The captured mercenary sat chained to the chair, breathing hard. His skin was pale and slick with sweat. His eyes twitched from the serum withdrawal crawling through his nerves.The interrogation room was cold and silent. A single hanging light flickered above the metal table. Landon stood across from him, arms crossed, jaw tight. Navarro watched from the corner, leaning against the wall with his arms folded. Claire sat at the computer nearby, monitoring the mercenary’s biometrics. The machine beeped in a slow, nervous rhythm.Priya entered with a tablet pressed against her chest. “He’s stabilizing,” she said softly. “The serum is burning out. He should talk now.”The mercenary lifted his head. His voice shook. “You people, you don’t understand what you stepped into.”Landon stepped closer. “Then show us. Talk.”The man swallowed hard. His eyes darted nervously to the corners of the room as if something invisible lurked in the shadows. “The shipments, the tech, the serum, it’s all mov

The Vanguard stood on the rooftop of a deserted parking structure. The city’s tallest luxury skyscraper, the Nightglass Tower, rose across the street like a dark blade cutting into the sky. Its windows reflected only faint stars, hiding everything inside.Landon stood at the edge of the roof, staring straight at the building. “This tower belongs to a foundation that pretends to help the city,” he said quietly. “But inside, they hide something. Something connected to the smugglers and the elites.”Claire nodded as she pulled up a digital map. “Their public floors are for charity offices and donor suites. But the files we stole show private floors with encrypted access. Labs. Detention rooms. Things that should not exist in a foundation building.”Navarro checked his gear, his movements steady and practiced. “We go in clean. No noise. No witnesses.”Jin sat on a metal crate, tapping on his tablet. His face glowed under the screen. “Security grid is active. Cameras, motion sensors, pressu

Landon, Claire, Priya, Navarro, Jin, and Marcus crouched behind a tall row of crates. Their breath came out in white puffs. Each of them carried gear, weapons, and the strain of knowing this night could change everything.Marcus wiped his palms against his pants. He felt the cold, but deeper than that he felt something burning inside him, fear mixed with a stubborn fire.“This is Dock 17,” Priya whispered, checking her tablet. “The logs were right. The ship will unload here.”Navarro scanned the shadows. “Anyone see movement?”Jin whispered, “Thermals picking up only the six of us so far.”Landon looked at Marcus. “You know the underground routes better than all of us. Anything feel off?”Marcus took a slow breath and closed his eyes for a second. The scents, the sounds, the faint vibrations of trucks rolling closer, he studied all of it like a fighter reading an opponent.Then he opened his eyes. “Something is wrong.”Priya’s head snapped toward him. “What do you mean?”Marcus pointed

The Vanguard sat gathered in the main safehouse, all staring at the strange metal plate Jin had placed in the center of the table. It was the three-snake emblem they had taken from the crate at the docks. The metal seemed older than the city itself, carved with precision that did not match any modern tool, and every time someone looked at it too long, it felt like the snakes were breathing.Jin stood beside the table with his tablet in hand. His glasses reflected the screen as he typed, his fingers quick and sharp. “I finally cracked it,” he said softly. “This emblem isn’t just a symbol. It’s an identification mark. And it’s not new. It comes from an abandoned supersoldier program run by the Syndicate. It was called Project GORGON.”Priya lifted her head sharply. She had been pacing the room like a trapped cat for the past hour, her nervous energy growing stronger every minute. “Jin,” she said, “I thought GORGON was destroyed. Every file we have says the test subjects went insane. T

The tall hotel shimmered with bright lights and expensive glass, but beneath its beauty was a deep, rotten smell of fear. Tonight the building hosted a private summit of the city’s richest and most powerful leaders, a meeting that was not listed on any schedule, public record, or news outlet. Priya had discovered it only because three of her informants vanished in one night after whispering about it. The team stood near a loading dock where shadows covered everything.Landon adjusted his vest and looked at the others. “No loud moves. No sudden noise. We get in, we listen, we expose them, and we get out.”Navarro nodded slowly as he loaded his gear. “These people think they run the city. Tonight we learn what they are planning.”Claire held a small wrist device and checked the timer. “We have a narrow window. Security patrols change every twelve minutes. We move exactly when I say move.”Marcus leaned against a wall, arms crossed tight over his chest. His jaw flexed, his eyes tense. “