This wasn't a mansion on the outskirts like I'd expected.
It was a two-level apartment in a high-end residential tower in the city center.
Forty-ninth floor out of fifty.
"Broadcast break," Blocking said as we reached the door.
The camera that had been glued to me the entire time blinked out and remained hovering outside.
"You can turn it off?" I asked.
"Three shutdowns are programmed for the entire trial," Kogon replied. "It reconnects automatically in ten minutes."
He watched me scanning the apartment—angles, exits, blind spots—and smirked.
"You're off duty. For now."
I hesitated.
Didn't move.
Stayed where I was.
Like a bodyguard.
"How obedient," Maurice chuckled. "Help yourselves. I'll be five minutes."
He disappeared into another room.
"Whiskey?" Kogon asked.
"No. I don't drink."
"Not at all?"
"Alcohol slows reaction time. I'm in the middle of a trial."
A quiet laugh.
"Disciplined. At my academy, you'd be allowed to relax. At your age, it's healthy to make mistakes. To actually enjoy life."
"A special is a protector. Age doesn't matter."
Another soft chuckle.
"How much garbage have they shoved into that pretty head of yours, Alan?" he said. "You're not just a special. You do realize that, don't you?"
"Realize what?" I frowned.
"You really don't feel it?" he asked.
He stood.
Walked toward me.
Slow.
Measured.
Swirling the whiskey in his glass.
I tensed—
—and still missed it.
One second he was in front of me.
The next—
his hand slammed into my face.
Hard.
Fingers digging into my jaw, forcing my head back.
Pain shot through my skull.
My mouth opened—
and burning liquid flooded down my throat.
Whiskey.
Hot.
Sharp.
I choked as he let go just as suddenly.
Collapsed forward, coughing, gasping for air.
My eyes watered, vision blurring—
but I forced myself to look at him.
"What the hell are you doing?!"
"There," he said softly. "That's better."
A faint smile.
"I like you more like this. Angry. Real. Not that obedient shell."
"This is my job!" I snapped. "I have to pass this trial!"
"So you don't enjoy my company?"
"I'd rather be fighting monsters than playing bodyguard. And judging by your strength—you don't need one."
"You're right," he said calmly. "I don't."
A pause.
"But it's… interesting. Watching someone weaker struggle so hard to protect me."
"I'm not weak," I hissed.
A quiet laugh.
"Compared to me, you're nothing. Your power is insignificant. But you could multiply it."
His gaze sharpened.
"If you came to my academy."
"I'm not interested. And I don't like you."
"Bold," Maurice said as he stepped back into the room, a small black travel bag in his hand. "He doesn't know who you are, does he?"
"Not yet," Kogon replied. "I want to enjoy that defiance a little longer."
A pause.
"It's… stimulating."
"Don't overdo it," Maurice said, and something cold slipped into his voice. "The boy's interesting. Don't break him too soon. You know I still need him."
I looked between them.
What the hell were they talking about?
I opened my mouth—
A beep.
The camera.
"Break's over," Kogon said, turning toward the door. "We're back. Miss us?"
His tone shifted instantly.
Public.
Polished.
"This camera isn't limited by walls," he added casually. "Force-based technology. Far more advanced than anything you're used to."
I clenched my jaw.
Questions piled up.
Too many.
No answers.
Not here.
Not on camera.
Twenty hours.
Then I'd force them out of him.
The moment we stepped into the parking garage—
it started.
A knife flew.
I knocked it aside.
Easy.
Then—
a gunshot.
Real.
The bullet slammed into the wall, blowing out concrete.
"What the hell?!" I shouted, yanking Kogon behind a pillar as another shot tore through the space we'd just been standing in.
"They're using real weapons!"
"This isn't a game anymore, boy," Maurice said, squeezing into cover beside us.
"Observers will be here in ten minutes. We just have to hold."
"Observers?"
"People who make sure things don't spiral out of control."
"Like this?" I snapped.
A faint smile.
"Sharp."
For a split second—
I almost shoved Kogon out from cover.
Let them tear him apart.
I clenched my teeth.
Held it back.
"We need to move," I said.
"Too late."
Footsteps.
Closing in.
Too familiar.
Same situation.
Same instinct.
I grabbed Kogon and pulled him behind a parked SUV. Maurice followed.
Kogon—
obedient.
No hesitation.
"We need the car," I said quickly. "Call the driver."
"He's dead," Maurice replied.
"What?"
He pointed.
I followed.
The car.
Driver's door open.
A body on the ground.
Blood pooling beneath his head.
"…Do either of you have a license?" I asked.
"Why would we?" Kogon raised a brow. "That's what people are for."
I swore under my breath, glancing at the hovering camera.
"Stay here."
Not again.
I wasn't letting this turn into the same nightmare.
I dropped low, sliding under the car, moving forward unseen.
I had to reach it.
Bring it closer.
Get them out.
Fast.
But the car—
wrong row.
To reach it—
I had to expose myself.
I took a breath.
Moved.
Ran.
Fear surged—
I crushed it.
Focused.
On movement.
On air.
On distance.
One glance.
Memorize.
Close eyes.
Move.
Gunshots—
instant.
The moment I stepped out.
Darkness.
Everything else sharpened.
Three shots from the front.
One from the right—too high.
Two more—delayed.
Distance shooters.
I could avoid all of them.
My body moved.
Low.
Forward.
Hand to ground.
Roll.
Up.
Jump.
Flip.
Drop.
Dash.
Another roll—
I opened my eyes, breathing hard.
Perfect.
Under the car.
Driver's seat just ahead.
One more move.
I rolled—
pushed up—
Cold metal pressed against the back of my head.
A gun.
Click.
"Ever worked in a circus?" a voice said behind me.
"…Damn it."
Of course.
I'd missed one.
Of course I had.