Mia slipped out of the market and hailed a tuk-tuk, its driver grinning as he gunned the engine. “Khao San Road,” she barked, knowing it’d be crowded enough to lose a tail. The vehicle jolted forward, weaving through traffic as horns blared 

The humid Bangkok night pressed down on Mia like a wet blanket, the air thick with the scent of fried noodles and exhaust fumes. She darted through the labyrinthine alleys of Sukhumvit, her sneakers slapping against the cracked pavement. Neon signs flickered overhead, casting their garish glow on the faces of street vendors and bar girls who barely glanced her way. She clutched the USB drive in her fist, its edges digging into her palm. It was small, unassuming—yet it held secrets worth killing for.

Mia hadn’t meant to get involved. She’d come to Thailand as a freelance journalist, chasing a story about the city’s booming tech scene. But when her source—a jittery programmer named Somsak—slipped her the drive in a crowded night market two days ago, everything changed. “They’re watching me,” he’d whispered, his eyes darting to the shadows. “Take it. Expose them.” Hours later, she’d seen his face on a news ticker: Tech Worker Found Dead in Apparent Suicide. She knew better. Somsak hadn’t jumped from that rooftop willingly.

Now, she was the hunted. Her phone buzzed in her pocket—another unknown number. She ignored it, ducking into a narrow soi where motorbikes buzzed past like angry wasps. The drive contained files implicating Nexus Corp, a shadowy multinational with ties to Bangkok’s underworld. Encrypted ledgers, audio recordings, names—she’d only skimmed it, but it was enough to know they’d rigged everything: government contracts, illegal data harvesting, even assassinations. And they knew she had it.

A shadow loomed behind her, reflected in a puddle shimmering with pink and blue light. She didn’t turn—just ran. The figure gave chase, boots pounding the asphalt. Mia veered into a packed night market, shoving through throngs of tourists haggling over knockoff Rolexes and mango sticky rice. The chaos was her shield. She slipped behind a stall, crouching low as the pursuer—a broad-shouldered man in a black cap—scanned the crowd. His hand rested on something beneath his jacket. A gun, no doubt.

Her heart hammered. She needed a plan. The U.S. Embassy was too far, and the local police couldn’t be trusted—not with Nexus’s reach. She thought of Aran, a grizzled ex-cop turned private investigator she’d met while researching her story. He’d warned her about digging too deep. “Bangkok eats the curious,” he’d said over a beer at a riverside bar. She hadn’t listened. Now, she needed him.

Mia slipped out of the market and hailed a tuk-tuk, its driver grinning as he gunned the engine. “Khao San Road,” she barked, knowing it’d be crowded enough to lose a tail. The vehicle jolted forward, weaving through traffic as horns blared. She glanced back—no sign of the man in black, but that didn’t mean he was gone.

Aran’s cramped office sat above a tattoo parlor, the air heavy with incense and the buzz of needles. He answered her frantic knock with a scowl, his graying hair disheveled. “You look like hell,” he grunted, ushering her inside. She spilled everything: Somsak, the drive, the chase. Aran’s face darkened as he plugged the USB into his ancient laptop. “Nexus,” he muttered, scrolling through the files. “Bastards have their claws in everything. You’ve kicked a hornet’s nest, kid.”

“We can leak this,” Mia urged. “Get it to the press, the UN—someone clean.” Aran snorted. “Clean? In this city? You’re dreaming. They’ll bury you first.” He paused, then sighed. “But I know a guy. Hacker, off the grid. If we move fast—”

The door exploded inward, splinters flying. Two men stormed in, one the black-capped thug from the market, the other a wiry figure with a scar across his cheek. Aran shoved Mia behind him, drawing a battered revolver from his desk. “Get out!” he roared, but the scarred man lunged, a knife flashing. Aran fired—once, twice—the thug in black crumpling, blood pooling on the floor. The scarred man tackled Aran, the gun skittering away.

Mia grabbed a lamp and swung, smashing it across the attacker’s skull. He slumped, groaning. Aran staggered up, clutching a gash on his arm. “Go!” he rasped. “Chao Phraya River, pier 13. Find Lek—he’s the hacker. I’ll hold them off.”

She hesitated, but sirens wailed in the distance—Nexus’s cleanup crew, no doubt. She bolted, the USB back in her grip. The river glittered ahead, a lifeline in the neon abyss. Pier 13 was a rickety dock where a skinny man in a hoodie waited, tapping at a laptop. Lek. He didn’t flinch as she thrust the drive at him. “Upload it. Everywhere,” she panted.

As Lek’s fingers flew over the keys, Mia glanced back at the city’s glowing skyline. Nexus would come for her, but the truth was loose now—spreading like wildfire through the dark web. Bangkok’s panic was just beginning.