Faith

part eight

Alex stood on Quinson Bridge, his eyes locked on the dark water below, the thought of jumping quietly gnawing at him. The weight of it all pressed on his chest like an anchor. The missions, the lies, the hollow existence—he was tired. The idea of just letting go, of falling into the cold oblivion, seemed almost comforting.

But then, he heard footsteps. Soft but steady, approaching him. He didn’t need to turn around to know who it was.

"Found you finally!" Tya's voice broke through the thick fog of his thoughts. She stood beside him, hands shoved in her pockets, a forced smile on her face as she tried to ease the tension. "You've been ignoring my calls, and normally that would piss me off, but... just because it’s you, I forgive you."

Alex remained silent, unmoved. The words rolled off him like rain on glass. He didn’t have the energy to respond, and part of him wished she’d just leave him there, let him disappear into the silence he craved.

Tya exhaled, her breath fogging in the cool night air. She glanced at him, her usual sharpness softened, replaced with something more vulnerable. "Hey... I’m bad at this, but... you’re stronger than this. Stronger than giving up now, and I... I have a better idea. A real way for you to break free."

Her words echoed in the empty space around them, but they barely touched him. Once, hearing her say something like that would have stirred something inside him, would have made his heart beat faster. But now? It felt like a cruel joke. A sad, empty joke. Freedom? It was a concept that didn’t exist for someone like him.

"Just hear me out," Tya pushed on, her tone firming with resolve. "The Hungry Dogs—they’re planning to kill you. They want revenge, and they’re not gonna stop until they get it. So why don’t we beat them at their own game? Trick everyone into believing that they’ve already done it."

For the first time in what felt like ages, something flickered in Alex’s mind. A spark, small but undeniable, ignited in the haze of his despair. He slowly turned his head to look at Tya, really look at her, and there she was—smiling with that reckless determination he knew all too well. Her eyes shone with the kind of hope he hadn’t felt in a long time. She believed in this.

His mind started turning, the wheels creaking into motion as her plan began to form in the recesses of his thoughts. Staging his death? That could be something, A way out, a chance to slip away from Victor’s control, and of this whole life,  forever.

Tya’s smile widened when she saw the faintest glimmer of life in his eyes. She had him now.

"See?" she whispered, her voice almost tender. "There’s still a way... We can do this, Alex. We can make this work."

Alex took a deep breath, the weight of his sorrow lifting just slightly as the first threads of a plan began to weave together. It wasn’t over yet. Not if they could make this work.
They needed to work carefully, calculating every step with precision. Tya’s mind was already racing through the possibilities, every contingency, every risk. She was willing to do whatever it took to make this plan succeed. She couldn’t lose Alex—not to the gang, not to his father, and certainly not to the darkness that had been slowly devouring him.

Alex exhaled, his breath shaky as he broke the silence. "The boss... he gave us a mission." He paused, the weight of it heavy on his shoulders. "We’re supposed to kill Louinsky's young daughter."

Tya’s smile faltered, vanishing. This was different. This wasn’t some hardened gang member or enemy operative. This was an innocent girl. And Victor, cruel as ever, had chosen her deliberately, knowing full well the impact it would have on Alex.

Tya clenched her jaw, her mind reeling. Victor was testing him again, pushing him further into the abyss. It was the same sick game he always played. "You don’t have to do it," she said quickly, her voice firmer than she intended. "I’ll talk to the boss. I’ll take the mission instead."