THE BOX cont’d"You can barely walk," Dr. Reeves protested."Then I'll crawl. But I'm finishing this." Thomas looked at his son. "Together."Marcus nodded. "Together."They moved toward the elevator. Father and son. Both broken. Both refusing to quit.Behind them, Vance called out: "You think you've won? This operation is just one cell. One program. The conspiracy is bigger than you know. Bigger than you can imagine. Kill me. Arrest Cross. It doesn't matter. Someone else will take our place.""Probably," Marcus agreed. "But today, we're taking you."The elevator doors closed.And for the first time in twenty years, Marcus Chen stood beside his father. Not as memories. Not as ghosts. But as soldiers in the same war."You've grown up," Thomas said quietly."You've gotten old.""Yeah, well. Twenty years of being erased will do that." Thomas managed a smile. "You did good, son. Better than I ever did at your age.""You set the standard pretty high.""And you exceeded it." Thomas gripped h

THE CALM BEFOREMorning came too fast and too bright.Marcus woke to the smell of burnt coffee and the sound of Danny arguing with a wood stove that clearly had opinions about cooperating. Sunlight slanted through gaps in the cabin's walls, painting golden stripes across rough-hewn floors.For exactly three seconds, he forgot where he was. Forgot the missions. Forgot the conspiracy. Forgot everything except the simple pleasure of waking up without immediate danger.Then the system pulsed: [MISSION FIVE: 52 HOURS, 34 MINUTES.]Reality crashed back.He sat up, every muscle protesting. The bed—if you could call a thin mattress on a wooden frame a bed—had not been kind to his healing body. The system had kept him functional yesterday, but it couldn't erase the toll two weeks of constant violence had taken."You look like hell," Aria said from the doorway. She held two tin cups, steam rising. "Coffee. Or what passes for it when you're brewing in a pot meant for stew."Marcus took the cup g

COUNTDOWN TO CHAOSMarcus crashed through the security door at full sprint.The hallway beyond was narrow. Six guards. All armed. All turning toward the sound of shattering metal.No time for strategy. No time for tactics. Just momentum and violence.He hit the first guard like a missile. Drove him into the second. Both went down. Third raised his rifle—Marcus grabbed the barrel, yanked, used it as a club against the fourth guard's temple. Fifth and sixth opened fire.[TRAJECTORY ANALYSIS: ACTIVE. DODGE VECTOR: CALCULATED.]The system showed him the bullets before they arrived. Paths of death drawn in glowing lines. Marcus moved between them. Impossible. Inhuman. He closed the distance in three strides.Fifth guard's neck broke with a sound like breaking wood. Sixth tried to run.Marcus caught him. Slammed him into the concrete wall hard enough to crack both.[7 MINUTES, 43 SECONDS.]Seven minutes before the emergency protocol burned him out completely.Marcus kept moving. Past office

THE LAST STANDThe helicopter banked hard over the Catoctin Mountains.Marcus gripped the safety harness, watching trees blur into green smears below. His body was shutting down. The system kept feeding him damage reports he couldn't fix. Cracked ribs. Internal bleeding. Neural pathways burnt beyond repair. Running on borrowed time.[HOST VITALS CRITICAL. COLLAPSE IMMINENT. RECOMMEND IMMEDIATE MEDICAL INTERVENTION.]"Recommend faster," Marcus muttered.Beside him, Thomas checked weapons. Aria was on comms coordinating with Secret Service. Danny monitored radar. Leon—somehow Leon had insisted on coming—stared out the window looking terrified but determined."ETA three minutes," the pilot called back. Marine Corps. Young. Probably wondering why he was flying civilians into a presidential security zone during an active threat.Rhodes's voice crackled over the radio. "Chen, Secret Service is refusing to delay the landing. They say Air Force One is safer on the ground than in the air. They

FIRE AND RESOLVE Marcus crashed through the science fair like a storm given human form. Students scattered. Parents screamed. Display boards toppled. The system painted his vision with overlays—heat signatures, structural weaknesses, threat vectors. Too much information. Not enough time. [EXPLOSIVES: GYMNASIUM - 2 DEVICES. AUDITORIUM - 3 DEVICES. CAFETERIA - 2 DEVICES.] [CHEMICAL AGENT: VENTILATION ROOM, BASEMENT LEVEL.] [HOSTILE WARDENS: DISPERSED THROUGHOUT BUILDING.] [TIME TO DETONATION: 14 MINUTES, 12 SECONDS.] Aria's voice crackled in his earpiece. "I've got the ventilation room. Danny's with me. We'll stop the chemical agent." "Thomas, take the gymnasium," Marcus commanded, still running. "Leon, you're on evacuation. Get as many people out as possible. Prioritize the main exits." "What about the auditorium?" Thomas asked. "Three devices there." "I've got it. Just move!" Marcus hit the stairwell at full sprint. Third floor. The auditorium was a converted thea