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“Run!” I command, abandoning all pretense of stealth.

We sprint down the corridor, our feet slapping the polished floor. I hear Arden’s labored breathing behind me, and the uneven shuffle of Dr. Vance’s footsteps.

“Ziva,” Marcus’s voice crackles in my ear. “You’ve got company headed your way. North corridor.”

“Understood,” I pant, my mind racing as I glance about the hallway for a solution. “Everyone, in here!” I yank open a maintenance closet, ushering the group inside.

We huddle in the darkness, our bodies pressed tight together. Arden trembles against me, and I wrap an arm around her, trying to soothe her. I lean against a shelf and feel something hard pressing into my lower back but I don’t dare move.

“What now?” Liora whispers, her voice barely audible as someone—likely Arden—whimpers.

Closing my eyes, I force myself to think. We’re so close. I can’t let us fail now.

“The ventilation system,” I murmur, an idea forming as I recall the near invisible grate along the wall of the hallway. “It connects to the sub-basement. It’ll be tight, but—”

“It’s our only shot of getting out of here,” Myall finishes grimly. It’s too dark to see him in the storage closet, but I know he must be frowning. His eyebrows, usually so dark and smooth, will be furrowed with concern.

Myall cautiously peeks out of the closet, making sure no one is nearby. Marcus confirms that the coast is clear before Myall opens the door wider for us to quietly exit into the hallway.

We emerge from the closet, and I begin working on prying open the closest vent cover. I can’t help but wonder that even if we make it out, what have we truly gained? And what new dangers have we invited by bringing Dr. Vance along?

No time for doubts. We have to move, now.

One by one, we squeeze into the cramped ventilation shaft and follow Marcus’s instructions through our earpieces to make our way back down to the sub-basement. Every muscle in my body is tense with fear as I crawl through the narrow ventilation shaft.

Jorel’s anxiety is palpable as I crawl out of the ventilation shaft. He grips a broken pipe, ready for anything. His shoulders slump when he sees that it’s us coming out of the shaft, and throws his pipe to the ground with a loud clang that makes me wince.

We quickly and quietly return to the maintenance hatch and Jorel leads us back through the tunnels towards the factory, taking care not to make any noise or draw attention to ourselves.

Arden and Dr. Vance don’t question our directions and simply follow us through the winding tunnels, placing their trust in us to guide them to safety.

* * *

The storage room erupts in a cacophony of cheers and laughter as we burst through the door.

Upon seeing all of us, Marcus visibly lets out a sigh of relief.

He quickly removes his earpiece and tosses it onto the workbench in front of him.

The adrenaline still buzzes in my veins, making my hands shake as I pull Arden into a tight embrace.

“We did it,” I breathe into her hair, hardly believing the words myself. “We actually fucking did it.”

I can feel the adrenaline fading, but there’s no easing of the pressure in my chest. Arden’s safe, we’ve pulled this off, but Myall…

. He’s not just a partner in this rebellion.

He’s something more, and I’ve never told him.

What if today was my only chance to tell him how I really feel, and I missed it?

Myall’s deep voice slices through the celebration, and he steps forward, his eyes locking onto Dr. Vance. “We’re not out of the woods yet,” Myall says, his tone cutting through the tension.

The doctor stands apart from our group, her pristine lab coat now wrinkled and smudged with dust. Her blue eyes dart nervously, her posture stiff, like a trapped animal.

“You’re right,” I say, reluctantly releasing Arden. My fingers twitch with the urge to hold on, but I let go, turning to face Dr. Vance. The air thickens, metallic and charged, as every muscle in my body tenses in anticipation.

Myall steps forward, his eyes intense as he faces Dr. Vance. “It’s time for you to prove you can be trusted, doctor. Why should we believe you’re not here to betray us to The Authority?”

Dr. Vance straightens, pushing her glasses up her nose and squaring her shoulders.

“I understand your suspicion,” she says, her voice calm but with an undercurrent of tension. “But I assure you, my presence here is not what you think.”

I can’t help but scoff. “Really? Because from where I’m standing, it looks like we just invited the wolf into our den.”

“Ziva,” Arden interjects, her voice soft but firm as she places a hand on my forearm in warning. “She helped me. She’s not what we thought.”

I want to trust Arden, but the gnawing fear of what Dr. Vance represents—of everything she’s been a part of—twists in my gut.

Dr. Vance takes a deep breath. Her blue eyes flicker—not with the confidence I expected, but with something that resembles regret. She straightens, pushing her glasses up once more.

“I’ve been blind for too long,” she says, her clinical tone faltering. “The work I’ve done… I thought I was helping people. But I’ve seen the truth now, and I want to make it right.”

Myall’s eyes narrow. “Pretty words, doctor. But we need more than that. What can you offer us that’s worth the risk of harboring you?”

I watch Dr. Vance closely, my heart pounding, my fists clenched so tightly my nails dig into my palms. Our entire rebellion hangs in the balance of her next words.