by dwri8s
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“Neeka?” I repeated, blinking as if the name itself might explode.
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Angella—no, Neeka—was pacing now. Her eyes darted to the curtained window, to the door, and back to me. Her movements were sharp, rehearsed. Not the girl who fell asleep watching Marvel movies on my chest, who sent me memes at 3AM. This was someone else.
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“You’re joking, right?” I asked, my voice trailing off.
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“No. I wish I was,” she whispered. “I didn’t mean for this to happen. I was supposed to get close to you, distract you. But then… I fell in love with you.”
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Of all the things she could've said, that was the one that scared me most.
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My room suddenly felt too small, like the walls were eavesdropping.
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"You need my help to betray my own government?"
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"No," she said quickly. "I need your help to stop it. We were hired to steal a prototype weapon, but something's changed. The people who hired us—Neon Ash—they don’t want just the tech. They want a war."
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The name sounded like something from a video game. But there was nothing playful about the look in her eyes.
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I leaned back, letting the weight of it all settle in.
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“So… what now?”
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She looked at me, tears lining her eyes but never falling. “Now, we either disappear together... or die apart.”
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Silence.
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It was insane. It was impossible. It was everything every movie, every spy thriller, every stupid romantic fantasy had warned me about.
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And somehow, despite the panic in my chest, all I could think about was:
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I’d rather die knowing I loved the real her, than live pretending I didn’t.
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I reached for her hand.
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“Alright, Neeka. Tell me where we start.”
ns216.73.216.251da2
