#25: The Cost of Truth

The hiding place they found wasn't much, but it was enough to give them some temporary relief. An old abandoned warehouse, full of boxes and broken furniture, with an upper floor that could be used to watch for any suspicious movement on the street. It was dark, but that gave them a sense of security. In the chaos, the darkness seemed to be the only place they could breathe.

Lara lay in a corner, trying to rest, but her mind wouldn't stop. What would happen if the plan failed? What would happen to Dante? And, more importantly, what did all this mean for them now?

“You're thinking too much.” Dante's voice cut through her thoughts. He appeared in the doorway, looking at her with the serious expression she already knew well.

She sat up quickly, trying to hide her uneasiness. “I just… I think we're going too fast. And that's not making me comfortable.” He took a step closer, and for the first time in days, the silence between them didn’t feel tense, but more like a necessary pause. Dante stopped in front of her, staring into her eyes.

“Isn’t that what you want?” he asked, his voice softer now, as if he were trying to decipher what she was really feeling.

Lara sighed. She wanted more than words, she wanted answers and to feel like she could truly trust him. Deep down, she knew her relationship with Dante was going in directions she hadn't anticipated, and that scared her as much as the attraction she felt for him.

“I don’t know what I want anymore, Dante,” she said, lowering her head. “All I know is that I’m in the middle of a storm, and you’re in the eye of it with me.”

Dante bent down to her level, taking her chin in his hands, forcing her to look at him. His gaze was so intense, so full of emotion, that she almost lost her breath.

— The storm won’t take us down, Lara. And I won’t let it take you. — He spoke with such conviction that she felt a shiver run down her spine. — No matter what.

He didn’t say anything else, but his eyes said it all. Lara knew he was more than committed to the fight, to the plan, and perhaps to her. But that also meant that as they got closer, the risks increased. And if she let herself be carried away by him, what would that do to her? What would that mean for their future?

The Unlikely Coup

Hours later, the distant sound of cars and helicopters returned. Lara and Dante stood, watching through the dirty window, alert for any movement. The plan they had discussed could not wait. Time was against them. Project Aurora would not stop, and now they knew that, more than ever, they had attracted the attention of the corporation.

Lara felt the tension in the air. Something was wrong. As if the enemy already knew everything they were planning.

“They know,” she murmured, more to herself than to Dante.

Dante watched her for a moment before answering in a cold and calculated tone.

“Whether they know or not, it doesn’t matter anymore. Now is the time to act.”

He pulled up the holographic map that had been installed on his device. It showed the location of a hidden server, where the last fragments of data that could bring down Project Aurora forever were located.

“And what happens if we fail?” Lara asked, her voice full of doubt.

He approached, placing his hand over hers without hesitation.

“We won’t fail. Because if we fail, we have nothing left to lose.”

She looked at him, her eyes shining with a mixture of fear and certainty. Then, without saying anything else, they headed for the exit, ready to infiltrate once more.

But when they reached the street, the unexpected happened.

The Last Shock

As they walked through the deserted alleys, Lara was the first to notice the sound of heavy boots behind them. Someone was approaching.

“Dante…” She began, but he interrupted her with a quick gesture, pulling her aside, behind a pile of scrap metal. He didn’t need to say anything. They both knew they were in imminent danger.

And then, the agents appeared. A group of six, uniformed, with rifles and the same masks that Dante recognized from a previous mission.

“We knew you would be here.” The leader’s voice echoed, cold and calculated.

Dante pulled Lara close to him, his body tense, but he didn’t seem surprised. He had already expected this.

“You should have kept quiet,” the leader said to Lara, with a sarcastic smile. “Now, it’s going to be harder for you two to get out of this.”

The confrontation was about to begin. And for a brief moment, before the weapons were raised, Lara and Dante locked eyes. Their gazes said more than words could ever express.

If they could get out of here alive, everything would change. But at that moment, nothing seemed right. Only chaos surrounded them.

“You're crazy!” she screamed as they ran.

“Did you want me to leave you with him?” Dante replied, panting. “That wasn't going to happen.”

The Temporary End

They found an exit to an abandoned area, full of rusty containers and an unsettling silence. Lara leaned against a wall, trying to catch her breath.

“That was stupid, you know?” she said, looking at Dante.

He shrugged, a tired smile on his face.

“Maybe. But it worked.”

She shook her head in disbelief.

“We can't keep going like this, improvising at every step. It's not going to work out at some point.”

Dante walked closer, placing his hands on her shoulders.

“Look at me.” He waited until she looked up. “I'm not going to let anyone take you. Ever.” Lara felt a mixture of anger and relief. She wanted to scream at him, but at the same time, she wanted to hug him.

“You’re insufferable, you know that?”

“I’ve heard that before,” he said with a smile, before pulling her into a tight hug.

For a brief moment, the chaos seemed far away.

A new plan

When they finally separated, they both knew they didn’t have much time.

“What do we do now?” Lara asked, still trying to process everything.

Dante looked around, thinking quickly.

“We need a temporary hideout. Something off their radar.”

“And then?” she insisted.

He looked her in the eyes, his determination evident.

“Then we end Project Aurora once and for all.”

Lara nodded, even though she knew it would be an almost impossible mission. They were in the middle of a war, and everything seemed to be getting harder and harder. But somehow, she knew she could count on Dante.

And for now, that was enough.