The phone's vibration rattled across the nightstand, dragging Lina out of the haze between exhaustion and pain. Her left shoulder burned where the bullet had torn through, the bandage beneath her shirt stiff with dried blood. She considered ignoring it, thinking of it as another late call from the unit she wasn't ready to face but something about the insistence of the ring pulled her upright.

She answered. The voice that came through wasn't one she knew. It was distorted and mechanical. "We have her."

Her chest tightened, a cold line slicing through the fatigue.

"If you ever want to see her alive again, you'll come alone. Abandoned factory. Outskirts. You know the one."

The line cut before she could speak. The silence after was deafening. Her pulse hammered. She didn't need the voice to explain who "her" meant. The word sank like lead into her gut.

Lina sat frozen for half a breath before the old instinct roared awake. She shoved herself off the bed, pain biting deep in her shoulder, vision stuttering at the edges. She steadied against the dresser, the scar above her brow twitching as if remembering its own story of betrayal.

The factory. Of course. The smuggler she'd tried to bring down had vanished into the cracks, slipped through a deal gone sideways, and she'd been left bleeding in the dirt. Now he had her ex-girlfriend. And this wasn't random. This was punishment. A message.

Her jacket was already draped over the chair, boots shoved half under the bed. She dressed fast, teeth clenched, every motion jerking at the wound. Her service weapon lay heavy in the drawer, the bourbon bottle beside it catching the dim light. For a heartbeat, she considered the drink. Then slammed the drawer shut. She didn't have the time for this.

Keys. Gun. Phone. That was it. She didn't need backup she couldn't trust. Couldn't risk calling anyone in the unit, someone had sold her out, and now her ex was the bargaining chip.

On the way out, her eyes caught on the Polaroid shoved between receipts and business cards in her wallet. The one of her and her ex-girlfriend, blurred at the edges but alive with laughter she hadn't heard in years. She stared at it for a second longer than she should have, then slid it back into place.

The night air outside was sharp, almost cleansing. Her motorcycle waited at the curb, chrome dull in the streetlight. She kicked it to life, the engine growling low and vibrating through her bones. As she sped toward the outskirts, the city blurred by, empty streets, neon signs flickering in the distance. Her thoughts narrowed to one point: the factory. She knew its layout, its shadows, its weak points. She'd been there before, in another case. It was a trap and It was obvious.

The road stretched dark and empty ahead, and Lina leaned into it, jaw set, the weight of fear and rage twisting together inside her. The wound throbbed with every bump, every shift of her arm on the throttle, but she welcomed the pain. It kept her awake and focused. Her ex was out there and whoever thought they could use her as leverage hadn't yet learned just how dangerous Lina could be when she had nothing left to lose.