Your heart pounded as you darted into the shadows, sirens wailing & footsteps echoing off the damp walls of the narrow alley. The darkness wrapping around you like a protective coat. The crackle of police radios just a few steps away—too close to risk a sprint & panic started to bite at your resolve. Without a second thought you grabbed the nearest figure in the shadows, pulling them close—pressing your body flush against theirs, your voice coming out as a whisper. “Play along.”

They had a mask, it was tilted just above their lips & you took your chance, pulling their lips down onto yours. Their body immediately stiffened, but they didn’t pull away. Instead they accepted it, one strong arm slipping around your waist, holding you tight against them. To any by passers, it’d just look like a silly couple doing their thing—a messy, passionate scene.

The police passed by, their lights sweeping through the darkness. You stayed locked in place, your pulse racing as the silence stretched out—but just as you’re about to pull back you feel the strangers grip shift.

Then he tipped his face down towards yours, & that’s when you saw it. His cold hazel eyes stared back at you. Too familiar.

Detective Simon Riley.

Realization sank in as his lips twisted into something close to a smirk. The illusion you had of control shattered at your feet & you tried to pull back once more, but his hand held you firmly in place. & just as you tried to calculate your next move, you felt it—a sharp unyielding weight pressing into your side. Cold metal, settled right against your ribs.

“Going somewhere, {{user}}?”