ght: When

ast tower overlooking Abuja, the city glittering

rpiece

o's voice said, quiet

an elite government-funded safe zone-off the books, scrubbed f

assey st

red. Un

olog

She's walking like the

he thinks

, training it on Ayanda's head

e word," sh

o in together. Clean.

the rifle, he

ioner. The woman who built her, sent her into Leo's life like a knife

ant her aliv

silent f

if she

urposed during the civil unrest years as a covert escape route. Zara moved f

, glass elevators, voiceprint recognition-but Ay

her first

evel two. Securit

ot twelve minutes be

t, hijacking t

g good at this

e said. "You just didn'

at her, no

do

r hisse

Ayanda w

or, scrolling through her tablet as if this we

, gun first, Ayan

o, ch

finger

our child,

o. You're something f

ped in b

o this is the king you b

osed the door behind them

adable. She looked elegant as ever-gray tailored suit, silver bangles, a smooth bob

an this," she said, sipping. "You've

entor's chest. "No. You taught me to kill f

s. And clinging to a man with blood o

said. "You s

. "Of a weakn

any bullet. He didn't speak-not yet-but the f

t Project Mam

n't react.

al memos. You created operatives, burned them, then buried them

mpire? A child-soldier network in Port Harcourt? Don't pretend yo

breath

g. "We leaked your files. The world know

hat about her? What do you think happens

then, calm

match they should

carefully. "You came here for

e," Za

yanda replied, reach

snapped u

," Leo

s hovering just over

oftly. "You think I survived this long wit

her eyes. "W

ead man's key. Protocol 17. The real reason

hesit

grazed her

ed to

the file tow

it," s

gers flicking the latch-an

igerian.

e

eneat

sign

ization form she had

is t

ce dropped t

us wasn't in Congo, Zara. It

red at t

ed at he

member this

d it. You had a break. Trauma. We

knees w

aught

ou can destroy me, girl? I made you. You've always bee

oked up

sm

u just reminded me

hout he

led the

choed like

a clean hole through her sh

, calm now-eyes sha

she said. "Next ti

a looked up, lips curled in something lik

you've won,

r. "I think you're n

ta drop scheduled in ten minutes. Final records of P

em cares about the truth? They'll deny it. Reframe it. Y

razor. "Then we die louder

sed. Her body slu

to Zara. "W

ood and smoke. The fire alarm went off ten minu

s unconscious, bleeding, and half the digital wor

NAUTHORIZED ASSE

assets for domestic and foreign missions before sy

eaths linked to dis

Bassey implicat

blowers rema

border into Ben

ndow, her body aching, her chest

ead," he sai

e gets to live in the w

"That was the first tim

"Because I wasn't ac

ve on in

town with no signal and no questions, Zara stoo

still damp from blood. He di

said, "I don't kno

with his. "You're some

d at him.

who killed the part of himsel

n't kiss

ge of war, memory, and survi

e both m

learned h

leed... can bu