The night air was thick with mist as Aiden and Serena stepped onto the creaking wooden planks of Pier 17. The waves crashed against the pylons below, their sound drowned by the faint hum of a cargo ship in the distance. A single flickering streetlight illuminated the path ahead.
"Remind me again why we're doing this?" Serena asked, hands buried deep in her jacket pockets.
Aiden tightened his grip on the crumpled note in his hand. "Because whoever sent this knows something. And I need answers."
Ahead, a silhouette stood at the edge of the pier, shrouded in shadows. The figure turned slightly, revealing a man in a sharp black coat, cigarette glowing between his fingers.
"You're late, Aiden," the man said, his voice smooth and unbothered.
Aiden froze. "Who are you? How do you know my name?"
The man exhaled a cloud of smoke, the orange ember briefly lighting up his cold gray eyes. "Names don't matter. What matters is that time is running out—for you, and for everyone you care about."
Serena stepped forward, her voice sharp. "Enough with the cryptic crap. What do you want from him?"
The man flicked his cigarette into the water. "It's not about what I want. It's about what he has."
Aiden's brows knitted. "I don't have anything."
The man smirked, his expression both amused and disappointed. "Not yet, but you will. You're standing at the edge of something much bigger than you can understand right now. And if you don't make the right moves, people will die."
A chill ran down Aiden's spine. He glanced at Serena, her face set in a mixture of confusion and defiance.
"Alright," Aiden said, his voice steady. "Tell me what I need to do."
The man took a step closer, shadows swallowing half his face. "There's a package arriving tomorrow night at Dock 9. It contains something… important. You need to get to it before they do."
"Who's they?" Serena asked.
The man's eyes darted behind them, and in one swift motion, he pulled a pistol from his coat and fired a shot over Aiden's shoulder.
Aiden ducked instinctively as Serena let out a startled gasp. Behind them, a second figure fell to the ground with a heavy thud, a silenced pistol slipping from their fingers.
"They've already started," the man said calmly, lowering his weapon. "Go. Now."
Aiden's heart pounded as he grabbed Serena's hand, pulling her away from the pier. They ran—boots pounding against wood, breath sharp and ragged—until they reached the safety of the main road.
Serena stopped, bent over with her hands on her knees. "What… the hell… was that?!"
Aiden stared back at the pier, his mind racing. "I think we just walked into something way bigger than us."
Serena stood upright, her eyes blazing. "So what now, Cross?"
Aiden looked down at the note in his hand, then back at Serena. "We go to Dock 9."
But deep down, he couldn't shake the feeling that someone—somewhere—was still watching them.
Above, the clouds parted just enough for the pale moon to cast its cold light over them, like an unblinking eye in the night sky.