The city's pulse beat faster beneath the storm as Maya and Leena navigated the narrow alleyways, every step heavy with unspoken questions. Trust was a fragile thread between them now, fraying with every secret left unsaid.
Leena broke the silence, her voice low. "There's more than one faction after the Protocol. And not all of them play by the rules."
Maya's eyes narrowed. "Rules don't mean much when lives are on the line."
Ahead, shadows shifted. Figures emerged—hostiles, armed and relentless.
"No time for talk," Maya hissed, raising her weapon.
Leena moved beside her, calm but fierce.
Bullets tore through the rain, but the two women fought back to back, their uneasy alliance forged in fire.
When the last threat fell, Maya's breath hitched.
"Why should I trust you now?" she asked.
Leena met her gaze, raw and unguarded. "Because I'm the only one who wants to stop this chaos as much as you do."
But as they disappeared into the night, a new danger crept unseen—
One that would shatter everything they believed in.