Morning sunlight filtered through a rusted ventilation grate, casting thin beams of light across the tunnel floor.
Emily slowly opened her eyes.
For the first time in nearly twenty-four hours, there was no sound of gunfire.
Only silence.
Victoria was already awake.
She stood near the tunnel entrance, listening carefully.
"You should rest a little longer," she said without turning around.
Emily smiled tiredly.
"I don't think either of us remembers how."
Victoria let out a quiet laugh.
"You're probably right."
Emily stood, stretching her sore muscles.
Her shoulder still ached from the bullet graze, but the pain was manageable.
"We need to get out of here."
Victoria nodded.
"The east exit should be less than a mile away."
She unfolded the old tunnel map once more.
"If this is accurate..."
"...we'll come out near Red Hook."
Emily looked over her shoulder.
"And then?"
Victoria folded the map.
"Then everything changes."
Above ground...
The Moretti estate was in chaos.
Luxury cars filled the driveway.
Bodyguards hurried through the halls while staff whispered nervously.
Luca stood in Victoria's office, staring at several television screens.
Every news channel showed the same headline.
EXPLOSIONS ROCK BROOKLYN DOCKS
The FBI had declared the attack an act of organized crime.
No one mentioned the Black Vipers.
Luca clenched his fists.
"They planned this perfectly."
One of Victoria's advisers entered.
"We've lost three warehouses."
"Two restaurants."
"And one of our shipping companies has been seized by federal agents."
Luca's face darkened.
"They're dismantling us while she's trapped underground."
Another phone rang.
He answered.
"What?"
His expression froze.
"...No."
He slowly lowered the phone.
"What happened?" the adviser asked.
"The bank accounts."
"They've been emptied."
Deep beneath the city...
Emily noticed Victoria had become unusually quiet.
"You're thinking about something."
Victoria looked ahead.
"My organization."
"You think they're attacking it."
"I know they are."
Emily hesitated.
"If we get out..."
"...I'll help stop whoever's behind this."
Victoria looked surprised.
"You'd help me?"
"I'll stop criminals."
She smiled faintly.
"I never said I'd help the mafia."
Victoria smirked.
"Fair enough."
After another twenty minutes of walking, they reached a heavy iron ladder leading upward.
Fresh air drifted through the opening above.
Victoria climbed first.
She slowly pushed aside the rusted hatch.
Sunlight flooded into the tunnel.
She looked around carefully.
"We're clear."
Emily climbed out behind her.
The harbor stretched across the distance.
Police helicopters circled overhead.
Smoke still rose from the burning docks.
Neither woman realized how long they had been underground.
Emily inhaled deeply.
"I never thought fresh air could feel this good."
Victoria closed the hatch.
"You'll learn to appreciate simple things."
Emily looked at her.
"Do you?"
Victoria didn't answer.
A sudden engine roared nearby.
Both women turned.
A black SUV accelerated toward them.
Victoria immediately drew her weapon.
"Get down!"
The vehicle swerved violently before stopping only a few feet away.
Luca jumped out.
"Boss!"
Relief flooded across his face.
"I thought..."
Victoria placed a hand on his shoulder.
"I'm alive."
Luca finally noticed Emily.
His expression instantly hardened.
"The FBI."
He reached for his weapon.
Victoria stepped between them.
"No."
Luca looked shocked.
"She's the enemy."
"Not today."
The silence that followed felt heavier than the gunfire had.
Luca slowly lowered his pistol.
He trusted Victoria.
Even when he didn't understand her.
Emily's radio suddenly crackled to life.
"Carter!"
Walker's voice.
"Where are you?"
Emily picked up the radio.
"I'm alive."
A long pause followed.
"Thank God."
"We've been searching for you all night."
Emily glanced toward Victoria.
"We need to talk."
Walker answered immediately.
"Return to headquarters."
"Now."
The transmission ended.
Emily slipped the radio back into her pocket.
Victoria understood.
"You have to go."
Emily nodded.
"So do you."
For several seconds...
Neither of them moved.
Neither wanted to be the first to walk away.
Finally, Emily spoke.
"I still don't know which side you're really on."
Victoria smiled sadly.
"I'm still trying to figure that out myself."
Emily took one step backward.
"I'll find you again."
Victoria tilted her head.
"Is that a promise..."
"...or a threat?"
Emily smiled.
"You decide."
Without another word, she turned and walked toward the waiting FBI vehicles appearing in the distance.
Victoria watched until Emily disappeared from sight.
Luca quietly stepped beside her.
"You let her go."
Victoria never looked away.
"Yes."
"You could've ended the investigation today."
Victoria finally turned toward the SUV.
"No."
"This story isn't over."
Far away, hidden behind the windows of a nearby abandoned warehouse, Adrian Volkov watched the entire exchange through a pair of binoculars.
A slow smile spread across his face.
"They've started trusting each other."
One of his men frowned.
"Isn't that a problem?"
Volkov shook his head.
"No."
"It's exactly what I wanted."
He closed the binoculars and walked toward the door.
"The stronger their bond becomes..."
"...the more devastating it will be when I force them to choose between love and loyalty."
Outside, dark clouds gathered over New York once again.
The war for the city had only just begun.