Liam glanced at the translucent map floating inside his vision.

The system interface hovered quietly in front of him as he flew across the sky. The city stretched far below them while the glowing arrow on the map pointed directly ahead.

The arrow suddenly shifted downward.

That meant they had reached the destination.

Liam folded his wings slightly and angled his body forward.

Then he dove.

The wind roared past them as they dropped quickly toward the ground. Buildings rushed upward to meet them.

Tatiana tightened her grip instinctively as the speed increased.

Just before they reached the ground Liam spread his wings wide again.

The feathers caught the air with precision and slowed their fall.

A moment later his boots touched the ground smoothly.

They landed directly in front of a quiet residential building.

Tatiana blinked in shock.

She looked up at the building then back at Liam.

Her mouth opened slightly but no words came out for a second.

He had landed exactly in front of her house.

Not near it.

Not somewhere on the same street.

Directly in front of it.

Tatiana turned slowly toward the familiar door and windows then looked back at him again with a stunned expression.

"You actually know where I live."

Her voice carried pure disbelief.

What she didn’t know was that halfway through the flight Liam had quietly slipped one hand inside her bag while she was busy staring at the clouds and city.

All he needed to do was touch her phone for a second.

The moment his fingers brushed the device his system activated instantly.

The system scanned through the phone in less than a heartbeat and located the home address stored in her maps and navigation history.

Then the coordinates appeared on Liam’s system interface.

From that point the glowing arrow simply guided him straight here.

Tatiana however knew nothing about that.

Liam simply smiled calmly.

"Instinct."

Tatiana stared at him suspiciously for a moment but she didn’t push the question further.

Instead she walked toward the front door while Liam followed beside her.

As she reached for the handle she continued speaking.

"But I’m a little confused."

She turned the key slowly while glancing back at him.

"Why come to my house?"

The door clicked open.

Liam stepped closer behind her.

"To prepare," he replied simply.

Tatiana pushed the door open and stepped inside while he continued speaking.

"Get new clothes."

His tone was casual but focused.

"And there is one more thing I need to get before tonight."

Tatiana paused halfway through the doorway and turned back toward him with curiosity.

"What is that?"

Liam’s lips curved slightly.

"You’ll see when the time comes."

Tatiana gave him a look that clearly said she didn’t like mysterious answers but she eventually shrugged and stepped fully into the house.

Liam followed right behind her.

The moment he entered he immediately noticed the atmosphere of the place.

Tatiana’s home wasn’t overly luxurious but it was far from ordinary.

Everything inside was clean and carefully arranged. The furniture looked comfortable yet stylish and the design of the space felt thoughtful and organized.

A soft lamp glowed in the corner of the living room while shelves along the wall held books, small decorations, and a few framed photos.

The floor was spotless.

The air smelled fresh.

There was a faint scent of something floral mixed with a soft sweetness.

It took Liam only a second to realize the smell reminded him of her.

The entire place carried a subtle trace of Tatiana’s presence.

Tatiana noticed the way he was quietly looking around the room.

She chuckled lightly.

"What is it?"

Her voice carried amusement.

Liam blinked once before answering.

He slowly removed the scarf wrapped around his neck and walked toward the small hanger near the entrance.

"I’m just amazed by the arrangement."

He hung the scarf neatly before continuing.

Tatiana smiled slightly when she heard that.

"Thanks."

She leaned casually against the wall while watching him.

Liam reached up and removed the sunglasses next.

Without the glasses his sharp blue eyes became visible again.

Tatiana noticed immediately.

For a brief moment she realized something she had not thought about earlier.

Without the disguise Liam looked completely different.

The beard was still there though.

Liam reached up and peeled it off.

The fake beard came loose easily and he tossed it across the room with a quick flick of his wrist.

It flew in a smooth arc and landed perfectly inside a small basket sitting in the far corner of the room.

Tatiana raised an eyebrow.

"Nice aim."

Liam shrugged slightly.

He slipped off the jacket next and hung it beside the scarf.

Now he looked like himself again.

No beard.

No sunglasses.

No disguise.

Just Liam.

He stretched his shoulders once and glanced around the room again.

Then he looked back at Tatiana.

"Let’s get started."

Tatiana had just stepped toward the hallway when Liam spoke again.

"Huh?"

She turned back toward him with a confused look on her face.

Liam had already moved toward the small table in the living room where a few items were neatly arranged. His eyes were scanning the surface quickly.

"Do you have a laptop?" he asked.

Tatiana blinked once.

"A laptop?"

Then she pointed toward the table beside the couch.

"There."

A slim silver laptop sat neatly on the wooden surface.

Liam walked over without hesitation and pulled out the chair before sitting down. He opened the laptop and pressed the power button while Tatiana leaned casually against the nearby wall watching him.

Within seconds the screen lit up.

Liam’s fingers moved quickly across the keyboard as he opened the browser and went straight to the web.

He typed the name.

Shadow Lounge.

Several search results appeared instantly.

Images.

Reviews.

Location tags.

He opened the first result and leaned slightly closer to the screen.

For a moment his expression changed.

This was not what he expected.

The man earlier had told him the place was a club.

But the images in front of him showed something very different.

The building was large and modern, far larger than a normal nightclub. The front of the structure looked like a high end hotel with several floors rising above the street. Elegant lights lined the entrance and expensive cars could be seen parked outside in some of the photos.

Liam scrolled through more pictures.

There was indeed a club inside the building but the entire structure itself was registered as a hotel.

He leaned back slightly in the chair.

"That’s interesting."

Tatiana raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

Liam gestured toward the screen.

"Come look at this."

Tatiana walked over and stood behind him. She leaned slightly forward and rested one hand on the back of the chair as she looked down at the laptop screen.

Her hair brushed lightly near his shoulder as she focused on the images.

The moment she saw the building her expression shifted.

"Oh."

She straightened slightly.

"I know that place."

Liam turned his head slightly to look up at her.

"Tell me about it."

Tatiana kept her eyes on the screen for a moment before speaking.

"Well... it looks like a hotel," she said slowly.

"And technically it is registered as a hotel."

She crossed her arms slightly while thinking.

"But it really isn’t."

Liam waited for her to continue.

Tatiana leaned forward again and pointed at one of the images showing the entrance of the building.

"It’s more like a hostel for gang members."

Her tone carried certainty now.

"People in the city know about it."

Liam scrolled through another set of photos while listening.

Tatiana shook her head slightly.

"I don’t know their official name," she admitted.

"But they’ve been around for a long time."

She paused for a second.

Then suddenly her eyes widened slightly.

A spark of realization crossed her face.

"Oh."

She looked down at Liam again.

"Don’t tell me..."

Her voice carried surprise.

"They are the ones guarding the warehouse back there?"

Liam nodded slowly.

"I think so."

Tatiana stared at the screen again.

"Well that makes sense."

She leaned closer as if studying the building more carefully now.

Then Liam asked another question.

"Do you know how we can get in?"

Tatiana immediately shook her head.

"No." 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

Her tone was firm.

"Liam there’s no way we can just walk in there."

She pointed at the screen again.

"That place is locked down."

Liam looked at her calmly while waiting for her explanation.

Tatiana continued.

"Unless you are one of them there is no way they’ll let you inside."

She tapped lightly near one of the photos showing the lobby area.

"You need a room card before you can even access the club area."

Then she looked back at him seriously.

"We need a room card before we can get into their club."

Liam rubbed his chin as he suggested, "What if we look for an empty room, we burst in, then pick the room card."