Chapter Five #2
Alexios nodded. “Then let’s make sure we’re still breathing when he gets here.”
Rangi’s expression hardened, resolve settling into place like armor.
“Yeah,” he said.
Below them, a door slammed open.
Boots thundered into the building, echoing up through the hollow structure as the search teams spread out.
Dust shook loose from the ceiling.
The air shifted.
And the silence—finally—shattered.
****
Alexios moved first. Because that was how they worked.
Rangi saw the board. Alexios moved the pieces.
He stepped into the corridor with controlled precision, boots landing soft despite the debris scattered across the floor.
Broken glass, fractured concrete, splintered wood—every inch of the space wanted to betray them with noise.
He adjusted without thinking, shifting weight, finding the quiet paths through chaos.
Behind him, Rangi followed without needing direction.
Always did.
Alexios didn’t look back, but he felt him there—the presence steady, unshakable. It grounded something deep in his chest, something he didn’t have a name for but trusted more than anything else in this world.
Voices echoed from below.
Closer now.
“They’re still in here.”
“Clear the upper floors.”
The hunt had begun.
Alexios angled left at the next junction, slipping into a narrower hallway where the walls had partially collapsed inward. Rebar jutted out at sharp angles, rusted and jagged, forcing them into single file.
Good. It narrowed the approach. Forced the enemy to come at them one at a time.
He raised his hand slightly. Rangi slowed behind him.
Listened. Footsteps on the stairs up ahead of them.
Not street muscle. Not reckless. These men knew what they were doing. Alexios’s mouth curved faintly.
Good. So did he.
The first man appeared at the end of the corridor, rifle up, scanning.
Alexios didn’t hesitate. He moved. Fast—violent in execution but controlled in every inch of it.
He closed the distance before the man could fully register him, redirecting the rifle with one hand as he drove forward. The shot went wide, chewing into the wall behind him. Alexios slammed into him, using momentum and leverage to pin him against the fractured concrete.
The knife slid in cleanly. Between ribs, then up. Precise.
The man gasped once—then nothing.
Alexios held him there for a second longer, ensuring silence, before lowering the body carefully to the ground.
No wasted motion.
No wasted energy.
Behind him, Rangi shifted to cover the open angle without needing to be told.
That was the thing about them. No hesitation. No doubt. Only trust.
“Two more,” Rangi murmured.
Alexios nodded once.
He heard them. They had very distinct and different rhythms. One heavier, slower. The other lighter, quicker. He stepped back into shadow, letting the darkness swallow him as the second man advanced.
This one was better trained.
Weapon tight. Eyes moving. Searching.
Alexios waited.
Let him pass.
Then struck. Low and fast.
He swept the man’s legs out from under him, sending him crashing to the ground. The rifle skidded away across the concrete. Alexios followed through instantly, forearm locking across his throat, cutting off any chance of sound.
The man struggled.
Brief. Desperate. Then still.
Alexios rose in one smooth motion. The third man had seen enough. Gunfire tore down the corridor.
“Move,” Rangi snapped.
They moved. Together.
Not away from each other—but through the building, cutting angles, shifting direction before the enemy could box them in. Rangi took point now, guiding them deeper into the structure where the damage was worse, the layout less predictable.
Shots chased them. Concrete splintered. Dust exploded into the air, thick and choking. Alexios felt the burn of a round grazing his arm—heat, impact—but he didn’t slow.
“Left,” Rangi called.
They burst into a wide, open space—a collapsed ballroom, judging by the scale. The ceiling arched high above them, fractured beams hanging down like broken ribs. Light filtered through in jagged shafts, cutting across the room in uneven strips.
Too open. Too exposed. Alexios didn’t like it.
Neither did Rangi.
But stopping wasn’t an option.
They crossed the space fast, boots pounding now, no longer able to hide their movement.
Halfway across the room, the floor shifted.
A sharp crack split through the concrete beneath them.
Alexios felt it a fraction of a second before it gave way.
“Rangi—”
The ground dropped.
Rangi vanished.
Alexios moved without thinking.
He lunged forward, dropping to his knees and catching Rangi’s wrist just as he went over the edge. The impact slammed through his shoulder, pain ripping down his arm as he braced himself against the crumbling ledge.
Below them, debris cascaded into darkness two floors down. Rangi swung once, boots scraping against fractured concrete, searching for purchase.
Alexios tightened his grip. “Don’t you dare let go,” he growled.
Rangi looked up at him, steady even now. “Wasn’t planning on it.”
Gunfire erupted behind them. Closer. Alexios’s mind raced.
Angles. Time. Weight.
The edge beneath him crumbled further, concrete giving way in small, deadly shifts.
“Alexios,” Rangi warned.
He knew. This wouldn’t hold.
Alexios met his gaze. “I’m not leaving you.”
Rangi’s expression softened—just for a second. “I know.”
Another crack split through the floor. Boots pounded closer. Voices shouted. They were almost on top of them.
“Then we do this fast,” Rangi said.
Alexios nodded once. No hesitation. No doubt. Only trust.
He shifted his grip, pulling hard—
As the floor beneath them began to give way completely.