Chapter 4 Heat & Haze ‎

‎Chapter Four: Heat & Haze

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‎Rooftop Lounge - Lower Manhattan 4:12 p.m.

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‎The rooftop shimmered beneath the heat of the late New York sun.

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‎Laughter rippled like music through the sky. Sunlight bounced off the crystal-blue pool and glinted on half-empty champagne flutes. Lounge beds were draped in white, palm fans rotated above glowing bulbs, and bronzed bodies dipped in and out of water like carefree gods.

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‎Sienna Vale slid her sunglasses down her nose and sipped her mojito.

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‎Her black bikini hugged her curves like it had been stitched onto her skin, and the gold anklet she always wore caught the light with every lazy stretch of her foot. Lilah lay beside her in a white two-piece, hair in curls, face angled toward the sun like a cat soaking in heaven.

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‎"I could marry this pool," Lilah mumbled, voice dreamy.

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‎"I'd cheat on it," Chase said from the edge, flipping his hair back as he climbed out of the water. Tattoos glistened across his chest and arms. "With that bartender."

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‎Lilah peeked over her sunglasses. "You mean the one with abs that could slice diamonds?"

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‎"Exactly."

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‎Nico strolled over, towel draped around his shoulders, drink in hand, phone still in his other. "Okay, party people," he announced. "News flash: Sienna has no criminal alerts, zero hits, and is currently on six anonymous gossip pages for 'mysterious pool beauty in black.'"

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‎Sienna smirked behind her drink. "Tell them I'm expensive."

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‎They laughed.

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‎For a moment, it felt easy. Like freedom.

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‎Elsewhere - Moretti Tower - Private Surveillance Room

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‎CCTV footage flickered across twenty screens.

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‎Aleksandr Moretti stood in the center, one hand in his pocket, the other holding a steaming espresso cup. His grey eyes scanned the images with a lazy sort of calm. Calm that came from knowing everything.

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‎Sienna laughed on screen. The pool glowed behind her. She looked untouchable.

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‎"Sir," said a voice behind him one of the techs. "She's been with her team the whole day. No calls. No meetings. Just... fun."

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‎Aleks sipped. His jaw flexed.

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‎"She's running from something," he murmured.

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‎"Should we bring her in?"

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‎"No," he said. "Let her run."

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‎He turned and walked away, already thinking about the next shipment meeting and a rival crew making noise in Queens.

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‎But even as he moved on, her image lingered in the corner of the screen.

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‎Back at the Rooftop - 9:27 p.m.

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‎The day had bled into night. The pool glittered under string lights, music thrummed deeper, and the party had swelled with new faces.

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‎Sienna stood at the bar now, sipping something stronger. Chase danced shirtless with a redhead. Lilah had just disappeared with the bartender. Nico was arguing with the DJ over the next playlist.

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‎Sienna turned toward the skyline, letting the wind lift her curls.

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‎That's when she noticed them.

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‎Two guys by the far corner both in leather jackets despite the heat, tattoos up their necks, speaking low, quick, heated.

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‎Another man approached them. Drunk. Loud.

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‎Then someone shoved someone else.

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‎A glass shattered.

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‎Sienna tensed.

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‎The music didn't stop. Not yet. But the air changed thick, electric, warning.

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‎One of the men drew something from his waistband.

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‎Gun.

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‎Shouts broke out.

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‎"Get down!" someone screamed.

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‎Sienna ducked instinctively, eyes darting. People scattered. Nico was already pulling her back, shielding her as the crowd pushed and tripped over lounge chairs and half-filled bottles.

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‎Shots rang not heavy fire, just warnings. A turf fight. Small-time gang muscle. Dumb men making noise in public.

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‎But it was enough.

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‎Enough to bring back memories she didn't want.

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‎Enough to make her think this isn't far from the world I left.

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‎Moretti Tower - 10:05 p.m.

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‎Luca stepped into the office.

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‎"Small brawl on the 18th floor of The Zephyr Rooftop. Gangs."

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‎Aleks didn't look up from the papers on his desk.

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‎"She was there, wasn't she?"

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‎Luca paused. "...Yes."

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‎Aleks finally set his pen down.

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‎He said nothing for a moment. Then:

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‎"Pull the names of the men involved."

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‎"Yes, boss."

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‎"And the footage."

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‎"You want it deleted?"

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‎Aleks's jaw ticked.

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‎"No," he said quietly. "I want to watch it."

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‎Brooklyn Loft - 11:16 p.m.

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‎Sienna stood in the shower, steam fogging the mirror.

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‎Her back pressed to the cold tile, her eyes closed.

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‎She could still hear the gunshot. Still feel that adrenaline.

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‎It wasn't even a real war, she thought. Just kids pretending to be monsters.

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‎She'd known real monsters.

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‎She just hadn't expected one to have grey eyes and wear gloves.

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