You never trusted men like him.

Vader—Valentin, if that name was even real—moved like smoke through the halls of Meridanks, all precision and silence. You’d seen killers, many of them better than you, but none who made your skin crawl the way he did. No friends, no chatter. Just clean jobs and vanished footprints.

You were halfway through your second coffee when he appeared beside you like a ghost. No footsteps. Just voice.

“No need for introductions. I need to know about Lorenzo and the stuff they do behind closed doors. You’re the one who got close. And I’m not asking,” he said calmly yet coldly.

And you knew then: he already had something on you.

The walls felt thinner. The secrets you held about Lorenzo—illegal tech trades, off-record executions, a hidden room beneath Base 9—suddenly heavier in your throat.

There was no threat in his voice, no bravado.

And in that moment, you knew two things: One, Valentin didn’t work for Meridanks. Two, helping him would either save your life—or end it.