"Hey, kid, watch your mouth," Thomas snapped, clearly annoyed. "I'm only in my thirties. How the hell does that make me old?"

"He's not part of our team," Vivian cut in, her tone flat.

Ethan rolled his eyes. "Then why are you dragging around dead weight like this? He's not even Awakened—just a Tier 3 Enhanced. What's he gonna do, moral support?"

He'd already sized Thomas up with a glance. No aura, no edge. Just another mid-tier Enhanced with a government badge and a self-important attitude.

Thomas, trying to salvage the moment, stepped forward and offered a hand. "Let me introduce myself. I'm Thomas, assistant to Mayor Marks of Starlight City."

Ethan didn't take the hand. Instead, he looked at Vivian.

"Government?"

"Technically Safe Zone Authority now," she said.

Ethan turned back to Thomas, unimpressed. "Safe Zone Authority's got time to burn, huh? So many people out there still need rescuing, and you're tagging along with a student squad?"

"Uh… the military handles the rescues," Thomas said, awkwardly withdrawing his hand. "Mayor Marks was just worried Vivian's team might run into danger, so he sent me along to keep an eye on them."

"You?" Ethan snorted. "You're the danger. If anything goes sideways, you'll be the first one slowing them down."

"Pfft—" Vivian nearly choked on a laugh. She quickly turned her head, but the grin was impossible to hide.

Watching Thomas get verbally steamrolled by Ethan was oddly satisfying. The guy had been shadowing her like a bureaucratic barnacle for days. Finally, someone put him in his place.

Thomas took a deep breath, forcing a smile back onto his face. "And you are…?"

"Not really your business," Ethan said, brushing him off. "And I'm not interested in chatting with you. You're not exactly young anymore—might be safer if you headed back to the Safe Zone. If a zombie eats you out here, we'll have a hard time explaining that to Mayor Marks."

The moment Ethan heard "Mayor Marks," he lost all interest in being polite.

Military folks, he could deal with. But government types? Always smiling, always scheming. One hand shaking yours, the other reaching for your back.

And if a city mayor was sending his assistant to tail a student squad, it didn't take a genius to figure out why. Vivian's power was rare—and valuable. They were trying to reel her in.

Thomas, still trying to play the long game, kept his tone smooth. "You're from Starlight State University too, right? Why haven't you gone to the Safe Zone?"

Ethan gave him a lazy smile. "I'm scraping by out here. No need to go waste your food rations. I know how hard it is for you guys to scavenge."

"..."

Thomas stared at him, speechless, eyes flicking to the grease still glistening on Ethan's lips. The bastard had just eaten braised beef stew and had the nerve to say he was barely surviving?

If he weren't so clearly outmatched, Thomas would've decked him right then and there.

He took another deep breath, smile still plastered on his face, and opened his mouth to speak—

"Yeah, no," Ethan cut him off. "Go stand over there. I need to talk to Vivian."

Thomas froze mid-breath, his expression twitching. After a long pause, he forced a brittle smile. "Of course. I'll give you two a moment."

He turned and walked off, stiff and awkward, but as he moved, his hand slipped into his coat and pressed a small comm device clipped to his belt.

He thought he was being subtle.

He wasn't.

Ethan's eyes flicked to the motion.

Ethan's expression turned cold in an instant.

"How the hell did he end up in your squad?" he asked, eyes narrowing as he looked at Vivian.

She sighed. "When the rescue teams came to the university, we followed them to the Safe Zone. But once we got there, they wouldn't let us leave."

She paused, then added, "Eventually, we managed to get an audience with Mayor Marks. He said if we wanted to operate outside the Safe Zone, we'd need someone to 'accompany' us. That someone turned out to be him."

"And he's just been tagging along ever since," she finished, clearly exasperated.

Ethan's jaw tightened. "So Marks is trying to recruit you."

Vivian nodded. "Yeah."

"If you don't want to join the Safe Zone Authority, why not just stay out of it altogether?"

"You think it's that easy?" she said, giving him a look. "As long as he's with us, they know exactly where we are. If we don't return by nightfall, the Authority sends people to 'check in.'"

Ethan gave a low whistle. "Damn. VIP treatment."

"Don't joke," Vivian muttered. "I'm sick of it."

"Then why not just kill him?"

Vivian rolled her eyes. "Seriously? He's Mayor Marks' guy. Marks is the most powerful man in the Safe Zone right now. If we kill Thomas, our whole squad's dead within a week."

"Yeah, that's a pain," Ethan admitted, rubbing his chin. "But now that he's got his eye on me, I can't let him walk away."

Vivian's eyes widened. "Don't do anything stupid. Killing him means going to war with the government. We're not strong enough for that."

"I don't want to start a fight with them yet either," Ethan said calmly. "But I know how this works. If I let him go, he'll be a problem later. And I don't like problems."

Vivian hesitated. "This…"

"Relax," Ethan said. "It's not your fault. We just ran into each other by chance. If anything, I'm the one dragging you into this mess."

"No," she said quietly. "It's just bad luck. Running into him was already annoying. Running into you while he's watching? That's a whole new level."

"Anyone in your squad flipped yet?" Ethan asked suddenly.

Vivian blinked. "What?"

"Come on. He's been with you this long. If he hasn't turned a few of your people, he's not doing his job."

She didn't answer, but her silence said enough.

Ethan's voice dropped. "I'm killing him. You figure out what you want to do next."

"You can run. Or you can pin it on us. With this many witnesses, Mayor Marks won't be able to touch you."

He paused, then added, "Or you can come with us. Just you. I'm not taking your whole squad. Fallen Star only takes the strong."

Vivian stared at him, stunned. That was the difference between them.

One sentence. Life or death. No hesitation.

She'd wanted to kill Thomas for weeks. She hated the way he watched her, the way he reported back, the way he made her feel like a pawn. But she hadn't dared. Not with Marks looming over them like a guillotine.

And yet Ethan—he was ready to do it just because Thomas might become a problem. No fear. No second-guessing.

Was it decisiveness? Or recklessness?

Did he really think his little squad could go toe-to-toe with Mayor Marks?

"You sure you've thought this through?" she asked, voice low.

Ethan just smiled. "You're the one who needs to think. So—what's it gonna be? You joining Fallen Star?"

Vivian hesitated, then slowly shook her head. "I know I'd probably live better with your squad. You're all strong. I'd be one more blade in an already sharp arsenal. But that's the problem—I'd just be extra. Another mouth to feed, another share of crystal cores to split."

She looked away, then back at him. "And I can't abandon my team. I brought them out of the university. I promised I'd keep them alive. I'm not walking away from that."

Ethan studied her for a moment, then nodded. "Fair enough."

He turned to go, then glanced back with a grin. "Well, if things ever get too rough, go find Henry. He'll never turn you away."

"..."

Vivian groaned. "Seriously, can you stop bringing him up every five minutes?"

"Nope," Ethan said cheerfully. "He likes you too much."

She didn't answer. But her ears were a little red.

...

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