Unlikely Allies (4) : A Freewrite

, Monica and Malik engaged in a dance of phrases—a subtle change of information and motives. Malik's insights painted a clearer photograph of Darkie's empire, revealing connections Monica had simplest started to fathom. He said loyalties and alliances, betrayals and hidden agendas. In Malik, Monica discovered an unlikely ally—one whose motivations have been as complicated because the city itself.

Their communication carried on into the early hours of the morning, the bar's purchasers blind to the secrets being unveiled in their midst. Malik's words had been a puzzle piece that in shape into the bigger mosaic Monica become assembling. He turned into a person of shadows, a parent who danced on the brink of chance and intrigue.

As their change drew to a close, Malik seemed Monica with a mixture of curiosity and some thing deeper. "You're one of a kind, Detective. Your pursuit is extra than just a activity. It's personal."

Monica's gaze held his, her voice tinged with resolve. "This metropolis deserves justice, even when the truth is obscured by means of shadows."

Malik's lips quirked into a faint smile. "Perhaps we are not so one-of-a-kind in spite of everything."