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Ashley shook her head, her loose pink and black space buns bouncing back and forth. No recognition. Nothing.

Kana’s face crumbled. “Sunny. It’s me. Sammy.” She pulled Snowy away from the wall of boxes. “Snowy’s here too. We’ve been looking all over for you!”

“And we need to talk, girl,” Snowy quipped, leaning in with flaring nostrils. She swept her hand across the room to the scattered bars, Ken pinning Manny to the floor, the mess of everything. “About all of this.”

Ashley looked between the two as if they were disgusting, sparkly animals in front of her. “About what?”

“Sunny.” A livid Snowy stepped around Kana, heels clacking on the floor. “You don’t know how much shit we went through just to find you.”

“WILL YOU SHUT THE FUCK UP!” Ashley exploded off the couch so fast, Alex flinched the gun sideways. The scream hit every wall in the room.

Everyone froze—even Manny stopped struggling under Ken’s weight.

Ashley’s eyes were wild, unable to focus on a single face. “You keep going on and on about this Sunny! Fucking Christ! I don’t know who the fuck Sunny is!”

Silence.

Kana’s voice came out small and fractured. “You can’t be serious.” She grabbed Ashley’s shoulders and shook her. “You’re Sunny!”

“Don’t fucking touch me!” Ashley jabbed a sharp nail at them. “Stop thinking I’m some girl you used to know. I fucking hate people like you!”

BANG!

The shot split the room in half. Kana and Snowy shrieked into a corner. Hal and Alex swung their guns towards the door. Ken held his ground over Manny, ready to move.

A tall white man in a suit vest stepped through the door, pistol raised, smoke curling from the barrel. He smoothed his slicked hair back and surveyed the room with raised brows until his brown eyes found Alex.

“Seems like someone is making this exchange extremely difficult.”

That voice.

Alex placed it instantly—the masked figure from the night market, the one who’d been looking for the Vanquish. Behind the wealth and TV smile, he wasn’t shit.

“Then make it easier on us, boss?” Alex said, wiping sweat from his eyes.

Covey aimed the gun past Alex’s shoulder—at Ken.

Ken didn’t flinch. Manny whimpered beneath him.

“Toss that box over here,” Covey said. “And we can be on our merry way.”

The box lay on its side behind Alex, Durden bars scattered across the tile. He felt Hal shift beside him. Their eyes met. Hal’s foot inched towards the case.

Ashley lunged for it. Hal’s gun snapped to her face. Her hands shot up.

Covey chuckled. “Two can play that game.” Swung the barrel to Snowy. She and Kana jerked back against the wall. He held it there for one agonizing second, then redirected back to Ken.

“Pass over the drugs. Or your man loses his head.”

“You shoot him, we kill her,” said Alex.

Behind him, Hal cocked his gun against Ashley’s temple.

Kana sobbed. Alex wished she didn’t have to hear this.

“No, you won’t.” Covey’s smile didn’t waver. “You’ve been looking for her this whole time.”

“And you’ve been hiding her. So I’d say we’re even.” Alex steadied his aim between Covey’s eyes. “Here’s how this works, buddy. You want the box?” He kicked it towards Hal. “Fuck you.”