POV: Ariella
Siena – Kael's Safehouse, 6:12 A.M.
Ariella sat in front of the large mirror hanging in the corner of the guest room. Her left hand held a damp cloth, wiping the shallow wound on her temple. Her eyes were blank, but in her mind, one name echoed endlessly: Giuliano.
He's still alive. And he's hunting me.
The report she found in the LUNA file last night haunted her more than any nightmare. Her brother's photo — now referred to as Prototype X — showed an empty face, as if Giuliano's soul had been erased and replaced by a killing machine.
"He's not my brother anymore..." she whispered, though her heart refused to accept it.
A knock on the door startled her.
Kael peeked in, his worn grey shirt clinging to a body still wrapped in bandages. "We need to move before the sun fully rises. Raven found something."
Ariella stood. "What did he find?"
"Tracks where there shouldn't be any. Someone's watching us."
She swallowed. "Giuliano?"
"Not confirmed. But I'm not waiting to find out."
Ariella turned to Kael, her eyes burning with something beyond fear—resolve. "If it's really him... I want to face him. I can't keep running."
Kael was silent for a moment, then gave a slow nod. "If you're determined, we do this our way. But I'll protect you, no matter what."
They stepped out of the room and headed down the stairs to the small control room Raven had set up. There, drone feeds showed two faint figures standing still in the eastern perimeter—as if they were waiting.
Kael opened a communication channel. "Raven, keep your distance. Do not engage. This feels bigger than a routine breach."
Ariella stood behind him, staring at the screen. Her eyes locked onto one blurry figure, his stance... too familiar.
"Giuliano..." she breathed.
And for the first time, Ariella felt no fear. Only old wounds demanding answers.
POV: Raven
Outside the Safehouse – 6:28 A.M.
Raven crouched behind dew-covered wild bushes. He held his breath, sharp eyes glued to a small screen in his hand. The thermal feed showed two faint human figures, standing about 800 meters beyond the rear fence.
They didn't move. Didn't seek cover. Just stood. As if they knew.
His fingers trembled slightly on the screen—not from the cold, but from instinct. The kind that had saved him countless times whispered:
Something's off tonight...
Giuliano's voice still echoed in his memory. The command from Salvatore had no room for compromise:
"Find Ariella. Bring her in alive. But if Kael is with her... eliminate him."
Raven inhaled deeply. He was no longer just a watcher. His choices were narrowing—loyalty, money, or survival?
He pressed a button on his comms. "Kael, I've got two targets. They're moving like Delta agents. Requesting green light to engage."
Kael's voice returned, calm yet strained. "Hold your position. Wait for my signal."
Raven tightened his grip on the communicator, eyes still locked on the unmoving figures. He knew this wasn't just an operation. This was blood and intent.
He glanced toward the pine grove behind him—where Giuliano had last been spotted before disappearing into the mist. His movements weren't mechanical. There was hesitation, like he was fighting something within.
"If there's still a brother in him, he won't shoot Ariella," Raven whispered.
But a darker voice in his head replied: What if that brother is already dead?
POV: Kael
Inside the safehouse, where soft sunlight leaked through tattered curtains, Kael stood before a rack filled with weapons, bullets, and tactical gear. His hands moved fast, adjusting signal jammers while his mind calculated contingencies.
Ariella's words echoed: "If Giuliano comes... I want to see his face myself."
Kael looked up at the cold stone wall. This wasn't about escape anymore. This was about survival. About choosing to confront the past, or rewrite it.
He pushed open the small storage room. Inside, a dusty old box waited. Kael lifted a metal case from within—a relic of a life he tried to forget. Inside, a worn photo: Giuliano, Kael, and Raven, from their time in a covert European unit. Before everything changed. Before LUNA.
"Giuliano..." Kael murmured. "You made me stop being a weapon. And now you've become one?"
He swallowed hard. Outside, Raven's footsteps neared. Kael closed the case and stood tall.
Step by step, he moved toward the front room. Ariella stood there, pistol in hand, ready. Their eyes met—and silently, they knew: this morning might be the beginning of the final confrontation.
Kael zipped his tactical bag. Inside: light weaponry, jammers, fake IDs.
"Ariella, you need to leave now. Raven and I will draw them off."
She held the data drive. "I'm not running anymore. If Giuliano is coming... I want to see his face."
Kael stepped closer. "If they catch you, LUNA will use your body. You know that."
She nodded slowly. "But I also know... I might be the only one who can save Giuliano."
He gripped her shoulder. "If there's still anything left of him, we'll find it. But if not..."
She lowered her gaze. "I understand."
POV: Giuliano
Siena's Back Hills – 6:50 A.M.
His footsteps were silent. Face blank. Eyes unblinking.
Giuliano—or whatever was left of him—held a silenced rifle in his right hand. Behind him, two Delta agents followed silently.
"Ariella is confirmed inside," a voice whispered into his earpiece.
No reaction.
But deep within him—within the faintest shadow of his former self—a memory flickered: a little girl tugging at his hand, laughing, dragging him to race in the garden.
A name whispered in his heart: Ariella.
He stopped. His grip on the rifle loosened.
One agent glanced over. "Orders, sir?"
Giuliano opened his mouth slowly. "Trap them. But don't... touch Ariella."
Just seconds earlier, guilt tightened in his chest. The memory of his little sister searching his jacket for candy replayed. A faint spark inside tried to push through the emotional suppression and programming.
"You're not a machine, Giuliano," a voice whispered from within. But it was quickly drowned out by orders and systems designed to control him.
He gripped the rifle tighter, calming the tremor in his fingers. This wasn't just a mission anymore—this was blood and memory colliding.
Then, with a voice nearly dead but still full of weight, he repeated, "But don't... touch Ariella."
The agent frowned. "Salvatore's orders were—"
"Override them. Now."
For a moment, he wasn't Prototype X.
He was just a brother—who once swore to protect his sister.
POV: Ariella
Safehouse Upper Floor – 7:05 A.M.
Ariella stared out the window. Morning fog was lifting, revealing the green hills that had hidden them.
Kael and Raven were already outside, checking the perimeter.
Suddenly, a flash of metal caught her eye—too fast for most, but clear to her.
She knew what it was.
A sniper.
Without thinking, Ariella dove to the floor, screaming, "KAEL! DOWN!"
A silent shot shattered the quiet. Glass exploded behind her.
She crawled into the hallway, breath ragged. Her heart pounded.
Then—footsteps. Slow. Too heavy for Raven. Too light for Kael.
She grabbed the pistol from the kitchen drawer. Tightened her grip.
The steps came closer.
The door creaked open.
And standing there—a face she knew, but eyes that no longer held the same soul.
"Giuliano..."
To be continued...