THE LAST MESSAGE 4

Part 4: The Chase

Aman sprinted after the mysterious woman, his heart pounding in his chest. The city blurred around him as they weaved through narrow alleys, vaulting over crates and dodging trash bins.

Behind them, shouts echoed in the distance. More men. More danger.

The woman led him into a side street, barely visible under the flickering streetlights. She moved with precision, as if she had planned this escape route long before he ever got involved.

"Who the hell are you?" Aman gasped, struggling to keep up.

"No time," she snapped. "Keep moving."

Aman clenched his jaw and followed.

They reached a deserted parking lot, the asphalt slick from an earlier rain. The woman scanned the area quickly before pulling out a phone and typing something.

A car’s headlights flashed in response from across the lot.

A getaway vehicle.

But before they could reach it—

A black SUV screeched to a halt behind them.

Doors flew open.

Four men in tactical gear jumped out, guns raised.

Aman froze, gripping the weapon he had taken earlier. His hands were shaking. He wasn’t a fighter. He wasn’t a spy. He was just a guy who had picked up a flash drive and now had killers after him.

The woman, however, didn’t hesitate.

She grabbed Aman’s wrist and whispered, "Get in the car. I’ll cover you."

Before he could argue, she turned and fired.

Gunshots erupted in the night.

Aman ducked low and sprinted toward the car. The driver’s side door was already open. He barely managed to slide into the passenger seat when the woman jumped in beside him, flooring the accelerator.

The car roared to life.

Tires screeched as they sped away. Bullets shattered the rear windshield, but the woman didn’t flinch. She weaved through the empty streets at breakneck speed, taking sharp turns that nearly threw Aman against the door.

His breath came in ragged gasps. "Who are you? And why are you helping me?"

She didn’t answer immediately. Her focus was on the road, her knuckles white against the steering wheel.

Then, finally, she spoke.

"My name is Siya. And Raghav sent me to find you."

Aman’s stomach dropped. "Raghav? He’s alive?"

Siya hesitated. "I don’t know."

Aman’s mind spun. "Then how—"

"He told me that if he ever disappeared, I needed to get to you first. And that you’d have something important."

Aman reached into his pocket and pulled out the flash drive.

"This," he muttered.

Siya glanced at it briefly before refocusing on the road. "Then we don’t have much time. You have no idea how dangerous this is."

Aman exhaled sharply. "No kidding."

Siya made a sudden turn, heading toward an underground tunnel. The moment they entered, she hit a switch on the dashboard. The headlights turned off, and a false license plate flipped into place.

"That should buy us a little time," she muttered.

Aman ran a hand through his hair, still trying to process everything. "What the hell is on this drive?"

Siya’s jaw tightened. "Something powerful enough to get you killed."

Aman swallowed hard. He thought back to the video—the AI, the manipulation, the government control.

"If we don’t stop them," Siya continued, "everything we do, every choice we make… won’t be ours anymore."

Aman clenched the flash drive in his fist.

Whatever was on it, it wasn’t just Raghav’s problem anymore.

It was his.

And now, there was no turning back.