Cassie's legs burned as she and Anya navigated the labyrinthine backstreets of Prague, each narrow turn offering fleeting safety from the pursuit she knew wouldn't be far behind. The cold bit at their skin, but adrenaline kept them moving, focused solely on survival. The envelope tucked beneath Cassie's arm felt heavier with each step, as though the names and secrets it contained were anchors trying to drag her down.
They finally ducked into a small café a few blocks from the bank, its windows fogged and tables sparsely filled with early patrons nursing their coffees. Cassie pulled Anya to a booth in the back, out of sight from the main street. The warmth inside wrapped around them, though it did little to thaw the tension etched into their features.
Anya glanced around, eyes flitting between each stranger who entered, her body coiled like a spring ready to snap. Cassie placed the envelope on the table and exhaled, the reality of what they'd just done settling over her.
"You need to go," Anya said, breaking the silence. "They'll come looking, and we can't be caught together. I know a place outside the city where I can lay low."
Cassie shook her head. "No. We need to see this through. We need to get the list out before they close in."
Anya's jaw clenched. "Cassie, you don't know the lengths they'll go to. Hale isn't just an enforcer; he's the agency's shadow. If he's involved, they'll turn Prague inside out to find us."
Cassie met Anya's gaze, steel against steel. "Then we'll have to move faster."
For a moment, neither spoke. The distant whir of an espresso machine and the clinking of cups filled the silence. Anya's eyes softened, a reluctant respect in her expression. "You really are like Adam," she whispered.
Cassie's throat tightened at the mention of her brother. It had been his last wish, the thing that had driven her halfway across the world, and now, holding the evidence he died for, she felt the weight of responsibility more acutely than ever.
A sharp knock on the glass door of the café shattered their moment of respite. Cassie's eyes darted to the entrance. Two men in dark suits, their posture rigid, scanned the room, and she recognized them as agency operatives.
"They found us," Anya hissed, already moving toward the rear exit.
Cassie grabbed the envelope and slid out of the booth, keeping low. The men split up, one heading toward the back while the other scanned the customers. Cassie's pulse pounded in her ears as she followed Anya through the kitchen and into a dimly lit corridor that led to a service exit. A sharp voice shouted from behind, and she knew they'd been seen.
"Go!" Anya pushed her through the door, the cold air biting once more as they stumbled into an alley. Tires screeched from the main street, a sleek black sedan racing to cut off their escape.
Anya took Cassie's arm and pulled her down another alley. "There's a safe house nearby," she said between breaths. "We'll be safer there—at least until we can figure out our next move."
Cassie didn't argue, her legs moving on instinct as they twisted and turned through the maze of the city. The adrenaline sharpened her senses: the distant shouts, the smell of damp stone, the sting of cold on her face. Every corner could bring safety or a trap; each step was a gamble.
They burst into a quiet square, its cobblestones slick with morning dew. Anya darted toward a heavy wooden door set into the wall of an old, ivy-clad building. She knocked in a pattern—three short taps, two long—and moments later, it opened to reveal a man with a weathered face and wary eyes.
"Inside," Anya said urgently.
Cassie didn't need to be told twice. The door shut behind them, muffling the chaos outside. The room was small, with mismatched furniture and a single window covered by heavy curtains. Anya exchanged a few words in hushed Czech with the man, who nodded solemnly and retreated to a back room.
Cassie slumped into a chair, heart still racing, and glanced at Anya. "How do we get this out? Who can we trust?"
Anya pressed her lips into a thin line. "There's someone. A journalist named Pavel Markovic. He's been hunting the agency's shadow dealings for years, but he's careful. We'll have to convince him that we're not setting him up."
Cassie nodded, determination sparking in her eyes. "Then we find him."
Anya leaned against the table, her expression unreadable. "Cassie, this will put a target on all of us. Once this story breaks, there's no going back."
"I know," Cassie said, glancing at the envelope that could change everything. "But if we don't, Adam died for nothing."
The room fell silent, a shared understanding passing between them. Outside, the city carried on, oblivious to the storm brewing in its heart. And within the safe house, two women prepared to take the final step that could shatter the agency's facade—and change their lives forever.