Present day
The damp streets of Prague glowed under the flickering amber of old streetlights as two opposing forces moved through the city's labyrinthine alleys, their paths inevitably converging.
On one side, Agent Elias Kane, clad in tactical gear, relayed orders through his earpiece, his team of operatives fanning out to secure vantage points. Their mission was precise—intercept the exchange before the bioweapon disappeared into the black market.
Across the city, in the shadow of the Charles Bridge, Serena Voss moved like a phantom, her own unit—rogue mercenaries with nothing to lose—tracking the same target with ruthless efficiency.
The air crackled with tension as intelligence reports confirmed the exchange was moments away. Then, through the swirling mist of the Vltava River, Elias and Serena locked eyes across the cobblestone plaza, recognition flashing like a blade between them. His jaw clenched. Her lips curled into a smirk. Years of rivalry and unfinished business simmered beneath the surface, but the bioweapon came first. With a split-second decision, both teams advanced—guns drawn, orders shouted—setting the stage for a deadly clash where alliances would blur, and enemies would be forced to decide whether the greater threat lay in each other or the weapon about to change the world. Before either can act, the entire deal is ambushed by a third-party mercenary group. A chaotic shootout erupts.
Boom
Amid the chaos, a grenade detonates, sending shockwaves through the abandoned cathedral where the auction was taking place.
Elias and Serena are thrown, landing together behind the shattered remains of a stone pillar. Dust fills the air. The ringing in their ears is deafening.
Serena is bleeding, a shard of glass embedded in her arm. Elias instinctively presses his hand against her wound to stop the bleeding. Their faces are inches apart, and for a split second they're just two people tangled in the ruins of something broken.
Suddenly- a memory floods back.
1999, spring
A warm summer evening. They are eight years old, playing in the old abandoned treehouse at the edge of town.
Serena always reckless, had climbed too high and slipped. She has crashed onto the wooden planks below scraping her knee open. Elias, panicked but determined had torn a piece of his shirt to bandage her wound.
"You're okay. I've got you," he whispered, his voice filled with childish sincerity.
Serena sniffing through her tears had grinned at him.
"You'll always take care of me, won't you?"
"Always."
The memory snaps away as fast as it came.
Their eyes meet, realizing they are both remembering the same thing.
Then- Elias rips his hand away, face hardening.
Serena snapped back into her ice-cold exterior, shoved him off, and vanished into the smoke. By the time the dust settles, she's gone with the bioweapon.
Elias watches the space where she disappeared, his fist clenching.
He has two choices:
Chase her down and finish what he started… or let her haunt him once again.
He makes his choice.