Milan — Stifling night
The shelter buzzed with voices and plans.
Escape routes were drawn.
Improvised weapons were distributed.
New flyers were printed with promises of justice and freedom.
But Vera barely heard the noise.
Sitting atop a stack of old crates, her eyes fixed on the city map, she tried to split her heart in two:
Fight for the revolution.
Search for Luca.
Enzo approached again, bringing fresh information.
"One of our infiltrators found something," he said, lowering his voice. "The journalist is being held in an old railway depot, in the abandoned industrial zone."
Vera clenched her fists.
"How many guards?" she asked.
"Plenty. More than we expected." Enzo hesitated. "It's not an easy operation. We'll need at least a dozen men. And even then…"
Vera understood.
It was suicide.
But it was Luca.
And he deserved the chance he had given her — and all the others.
She looked at the map.
The resistance needed her.
Milan was on the brink of liberation.
But Luca...
Luca was the spark that had ignited her from the beginning.
And a revolution that abandons its heroes doesn't deserve to win.
Vera took a deep breath.
"We'll launch two operations," she said, her voice steady. "One to take the square tomorrow... and another to bring Luca back."
Enzo smiled for the first time in days.
"I'll gather the volunteers," he promised.
Vera nodded.
The fate of an entire city rested on her shoulders.
And she was ready to risk it all.