They took a job that night because not working felt worse.

  Lian did not ask many questions. She checked the location and nodded.

  “Warehouse near Kwai Chung,” Kai said. “Security is lazy. Cameras are old. Two guards who think their job is to drink tea.”

  “That sounds like an invitation,” Lian replied.

  They moved the way they always did.

  Kai stayed back in the van with his screens glowing softly. Lian crossed the fence and disappeared into shadow.

  “Camera one looping,” Kai murmured. “You are clear.”

  She slipped inside through a side door that was not locked because no one ever thought it would be used. The warehouse smelled like metal and damp cardboard. A single light hung over a desk near the center.

  The broker was there. On his phone. Laughing.

  Lian waited until he hung up.

  He turned and froze when he saw her.

  “You are not supposed to be here,” he said.

  “No,” she agreed. “I am not.”

  She finished it quickly.

  Kai wiped the systems clean while she checked the body for anything useful. Receipts. A burner phone. Nothing surprising.

  “I am seeing movement,” Kai said suddenly. “Outside the perimeter. Someone else is here.”

  Lian stilled. “How many.”

  “One,” Kai replied. “Watching the warehouse.”

  “Describe.”

  “Tall. Clean coat. Hands in pockets.”

  Lian felt a familiar tightening in her chest. “Where.”

  “Across the street near the loading bay lights.”

  She moved to a window and looked through the grime streaked glass.

  It was him.

  He was standing under the harsh white lights with his phone in his hand. Just looking at the building like he was counting something in his head.

  “He is not looking at me,” Lian said.

  “No,” Kai replied. “He is looking at the trucks.”

  The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

  “Why is he here.”

  “I do not know.”

  They watched in silence. The doctor took a step closer to the fence. He frowned slightly and typed something on his phone.

  “Any transmissions,” Lian asked.

  “Minimal,” Kai said.

  Lian backed away from the window. “We leave now.”

  “Agreed,” Kai said. “You are not compromised but this is too close.”

  She slipped out the way she came in. The fence did not make a sound when she cleared it.

  From the van Kai watched the doctor turn slowly and look directly at their vehicle. Just for a second. Then he looked away.

  “He saw the van,” Kai said.

  “He sees everything,” Lian replied.

  They drove off without hurry. Acting normal was part of staying invisible.

  They parked three blocks away and shut everything down. The city swallowed them again.

  Kai leaned back in his seat. “That was not coincidence.”

  “No,” Lian said. “But it was not about us.”

  “He was scouting,” Kai said. “Or meeting someone.”

  “He did not meet anyone.”

  “Yet,” Kai replied.

  They returned to the apartment near dawn. Lian cleaned her blade while Kai reviewed footage.

  “He did not access any of the broker’s systems,” Kai said. “He did not even try.”

  “Then why be there.”

  Kai shrugged. “Curiosity. Or he was confirming something.”

  Lian set the blade aside. “He should not be this close to our work.”

  “He is not close to us,” Kai said gently. “He is close to the world we operate in.”

  She looked at him. “That is the same thing.”

  Kai did not argue.

  Later that morning Lian stood on the balcony and watched the street below.

  Kai joined her with two cups of coffee.

  “He texted you yet,” he asked.

  She shook her head. “No.”

  “He will,” Kai said. “He always does when he feels uncertain.”

  Lian accepted the coffee. “I do not want to talk to him.”

  “You might have to,” Kai replied. “Not because he deserves it. Because information does.”

  She sighed. “You sound like you are defending him.”

  “I am not,” Kai said quickly. “I am defending us.”

  She took a long sip. “What if he asks questions.”

  “Then you answer carefully,” Kai said. “Like you always do.”

  They stood there for a while. The city moved on without them.

  That afternoon Lian’s phone buzzed.

  She stared at the screen before answering.

  “Hello,” she said.

  “Lian,” his voice came through warm and familiar. “I saw something strange last night.”

  Her grip tightened. “Strange how.”

  “A warehouse near the port,” he said. “There was police activity later.”

  “I did not hear about it,” she replied.

  “You would not,” he said lightly. “But you are good at hearing things others miss.”

  She closed her eyes. “What do you want.”

  “Coffee,” he said. “Just coffee. To catch up.”

  “I will think about it,” she said.

  “I will be here,” he replied.

  The line went dead.

  Kai watched her carefully. “What did he say.”

  “He wants coffee.”

  Kai nodded slowly. “Do you.”

  “No,” she said. “But I might go anyway.”

  “Your call,” Kai replied. “I will be nearby.”

  She smiled faintly.