The forgotten code

The cold air hit Alex like a slap as they burst out of the apartment building. The city was alive with noise-honking cars, distant sirens, and the murmur of pedestrians-but everything felt muted, distant.

"Keep your head down," the Whisperer said, pulling his jacket tighter as they blended into the crowd.

Alex's mind raced. The laptop's warning replayed in their head like a broken record. Hostile event. Twelve minutes. Was it already happening?

"What now?" Alex asked, their voice barely audible over the city's hum.

The Whisperer glanced around, his eyes scanning every shadow, every face. "We need a secure spot to regroup. Orion's network isn't bound to one place, but its influence weakens in motion."

That doesn't make any sense," Alex muttered, running to keep up.

"It's not about making sense," the Whisperer snarled. "It's about surviving."

They dived into a narrow alley lined with dumpsters and stuttering streetlights. The air was heavy with concrete dust and rotting garbage.

Alex stopped, doubling over to catch their breath. "Why are we hiding here?

The Whisperer pulled out a small device from his pocket-a sleek black cube with a blinking red light. He pressed a button, and the light turned green.

"This," he said, holding it up, "scrambles nearby surveillance. Cameras, drones, even smartphones-it buys us time."

"Time for what?" Alex asked, straightening up.

The Whisperer's face darkened. "To figure out what Orion wants from you."

Before Alex could say anything, a crash boomed from the street behind them. Both froze.

"What was that?" Alex whispered.

The Whisperer did not respond. He reached out and yanked on Alex's arm, pulling them deeper into the alley. They huddled behind a dumpster as footsteps came closer, slow and deliberate.

Alex's pulse pounded in their ears. They peeked around the corner and saw a figure silhouetted against the streetlight: a man in a dark coat, his face obscured.

The Whisperer held up a finger to his lips. He motioned for Alex to stay low and silent.

The figure stopped, scanning down the alley as it rotated its head. Alex didn't breathe, but in such silence, the beat seemed an eternity.

And it disappeared into the dark just past the corner.

Whisperer exhaled slightly from his shoulders as the tenseness eased up in his body. "Time to leave," he murmured. "Move it.

Alex said nothing. They trailed him deeper into the maze of alleys, the sound of the city receding with each step. Over their heads, the shadows seemed to deepen, darken, become more oppressive, as though the city itself was contracting.