The private elevator doors closed behind General Richard Carter, and only then did Ethan let himself breathe.Victor checked his watch. "We're on schedule.""I've accessed the internal security network," William said through the earpiece. "Camera feeds are live.""No alarms so far," Emma added.Victor nodded once. "Move."They split exactly as planned — Nathan and Victor toward the records division, Marcus and Lucien down a maintenance corridor to secure their exit, Ethan walking beside Victor through the headquarters with the measured confidence of a man who belonged there. Uniformed officers passed them without a glance, every eye still fixed on the General's arrival. No one noticed two strangers moving through the crowd.William guided them through the earpiece. "Turn left. Second hallway. The detention block is one floor below."Victor pressed the elevator button, and the doors opened almost at once — a military poli

The tunnel beneath Military Headquarters was cold and silent, nothing but hurried footsteps echoing through the dark. Nathan clicked on a small flashlight, revealing rusted pipes overhead and thick dust blanketing the concrete floor."No one's been down here in years.""That's why I remembered it," Ross said, managing a tired smile.Ethan stayed close beside him, steadying him where the footing turned uneven. "You memorized all this?""When you've spent fourteen years waiting for a chance to escape, you learn every wall."A dull explosion shook the tunnel behind them, dust sifting down from the ceiling. Victor glanced back once. "They found the hatch.""They'll be delayed," Ross said. "Not for long, though."William's voice returned through the earpiece. "I've got your signal back. Roughly six hundred meters before the tunnel reaches the old supply depot.""Already outside," Marcus said. "No military vehicles ye

Morning arrived beneath a sky heavy with dark clouds. Inside the abandoned warehouse, no one spoke as the television counted down the final seconds before General Richard Carter's address. Every major network carried it live — government officials filling the front rows of the National Memorial Hall, decorated soldiers standing at attention along the walls, hundreds of reporters with cameras already trained on the stage. Carter had chosen the setting well: flags lined the platform behind him, the names of fallen heroes carved into the marble walls, every detail projecting honor. Everything about the man standing at the podium was a lie.William muted the room. "It begins."Carter stepped to the microphone, uniform immaculate, expression carrying a grief he'd clearly practiced. "My fellow citizens. Our nation faces one of the greatest threats in its history." Images bloomed across the screen behind him — damaged facilities, burned vehicles, dead soldiers, every inci

Ethan wrapped his hand around the handle. For a second nothing happened — then a faint click echoed through the vault, and the massive safe unlocked.Ross closed his eyes. "He knew.""He knew one day Ethan would stand here," Victor said.The heavy door swung open slowly, and there was no pile of gold inside, no secret weapon — only three things: a thick classified file, a small digital recorder, and a faded photograph.Ethan picked up the photograph first. A much younger Adrian stood beside Elena, a smiling five-year-old Ethan perched on his shoulders. On the back, in Adrian's own hand: *If you're seeing this, it means I couldn't protect you myself. I'm sorry.*Ethan lowered his head, fingers tightening around the picture. Nathan looked away. Ross wiped his eyes without a word.Victor lifted the file instead, the cover reading OPERATION PHOENIX — FINAL REPORT — Prepared by Commander Adrian Hayes."Open it," William urged

The hidden tunnel stretched beneath the city, its concrete walls trembling with the echo of distant explosions overhead. No one spoke. The classified files sat secure inside Victor's waterproof case, Adrian's recorder tucked inside Ethan's jacket — the two things Richard Carter had spent fourteen years hunting, now finally beyond his reach."I've intercepted emergency military communications," William said through the earpiece."Report," Victor said, not slowing his pace."Carter just activated nationwide emergency authority.""He can't do that," Nathan said."He already did." William forwarded the transmission to every earpiece: *Operation Iron Net has entered Phase Two. All airports closed. Railway stations under military control. Highway checkpoints expanded nationwide. Primary objective remains Ethan Hayes.*Marcus let out a slow breath. "He isn't sealing the city anymore. He's sealing the country.""He knows the evi