Sam walked out of the warehouse, the night air colder than it had been when they arrived. The rain had stopped, but the sky remained heavy, a threatening canopy of clouds that mirrored the turmoil inside their mind. Lucia's words still echoed in Sam's ears, a constant reminder of how deep they had fallen into this world they hadn't even known existed until now.
Dimitri Antonov.
The name burned in Sam's mind like a brand, a cold specter haunting every thought. A shadow darker than Viktor Markov. Sam had thought they were prepared to uncover the truth about Jack, but nothing had prepared them for this.
They had only come to find answers, to understand why their friend had died. But now it seemed the truth was buried beneath a mountain of danger and deceit. The further Sam dug, the more it seemed like there was no end to the darkness. There was always someone more dangerous, more powerful, lurking in the background.
The file in Sam's hand felt like a weight they couldn't shake off, but they had no choice but to keep moving forward. If they turned back now, if they dropped this investigation, Jack's death would be in vain. Sam couldn't let that happen.
They needed help. But who could they trust now?
As Sam walked through the empty streets, they pulled out their phone and dialed Ren's number. The phone rang once, twice, then picked up.
"Sam?" Ren's voice was hoarse, as if they had been expecting the call. "What's going on? You found something, didn't you?"
"Yeah," Sam replied, their voice tight with the weight of what they had just learned. "I found a name. Dimitri Antonov. He's the one behind everything. He's the one who had Jack killed."
There was a long pause on the other end. Ren didn't speak immediately. Sam could almost feel their heart beating in their chest, the tension in the silence palpable.
"Antonov?" Ren finally asked, their voice barely a whisper. "Are you sure?"
"Lucia said so. She's the one who pointed me to him," Sam said, their grip tightening around the phone. "She said he's worse than Markov. He's the one pulling the strings. He controls everything."
"Shit," Ren muttered. "This is bad, Sam. This is really bad. Antonov isn't someone you want to mess with. He's ruthless. If he's involved in Jack's death... we're in deep."
"I don't care how deep we are, Ren. I need to know what happened. Jack didn't deserve this." Sam's voice shook with the raw emotion of it all. "I'm not stopping until I have the truth."
Ren sighed, a long, heavy sound. "You're not alone in this, Sam. But you have to be careful. Antonov's people are everywhere. You don't know who you can trust anymore."
Sam nodded, even though Ren couldn't see them. The weight of the danger was starting to sink in. They couldn't trust anyone. They couldn't even trust themselves, not when they were so far down this rabbit hole.
"I know," Sam said. "But I can't stop now."
There was another pause before Ren spoke again, this time with a note of resolve in their voice. "Alright. Then we do this together. I'll help you. But we need to be smart. We need a plan."
Sam felt a flicker of relief. They weren't alone in this, after all. Ren had always been there when it counted.
"Thank you," Sam said softly.
"Don't thank me yet," Ren replied. "We have a long way to go. Antonov won't make this easy."
Sam hung up, staring at the phone for a moment. The streets seemed emptier now, darker, as though the city itself had grown more dangerous. Every shadow felt like a threat, every footstep echoing in their mind.
But they couldn't stop. Not now.
They had to find Antonov, find out what really happened to Jack, even if it meant going further into the abyss.
The next day, Sam met Ren at a coffee shop on the edge of the city, a place where the noise of the outside world felt muffled, where they could speak freely. Ren was already there when Sam arrived, sitting in a corner booth with a laptop open in front of them. They looked up as Sam slid into the seat across from them.
"Alright," Ren said, tapping the keyboard. "I've been looking into Antonov. He's a ghost, Sam. There's almost nothing on him. But I did find something interesting."
Sam leaned in, their pulse quickening. "What is it?"
Ren clicked through a few screens, then turned the laptop so Sam could see. "This is an encrypted communication network. Antonov uses it to contact his people. It's all over the world, and the security on it is next level. But I was able to get a few coordinates from some intercepted messages."
Sam frowned. "Coordinates? What does that mean?"
Ren's eyes locked onto Sam's. "It means there's a place. A place we can find Antonov. Or at least someone close to him."
Sam felt a surge of adrenaline. "Where?"
Ren typed something into the laptop, and a map appeared on the screen. A location in the city—an abandoned building on the outskirts, a place that had been untouched for years.
"Are you sure?" Sam asked, their voice barely a whisper.
Ren nodded. "I'm sure. But we need to be cautious. This is our best shot at getting answers, but it's also our biggest risk."
Sam's heart raced. Every instinct told them to go, to take the chance. They had to. They had to find out what had happened to Jack.
"Let's do it," Sam said, standing up, determination in their eyes.
Ren grabbed their bag, closing the laptop. "Alright. But we stick to the plan. We go in, we get the intel, and we get out. No heroics."
Sam nodded, their jaw clenched. There was no going back now. They were at the edge, and the only way out was through.
As they walked out of the coffee shop, the weight of what they were about to do pressed down on them. The storm was coming—and it wasn't just the weather. It was a storm of violence, secrets, and people willing to do anything to protect their empire.
And Sam was about to step right into the eye of it.