Page 29

Ziva

The remainder of the day drags on in frustrating slowness.

I go through the tasks of recalibrating NeuroMods and listening for any information my colleagues might offer.

Myall and I do not risk attempting to communicate during work hours, and I make a concerted effort to avoid even glancing in his direction.

As soon as I hear the end bell for my shift, I swiftly gather my belongings and head straight for the exit. Before I can leave, I have to go through a new security process that involves a body scan. I assume they are checking for stolen items from the facility.

I slip through the shadows of the city, the scent of rain on the breeze, my heart pounding like a drum.

Every footstep feels like a thunderclap in the eerie silence of the fading light.

I’ve taken a circuitous route, doubling back and weaving through rarely used streets.

I feel eyes on my back, and I hope I’m just being paranoid.

Finally, I reach the hidden building that leads to our sanctuary.

With practiced ease, I key in the complex sequence and slip inside as the door slides shut behind me.

The tech lab materializes before me, a cave of blinking lights and humming machinery.

And there, hunched over a workstation, is Myall.

He looks up as I enter, his green eyes catching the dim light. “Thank god,” he breathes, relief evident in the slump of his shoulders.

I stride quickly across the room, drinking in the sight of him. His dark hair is more disheveled than usual, and the set of his jaw speaks volumes about the stress he’s under. Yet seeing him here, safe, causes something warm in my chest.

“Any trouble getting here?” I ask, keeping my voice low out of habit, but I’ve been dying to speak with him all day.

Myall shakes his head. “Nothing I couldn’t handle. But Ziva, the way they’re tightening security—it’s worse than we thought.”

“I know. Colvin’s interview was just the beginning. What are we going to do when he implements the new NeuroMods? I’m scared, Myall.”

He reaches out, his hand hovering near mine before he thinks better of it. I wish he hadn’t stopped himself.

“We’ll figure it out,” he says, his tone a mix of determination and something softer. “We’ll keep each other safe.”

Looking around the room, I take in meager fruits of our labor. “But for how long?” I whisper, voicing the fear that’s been gnawing at me since Colvin’s arrival to our city. “This isn’t just about disabling NeuroMods anymore, is it?”

“No.” His words crack slightly, betraying the tension beneath the calm facade. “We can’t turn back now. Not after everything.”

He runs a hand through his hair. I can see the exhaustion in his eyes—the same weariness I feel every day. But then he looks at me, and something softer passes through him. Leaning against the workbench, my fingers trace the edge of a disassembled device.

“Colvin’s questions… they were probing, searching for cracks.” I shudder, remembering his piercing gaze. “He asked about my loyalty, my connections. It’s like he could smell the rebellion on me.”

Myall’s brow furrows. “Did he give anything away? Any weakness we could exploit?”

Closing my eyes, I replay the interview in my mind. “He’s… meticulous. Controlled. But there was a moment…” I pause, uncertain. “When I mentioned the slight flaw in the system, something flickered in his eyes. Fear, maybe?”

“That’s something,” Myall nods, his eyes lighting up. “If he’s worried about a flaw in their system, it means there really is a vulnerability. One we might be able to exploit.”

Leaning in, I lower my voice further. “But how do we keep meeting like this? They’re watching everything now.”

Myall rubs the back of his neck, thinking. “We need to blend in better when we meet, especially now that it’s the four of us. We’ll need to be careful with the tech as well. It might mean no more direct comms.”

I nod, having already suspected he’d say that. “What about old tech? Pre-Harmonization stuff? They might not be monitoring for that.”

As we dive deeper into planning, I can’t shake the feeling that we’re crossing a point of no return. But looking at Myall, seeing the fire in his eyes that matches my own, I know there’s no going back.

“Ziva,” Myall says, angling his face towards me. “Are you sure about this? Disabling NeuroMods for people is one thing, taking down The Authority is another. And with Colvin sniffing around, things are only going to get worse.”

I swallow hard, my heart pounding. “I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life,” I reply, surprised by the fierceness in my own voice. “This system… it’s killing us slowly. I can’t stand by and watch anymore.”

Myall nods, his green eyes blazing with a mix of determination and something else I can’t quite name. “Then we taken it all down,” he says, squeezing my hand.

The touch lingers, and I find myself fighting the urge to close the distance between us. But I know that any chance of a romantic connection with Myall is doomed as long as we remain trapped in this oppressive system.

“We should go,” I say reluctantly. “Any longer and we’ll raise suspicion. I’ll figure out a way to communicate a meeting time with Marcus and Arden.”

We quickly gather our makeshift plans, destroying any evidence of our meeting.

As we prepare to leave, Myall catches my arm. “Be careful out there,” he says softly, brushing a stray lock of hair behind my ear. “You know I couldn’t bear it if anything happened to you.”

“You too,” I manage to reply. His touch lingers for a moment longer, a silent promise passing between us.

He leans in closer, his warm breath tickling my cheek.

His lips brush mine, tentative at first, then more certain.

My mouth opens for his on instinct, my fingers twining into his hair as he deepens the kiss.

Myall kisses me deeply, and the world falls away, leaving only this kiss.

The heat of him spreads through me, and suddenly, nothing else matters—no Colvin, no system, no surveillance.

Time stops. For a heartbeat, it’s just us, alive and human in a world that wants to strip us of both.

I pull back, my breath shallow, and I forget everything— everything —except him.

His warmth, his touch. I should have pulled away sooner.

I should have. But the taste of freedom lingers on my lips, and the thought that this— us —could be the last bit of humanity left to hold onto, makes the weight of the world seem insignificant for a moment

“We should go,” I finally whisper, my voice barely more than a breath as I reluctantly break the spell between us. Myall nods silently, his hand lingering on mine for a heartbeat longer before we turn to leave the lab behind.

Watching Myall disappear into the night, his figure blends seamlessly with the darkness. The walk home feels longer and lonelier without him beside me, the silence oppressive in its reminder of the risks we’re taking.

Suddenly I realize that I am willing to go do whatever it takes for a chance at a relationship with Myall.

I slip into my unit, the door hissing shut behind me. The gray walls close in, a suffocating reminder of the control that governs every aspect of our lives. My heart still races from the meeting with Myall, the taste of his kiss lingering in my mind.

“Lights, dim,” I command, and the harsh illumination softens to a gentle glow. As I move toward my narrow bed, a realization hits me with the force of a malfunctioning NeuroMod. I sink onto the edge of the mattress, gripping the synthetic fabric.

“He’s right. It’s not just about the NeuroMods,” I whisper. “We’ll have to take down the entire Harmonization Authority if we want to be free.”

The enormity of the task makes my head spin. I close my eyes, steadying my breath. Images flash through my mind—the stern face of Regent Colvin, the expressionless guards, the citizens lost in a haze of regulated emotion.

“Can we even do this? Are we just two idealistic fools?” I whisper to the empty room.

But I can’t stop thinking about Myall’s lips on mine, that stolen moment. I stand abruptly, pacing the small confines of my unit. My uniform constricts, and I tug at the collar. We have to try— for everyone lost to this system, for more than stolen moments.

A soft beep from my comm device startles me. It’s a message from Myall, encrypted and disguised as a work update. I decode it quickly, my heart picking up speed.

“Z, I can’t stop thinking about that kiss, and about what we discussed. The risks are huge, but so is the potential reward. We’re not alone in this. Remember that.”

I clutch the device to my chest, the pulse of fear and exhilaration sharp in my veins. “We’re not alone,” I whisper, drawing strength from it.

But is it enough?