[A Month Later]
The car rumbled along the cracked streets of New York, its engine purring low like a predator stalking prey.
Simon sat behind the wheel, his hands relaxed but firm, guiding the vehicle through the dimly lit urban sprawl.
The city was alive in a way that always felt wrong — movement in the dark, the sound of distant voices, and the occasional flicker of headlights from other vehicles cutting through the gloom.
In the passenger seat, Bethany leaned back, her arms crossed, her sharp eyes scanning the streets. Rita and Leo sat in the back, a tense silence hanging between them.
It wasn't fear — not exactly. It was the kind of quiet anticipation that came before a storm.
Simon's voice broke the silence, steady and low. "I've tracked the supplier. He operates out of a fortified compound on the east side of the city. Name's Grayson Miller. If the intel's right, he's got a stockpile of guns big enough to arm an entire battalion."
