A few minutes ago...

Inside Delgona Cafe, Sal sat in the corner, anxiously waiting for Raven.

It had been a while since he had texted her. Even though she had replied with a simple "okay," a part of him still feared they were being monitored.

After fleeing from his previous hideout, Sal had managed to find a safer place where he could stay hidden. Still, one regret continued to gnaw at him. He had lost all his valuable devices during his escape.

After the Darkknight Clan fell, those devices were the only things he had left. Now that they were gone, he doubted that information would ever be useful to anyone again.

"Damn it... I shouldn’t have left my laptop behind," he muttered, his leg bouncing restlessly.

That laptop had been his only secure way to contact Raven.

Luckily, he had memorized her number before disposing of his previous phone. With his laptop gone, it would not take long for their enemies to track him or even Raven if he was careless.

As time passed, Sal’s patience began to wear thin. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

"She should have been here by now. What is taking her so long?" he muttered, glancing at his watch.

He wanted to be careful this time. He had to start over, and the only person he could trust was Raven. His friend, his sister by choice, his partner in crime.

Sal was grateful that Raven had not been caught and that she was still alive. However, he dreaded how she would react when she learned the truth.

The man she considered her godfather was gone.

Morris Hardley had not only given Raven shelter but had also believed in her when no one else did. He had trained her, guided her. She had been like his shadow.

And now that he was gone, everything that once held meaning for them felt like it was slowly slipping away.

Sal’s thoughts came to a halt as his gaze dropped to the box in his hands.

"Give this to Raven."

Morris’s final words echoed in his mind before he took his last breath.

Sal tightened his grip on the box and looked around again, hoping to see Raven walk through the door.

Where are you, Raven?

Just then, a woman walked past him and casually took the seat across from him.

"I am so sorry to keep you waiting. The traffic was horrible. I really wish I had my bike with me."

Sal blinked, staring at the masked woman who settled into the chair as if she belonged there. Her constant chatter only made him more certain that she had mistaken him for someone else.

"Excuse me," Sal said, his voice firm. "This seat is occupied."

He had no friends except Raven, and he did not tolerate strangers invading his personal space. To him, it felt like a violation.

When the woman did not move, Sal let out an annoyed sigh and stood up to leave.

But the moment she spoke again, his steps froze.

"Chickpea... how dare you walk away from your sister like that?"

Sal’s entire body went rigid. Slowly, he turned around, his eyes widening in shock.

The woman pulled down her mask, and his knees nearly gave out.

Isn’t she the woman Raven shot? How does she know me?

Sal had believed the woman Raven shot that night would not survive.

But seeing her sitting right in front of him now made his soul tremble.

Does that mean... the person I was talking to wasn’t Raven... but her?

Sal swallowed hard, his throat suddenly dry as he stood frozen in place.

Wow... life really has a terrible sense of humor.

Internally, he was screaming, crying, and questioning every decision that had led him to this exact moment. On the outside, however, he stood stiff as a statue, as if lightning had struck him in broad daylight and left him permanently stuck.

But one thing was clear.

The longer he stayed there, the lower his chances of walking out alive.

I need to run. I need to run. I need to run.

The words echoed endlessly in his mind as he tried to figure out how to escape without looking suspicious.

"Hehe... I think you’ve got the wrong person," he said with an awkward laugh, slowly taking a step back. "That’s definitely not my name."

Another step.

"Please, go ahead... sit... enjoy your coffee... and wait for whoever you’re waiting for," he continued, his voice wobbling slightly as he kept inching backward.

His eyes remained glued to her face, searching for even the smallest change in expression.

Nothing. She just stared at him with deadpan, unbothered, and unimpressed eyes.

That was worse.

The moment Sal realized his words were doing absolutely nothing, his survival instincts kicked in.

Alright. Enough dignity. Time to live.

Without another second of hesitation, he dropped the act, turned on his heel, and bolted straight out of the café.

No warning. No goodbye. No looking back. Just pure, desperate sprinting fueled by fear, regret, and very poor life choices.

Behind him, the woman remained silent.

And somehow, that silence felt far more dangerous than if she had chased him.

***

Sal had no idea how far or how fast he had run until he finally ducked into a narrow alley and came to a staggering halt.

"Whoa... that was way too close," he panted, clutching his chest as he tried to catch his breath.

For a brief, glorious second, he thought he had survived.

Then it hit him.

The box.

His face drained of color.

"...No."

His eyes widened in horror as realization slammed into him like a truck.

"I left the box."

Silence.

A dramatic, soul-crushing silence.

"What have I done..." he whispered, his voice trembling.

It felt as if the sky itself had darkened just for him, thunder rolling somewhere in the distance as his luck officially declared bankruptcy.

Inside his head, he was already on his knees.

Someone help me!!!

Sal had always believed life gave warnings before disaster struck.

Today, however, life had skipped the warnings and gone straight for the kill.

First, the almost-dead woman came back to life.

Then, he embarrassed himself.

And now, he had lost the one thing Morris had trusted him with.

At this point, he was not just unlucky.

He was cursed.

"I am finished," he muttered, staring blankly at the wall. "I am officially dead meat."

He was still standing there, mourning his fate and reconsidering every life choice he had ever made, when something caught his attention.

Sal turned his head slightly... and his stomach dropped.

A group of men stood at the entrance of the alley, blocking the only way out.

"Well, well," one of them said, a toothpick lazily shifting between his teeth as he smirked.

"Look at that. We finally found our target."

"Hehe, I don’t have anything you want," Sal said awkwardly, but the men didn’t stop and continued to approach until he had only one option.

’RUN’