The city was a beast with a thousand eyes, watching and waiting. Max could feel its gaze on him as he moved through the back alleys, the scent of rain and decay heavy in the air. The dawn had barely broken, casting a sickly, grey light over the streets. It was the hour when ghosts walked, and the past clung to every shadow.
Max paused at a corner, letting the cigarette smoke curl around him like a lover's whisper. His mind was a labyrinth of plans and contingencies, each one a desperate gamble in the war against the Spider. He took one last drag and flicked the butt into the gutter, watching the embers die.
He slipped into the warehouse, the air thick with the smell of gun oil and sweat. The others were already there, their faces etched with the same grim determination. Vivian was hunched over a table, her fingers flying over a laptop's keyboard. Elena stood by the window, her eyes scanning the street below, every muscle taut with anticipation.
