The spotlight bore down to them, illuminating the tense scene. Aura gripped her dagger, her stance poised and ready. The guards, armed and advancing rapidly, looked uncertain, despite their numbers. Logan, leaning casually again a wall, looked more amused than concerned.
"You do realize there are at least ten of them, right?" he remarked, his tone dripping with sarcasm.
Aura didn't even glance at him. "Ten? That's hardly a challenge."
Logan smirked. "Confident, aren't we?"
Before he could finish his sentence, Aura moved like a shadow. She lunged at the first guard, her dagger glinting under the harsh light. Within moments, two guards were disarmed, groaning on the ground. The others hesitated, clearly startled by her speed and precision.
Logan raised an eyebrow, impressed, despite himself. "Alright, I'll admit, this is slightly entertaining."
Aura shot him a cold glare. "You want to help? Or are you going to run your mouth all night?"
"Watching seems safe," he quipped, crossing his arms.
The remaining guards regrouped, one of them barking orders. Guns are drawn,and Aura tensed. Her earpiece crackled to life.
"Aura, backup is five minutes out. Can you hold them off?"
"I don't need backup," she hissed under her breath, dodging a bullet as it ricocheted off the wall.
Logan's smug expression faltered as another shot rang out, narrowly missing him. "Okay, maybe we should speed this up!"
Aura rolled her eyes, moving like a whirlwind. She disarmed another guard, twisting his arm until he cried out and dropped his weapon. In one fluid motion, she used him as a shield, advancing on the remaining group.
Logan, meanwhile, ducked behind a crate, muttering to himself. "Of al the crazy people I could get stuck with..."
As the last guard went down, Aura turned to Logan, who was still crouched behind the crate.
"Are you done hiding, dear national prince?" she asked, her tone laced with mockery.
"I wasn't hiding," he retorted, standing up and brushing off his jacket. "I was..... strategizing."
Aura snorted. "Right. Because strategizing involves cowering behind a box."
Logan narrowed his eyes. "You are really enjoying this, aren't you?"
She sheathed her dagger, smirking. "A little. Now, let's go before reinforcements show up."
******
Meanwhile, in his office, Carlos paced back and forth, his anger barely contained.
"She escaped once, and now she's taking out my men like they are nothing!" he bellowed.
One of his lieutenants hesitated before speaking. "Boss, maybe we should cut out losses. Aura is deadly and—"
Carlos slammed his fist on the desk, cutting him off. "No! She humiliated me, and now she's ruining everything. I want her dead. Do you hear me? Dead!!"
He turned to another subordinate. "And find Logan Mason. If Aura saved him, I'll make sure he regrets ever crossing me."
The subordinate nodded, but there was fear in his eyes. No one wanted to face Aura. Because facing her is automatic death.
*****
Aura and Logan made their way through the final stretch of the compound, the faint hum of approaching vehicles growing louder.
"What now?" Logan asked, his arrogance giving way to flicker unease.
"Now," Aura replied, "we run."
They broke into a sprint as headlights appeared in the distance. A black SUV screeched to a halt in front of them, the drivers side window rolling down. "Aura, get in!"
She didn't hesitate, shoving Logan toward the vehicle. "Move!"
Logan stumbled into the back seat, glaring at her. " A little warning would have been nice."
Aura ignored him, climbing in after him as the SUV sped off.
As the car raced through the city, Logan turned to Aura, his irritation boiling over.
"Alright, who really are you? And don't give me that 'just doing my job' nonsense."
Aura leaned back, her expression unreadable. "I'm the person who just saved your life. That's all you need to know."
Logan scoffed."Oh, please. You're not fooling anyone. You're obviously obsessed with me. It's fine, you are not the first."
Aura stared at him for a long moment, then burst out laughing.
Logan's jaw tightened. "What's so funny?"
"You," she said, wiping a tear from her eye. "You really think the world revolves around you, don't you?"
He crossed his arms, glaring. "Well, it does."
"Not for me" she replied coolly, her amusement fading. "You're just another job."
Logan opened his mouth to respond, but the car screeched to an halt, cutting him off.
Aura's earpiece crackled again.
"Aura, we've got a problem. Carlos is already tracking your location and he has doubled his security.
She cursed under her breath, glancing at Loganm "Looks like your fan club isn't done with us yet."
Logan rolled his eyes. "Fantastic. Can't wait to see what's next."
Aura smirked, pulling out her dagger. "Neither can I."