair.
- This is where you all are, she says, without turning her head, down below.
Her tone is calm, almost sweet. But every word is a blade. Nashtia must have told her.
I approach.
I smell her perfume before I feel her warmth. And I know she lets me approach; it's her way of testing me, playing with the invisible chain that binds us.
- You took down Lega Echi. You boosted Exus. And you've known since the night before last, I tell her, contemplating the smirk on her lips.
She finally turns to me. Her gaze is sharp, but behind it... I see something else. A tension. An expectation.
- Because nothing has changed; it's not like I trust you, Nicke, she replies calmly, but her eyes are cruel.
I smile, almost despite myself.
- Are you sure? Is that why you threw me into Sofia's arms, to clarify things? I say, turning away from her, from her body.
She sets down her glass and slowly stands up. Our bodies brush against each other. She looks up at me: provocative, cruel, magnificent.
- Do you think I'm playing against you? she asks, serious.
- I think you're playing, period, I reply, looking at her.
She steps closer, her hand brushes my collar, slowly descending on my chest.
- And you... do you think you're out of the game? she whispers.
My jaw tightens.
She pushes me to my limits, always. But this time, I'm not sure I still have the upper hand.
I grab her suddenly by the waist, pressing her against me.
- Say it, Kira. Tell me you're not a killer, I order her impatiently.
I want her to admit it; I'd like to see her kill, to confirm my doubts. I'd like to see her in action.
But she's not a professional for nothing; she knows me, and she plays it very well.
She doesn't move, she doesn't even smile; she just dives her gaze into mine, deep, burning.
- You're not interested in me, but in who you think I am, she says, pointing to my heart with her index finger.
She doesn't believe that...
- I love evil, and that's all, I whisper, smiling sarcastically.
- I'm not bad. I let you believe otherwise, sometimes? she asks, with her green eyes.
She hypnotizes me, she steps back, takes her glass.
She turns on her heels to leave.
I let her go.
A part of me wants to catch up with her. Pin her against the wall, remind her exactly to whom she belongs, but that would be too simple.
Too expected.
I don't react; I implant myself. I root myself. And I let the walls rot from the inside until everything collapses under my rules.
So I smile, coldly.
She thinks she had the last word? Perfect. That's what it takes. Let her believe. I let her dance in the illusion while I build the truth.
Kira... Moya Zlaya... no matter the mask she wears, she is not mine. She is mine. A fundamental nuance.
I am in every gesture she makes. Every decision. Every calculation. I slowly embed myself; she begins to live for me.
Does she think she can escape me? She is slowly starting to live in the cage I built for her. She has decorated the walls; she reigns there, yes. But I drew the outlines.
I step out as well. I leave the evening. I inform Ace and Sofia.
I don't need to chase after what belongs to me.
Outside, the night is heavy, the air saturated with tension. The city itself seems to bend to my thoughts.
I join the armored control car, where Allya waits for me, silent, her eyes fixed on the cameras.
- She left with Nashtia, she says without turning around.
- So, she's not coming back. Where's the list? I ask, cracking my neck.
This girl has set me up everywhere.
She talks to me. Explains what Kira thinks, what she has decided about our alliance, as if she were the one holding the cards.
She doesn't mention the list.
- Let her do her thing; let her think I'm stepping back, erase my history from the upcoming reports.
- Until when? Allya asks, a bit worried.
I fix her with an impassive gaze.
- Until I return to the center. Until then, she will be with me, I say calmly.
Allya nods. She knows. Everyone knows.
I don't lose.
I fade away, sometimes.
But always to encircle better.
Kira, she will only understand too late that every victory she snatches only brings her closer to me.
Persist, Moya Zlaya. And prove me right.
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