The man’s breathing was still uneven as blood continued dripping slowly from his broken nose.

His back pressed against the cold restroom wall while the gun remained firmly against his forehead. His hands stayed raised, trembling slightly as he stared at the young man standing in front of him.

"I I don’t even know who they are man," he stammered quickly.

"I swear it."

His voice cracked slightly as panic pushed the words out of his mouth.

"L-Look man there’s no reason to take me hostage. I haven’t killed anybody. I don’t have any information. I’m just a bottom feeder."

His eyes darted nervously between the gun and Liam’s face.

"I’m just doing what I’m told."

Liam said nothing for a few seconds.

The silence stretched out in the small restroom while the man’s heartbeat pounded loudly in his ears.

Then Liam slowly tilted his head to the side.

"Hmmm."

The sound was soft but it made the man’s stomach twist.

"And if I want information," Liam said calmly, "who would I go to?"

The question hit the man like ice water.

His mouth opened slightly but no sound came out.

For a moment his entire body went still.

Cold.

That was the only way to describe the feeling crawling through him.

His thoughts raced wildly.

If he answered that question then he would be betraying the people who hired him.

And those people were not the type to forgive mistakes.

But if he refused to answer then the gun pressed against his forehead would go off.

And he could see clearly in Liam’s calm posture that the young man would not hesitate to pull the trigger.

The man’s throat tightened.

At that moment he did not know who he should fear more.

His boss.

Or the young man standing in front of him.

Liam watched the fear spread across his face and suddenly laughed.

It was not a loud laugh.

But it carried a strange calmness that made the man’s skin crawl.

"I know you have issues thinking," Liam said with a faint smile.

"Your boss is definitely going to kill you when he finds out you leaked information."

The man’s legs began shaking harder as the words sank in.

Something about the way Liam spoke made it feel real.

Too real.

The young man standing in front of him did not look angry or aggressive. His expression was relaxed. His voice smooth and steady.

But somehow that made everything worse.

His calmness felt unnatural.

Like a predator that had already decided the outcome.

The man swallowed hard as sweat formed along his forehead.

Liam continued speaking as if they were having a casual conversation.

"You see," he said slowly, "your boss might find out if somehow he escapes me killing him."

The man blinked.

The words sounded so casual it almost took a second for his brain to process them.

But Liam continued before he could react.

"But that doesn’t really matter does it?"

Liam leaned slightly closer, the gun pressing more firmly against the man’s forehead.

"I am the one holding a gun to your head right now."

His voice remained calm.

Almost gentle.

"And trust me when I say it."

"I will blow your fucking brains out."

The man froze.

Completely.

Something inside him finally snapped.

All the resistance he had been clinging to collapsed instantly.

Because in that moment he realized something very clearly.

This young man was not bluffing.

There was no hesitation in his voice.

No doubt.

Just certainty.

His entire body trembled violently.

Liam.

That was the name that suddenly echoed inside his mind.

He did not know why.

But the name appeared there anyway.

And the man standing in front of him no longer felt like a normal person.

He felt like something worse.

Something cold.

Something dangerous.

This young man wasn’t human.

"I’ll talk," he blurted out suddenly.

"I’ll talk."

His voice shook uncontrollably as he spoke.

Liam said nothing.

He simply watched him quietly.

The man quickly continued.

"If you want to find my boss then you need to go to the Shadow Lounge tonight."

Liam’s eyebrows furrowed slightly.

"What’s a Shadow Lounge."

The man blinked in surprise.

For a moment he almost forgot he was staring down the barrel of a gun.

"You don’t know it?"

Liam remained silent.

"It’s a club," the man said quickly.

"Ask around. Everybody here knows it."

Liam thought about it for a moment.

Then he slowly nodded.

"And this boss of yours," he said calmly.

"How will I know him when I see him."

The man swallowed again.

His body was still shaking slightly but he answered quickly.

"Trust me," he said.

"You’ll know him."

His eyes shifted nervously.

"He’s the top of the food chain around here."

"You don’t need to squint to find him."

"He attracts attention."

For a brief moment silence returned to the restroom.

Then Liam smiled again.

"You were a very good help to me."

The man’s shoulders sagged slightly as relief flickered across his face.

But the relief did not last long.

Liam continued speaking.

"But I can’t just let you go."

The man’s eyes widened again.

Liam’s voice remained calm.

"You’ll snitch before I even get there."

The man’s chest was rising and falling rapidly while the gun stayed pressed against his forehead.

