**Theodore's Submarine - Medical Bay**The helicopter had barely landed before Theodore's medical team swarmed. Professional. Efficient. Years of experience treating injuries that officially never happened.Lila's shoulder had reopened during the helicopter rescue. The old bullet wound torn by recoil and movement. Blood soaking through her shirt. She didn't complain. Just gritted her teeth as the doctor re-stitched.Derek collapsed the moment he was off the helicopter. Exhaustion and adrenaline crash. His leg wound aggravated by hours of piloting. The doctor examined him with concern. "Bed rest. Minimum two weeks. You shouldn't have been flying.""Had to," Derek managed. Voice weak. "They needed extraction.""And now you need recovery. Or you'll be permanently disabled."Julie sat nearby. Her arm rebroken during the rooftop fight. The doctor set it again. Cast applied. Professional work but painful. She didn't make a sound.Nadia had minor injuries. Cuts. Bruises. Nothing critical. Sh

Geneva Estate - DawnThe black SUV stopped at the gates. Massive. Iron. Twelve feet high. Guards visible at every post. Weapons ready. Watching.Kai exited the vehicle. Alone. Hands raised. Visible. Empty. No weapons. No vest. No tricks. Just a man walking toward death.One hundred guards aimed at him. From towers. From windows. From ground positions. Professional. Overlapping fields of fire. No escape possible.The lead guard spoke through loudspeaker. French accent. Professional. "Walk forward. Slowly. Stop ten feet from entrance."Kai complied. Each step measured. Controlled. Showing no threat. No resistance.The estate was stunning. French chateau architecture. Massive. Beautiful. The kind of place that cost hundreds of millions. Where the truly powerful gathered in secret.He reached the designated stop point. Ten feet from the entrance. Hands still raised.Full-body scan. Thermal imaging. Metal detector. Chemical sniffer. Every detection method imaginable.The guards monitored.

Estate Grounds - South GateThe mercenaries moved like ghosts. Twenty former Spetsnaz operators. Elite. Professional. Men who'd fought in Chechnya. Syria. Ukraine. Wars most people pretended didn't happen.They poured through the destroyed south gate. Coordinated. Overwhelming. Each man knowing his role. His sector. His target.The Consortium guards were well-paid. Well-equipped. Professional private security.But they weren't military. Weren't soldiers. Weren't prepared for this level of assault.First three minutes: fifteen guards down. Killed or incapacitated. Professional shots. No wasted ammunition. No hesitation.The mercenaries advanced. Clearing grounds sector by sector. Methodical. Ruthless. Unstoppable.Theodore watched from the tree line. Binoculars. Monitoring. Coordinating. "Squad One, clear west wing. Squad Two, move to basement entrance. Squad Three, secure perimeter. No one leaves this estate alive unless I authorize it.""Da. Moving."The responses were crisp. Profess

Estate - Panic Room Entrance - Immediately After ExplosionThe shockwave threw everyone back. Massive. Deafening. The six-inch steel door blown outward like paper. Bent. Destroyed. Smoke pouring from the entrance.Lila was first to recover. Ears ringing. Vision blurred. But moving. Stumbling toward the destroyed panic room."Kai! KAI!"She entered. Smoke thick. Choking. The smell of explosives. Of burning. Of death.Bodies everywhere.Volkov. Dead. Blast trauma obvious. Body twisted. Destroyed. No possibility of survival.Ming Chen. Dead. Unrecognizable. The explosion had been merciless.James Reeves. Dead. Hart. Dead. The guards. All dead. Everyone caught in the confined blast. No survivors. No escape.Except—"Kai?" Lila searched frantically. Through debris. Through smoke. Through the horror. "Where are you?"She found him in the corner. Behind where the door had been. Partially shielded by the reinforced steel. Covered in blood. Covered in burns. But breathing.Barely.Pulse weak.

Canadian Wilderness - Safe House - First AssaultThe first explosion hit ten minutes after the alert. RPG impact. West wall. The reinforced structure held but shuddered. Theodore's engineering. Built for exactly this scenario."Here we go!" Derek shouted from his position.Fifty-plus attackers. Consortium's remaining resources. Mercenaries. Former intelligence operatives. Fanatics loyal to an organization dying but not dead. All converging on one location. One target. Final revenge.Theodore activated the automated defenses. Hidden during construction. Revealed in crisis. Turrets rose from concealed positions. AI-controlled. Targeting systems engaging.The first wave of attackers hit the perimeter. Triggered claymore mines. Carefully positioned. Devastatingly effective.Eight attackers down instantly. Bodies scattered. Survivors taking cover. Regrouping.Forty-two remaining. Still overwhelming odds.---**Defensive Positions**The safe house was designed for siege. Theodore's paranoia