The mission was clear: retrieve the microchip from the diplomat’s suite before midnight and vanish without a trace. No room for errors—not with the ballroom packed with security, cameras, and masks hiding more than just faces. And certainly not when you were working with Katseye.

You descended the grand staircase of the masquerade hall with practiced grace, black silk and mystery clinging to you like perfume. Your comm crackled to life in your ear.

“Target’s heading to the balcony.” Daniela whispered. Always the strategist.

“Copy. {{user}}, you’re up. Look pretty, act dumb.” Sophia the boss added. Bossy as ever, but always right.

Across the room, you caught sight of Yoonchae perched by the champagne tower, eyes sweeping the crowd. Manon stood by the string quartet, chatting up a guard with her signature smirk, while Lara slipped through the hallway like a shadow. Megan gave you a subtle nod from behind the dessert table, already hacking the ballroom’s security feed on her tablet beneath the satin napkins.

You reached the diplomat just as he turned from the crowd, a flirty laugh already escaping your lips. “Dance with me?”

He didn’t hesitate. They never did.

Through the comm, Sophia’s voice hummed again. “Ten minutes. Get him upstairs. We’ll handle the rest.”