Fear had already drained the color from his face and the blood from his broken nose had begun drying around his lips. His hands were still raised halfway when suddenly he moved one of them slowly toward his pants pocket.

Liam’s eyes followed the movement carefully.

The man froze for a second as if afraid the gun would go off.

"I’m not grabbing anything," he said quickly with a trembling voice.

"Please just listen to me."

Slowly he reached into his pocket and pulled something out.

It was a small photo.

His fingers shook badly as he held it out toward Liam.

"Please man," he said.

"Don’t kill me."

His voice was almost breaking now.

"I have a family."

Liam looked down at the picture without taking it yet.

The man continued quickly.

"I have two children."

His eyes were wet as he spoke.

"I have a wife too."

His voice dropped into a desperate whisper.

"I will never dare snitch I swear it."

The restroom fell quiet for a moment.

Liam studied the picture still held between the man’s trembling fingers.

Then he slowly rubbed his chin.

"Hmmm."

He finally reached forward and took the photo from the man’s hand.

It was a simple family picture. A woman sitting on a couch with two small kids leaning against her shoulders while the same man standing in front of him now stood behind them with a wide smile on his face.

A normal family.

The kind that had nothing to do with the mess happening inside this warehouse.

Liam looked at the photo for a few seconds before slipping it into his own pocket.

"I will hold on to this for you," he said calmly.

The man blinked in confusion.

Then Liam spoke again.

"If I ever find out that you snitched on me," he said quietly, "then trust me that will be the last day you will see any of your family members."

The words were simple but the meaning behind them was clear.

The man nodded immediately.

"Yes."

His head moved up and down rapidly.

"Yes I understand."

His body was still shaking but he did not dare argue.

Liam then placed one hand inside his own pocket.

The moment the man saw the movement his heart nearly stopped again.

His eyes widened as fear returned to his face.

He thought Liam was about to pull out another weapon.

But the next second his expression changed to confusion.

Because what Liam pulled out was money.

A thick bundle of cash.

Not just a little either.

It was a large stack of crisp bills wrapped together.

The man stared at it in disbelief.

Even at a quick glance he could tell it was more than ten thousand dollars.

And it was in dollars.

Not rubles.

Liam held the bundle out casually.

"When you wake up," Liam said calmly, "use this and move your family somewhere else."

The man blinked.

His brain struggled to process what he had just heard.

"Move away from this place," Liam continued.

"And find a decent job somewhere."

The man stared at him in silence.

Nothing about the situation made sense anymore.

Just a minute ago this same young man had punched his nose in and threatened to blow his head open.

Now he was handing him money.

More money than he had probably seen in years.

His mind struggled to catch up.

The man who almost killed him was now giving him money?

But then something suddenly clicked inside his brain.

Something Liam had just said.

The man’s expression shifted slowly as his thoughts replayed the words.

When you wake up.

His eyes widened slightly.

When you wake up?

What did that mean?

Before he could even finish thinking about it Liam suddenly moved again.

His fist slammed straight into the man’s face.

Bang.

The punch was heavy and precise.

The man’s head snapped back violently as the remaining strength left his body instantly.

His vision went dark before he even had time to react.

He collapsed to the floor completely unconscious.

Liam stood there for a second looking down at him.

Then he bent down calmly.

He slipped the bundle of ten thousand dollars into the man’s pocket.

After that Liam reached down again and searched the man’s pants until he found his phone.

He pulled it out.

The screen was locked.

Liam glanced at it briefly before speaking quietly in his mind.

"System."

"Unlock it."

For a brief second the screen flickered.

Then it unlocked instantly.

Liam opened the phone and quickly navigated through a few apps until he found the man’s crypto wallet.

The balance inside it was almost empty.

Just a few dollars worth of digital currency.

Liam then pulled out his own phone.

A moment later he opened his own crypto wallet and began transferring funds.

The numbers on the screen changed quickly as the transaction processed.

Within seconds a transfer worth one hundred thousand dollars in bitcoin moved from Liam’s wallet into the unconscious man’s account.

The confirmation appeared immediately.

Transfer successful.

Liam then opened the notes section on the man’s phone.

He typed a short message.

I transferred 100k to your bitcoin. Get your family out of this country. I mean it.

He read the message once.

Then he placed the phone back into the man’s pocket.

Without another word Liam stood up and walked toward the restroom door, leaving the unconscious man lying quietly on the cold floor.