BLACKOUT PROTOCOL

Chapter 2

“Don’t fight me unless you want to drown before the bullets reach you”

The woman grabbed Ethan’s tactical vest the second panic crossed his face, her grip was surprisingly strong.

Dark water spiraled around them while floodlights swept across the river above like giant white blades cutting through the darkness. Helicopters thundered overhead, their rotors sending vibrations through the water.

The freezing current pulled at Ethan from every direction, his body screamed for air, his training screamed for survival.

Every instinct he possessed told him to break free from the stranger dragging him into the depths, but something stopped him, maybe it was the confidence in her movements, maybe it was the fact that she had warned him, or maybe it was because everyone else currently wanted him dead.

The woman never looked at him, her dark eyes remained fixed on the shifting lights above the river while she guided them deeper into the current.

Ethan's lungs burned, his chest felt ready to explode, the pressure around them increased as they descended beneath twisted debris.

Above them, shadows moved through the water, search teams, looking for a body, looking for him.

The woman reached into a waterproof pouch attached to her waist and pulled out a compact breathing mask, she pressed it firmly over Ethan’s mouth, fresh oxygen rushed into his lungs, relief hit him instantly.

Before he could react, she placed another mask over her own face and pointed ahead, only then did Ethan see it.

A narrow opening hidden beneath a mass of collapsed steel beams, a tunnel, almost invisible beneath the wreckage. The woman dragged him toward it.

Above them, another explosion shook the river, pieces of the Blackwater Bridge crashed into the water like flaming meteors, shockwaves rippled through the current. The entire river seemed alive with destruction.

Yet somehow the woman moved through it effortlessly, as if she had planned every second, as if she had rehearsed this escape dozens of times.

The tunnel grew larger, a rusted metal hatch waited at the end. The woman kicked it hard, nothing, she kicked it again. The metal groaned.

A third kick finally broke it loose, the hatch swung inward, darkness waited beyond. Without hesitation, she pulled Ethan inside.

The hatch slammed shut behind them, instant silence, the chaos of the river vanished instantly, only the sound of dripping water remained.

Several seconds later they surfaced, Ethan sucked in a deep breath and immediately tore the mask away, cold air filled his lungs.

The room smelled like rust, mold, and old machinery, he climbed onto a concrete platform, then instinct took over. His pistol was in his hand before the woman fully emerged from the water.

“Who are you?” he demanded

The woman slowly raised her hands, no panic, no fear, only patience.

“Lower the gun” she said calmly.

“If I wanted you dead, you would've stayed on the bridge”

Water dripped from her black diving suit as she stepped beneath a flickering overhead light. For the first time, Ethan got a clear look at her.

She appeared to be in her late twenties, lean, athletic, dangerous, a faint scar crossed the side of her neck, not an accident, a combat wound.

Her eyes carried something Ethan recognized immediately, exhaustion, the kind soldiers carried after surviving too many battles, the kind that never completely disappeared.

“Name” Ethan said.

“Lena Quinn”

“Who sent you?”

“No one”

“That’s a lie”

A faint smile touched her lips.

“Of course it is”

She lowered her hands.

“But right now, it's the least dangerous lie in this tunnel”

Ethan kept the pistol trained on her chest, his finger rested beside the trigger, ready, watching, waiting.

“You knew the bridge would collapse”

“Yes”

“You knew they planned to kill everyone”

“Yes”

“And you still let me walk into it?”

For the first time, Lena looked away, only briefly, but Ethan noticed, her jaw tightened.

“You were never supposed to survive long enough for me to warn you”

The words landed harder than any bullet. Ethan stared at her, a chill spread through him that had nothing to do with the river.

Never supposed to survive, not expected to escape, not meant to reach this moment. Someone had already written his ending.

Lena walked toward an old generator sitting against the wall, the machine looked ancient. She pulled a lever, the engine coughed, then roared to life, dim yellow lights flickered across the chamber.

Ethan finally saw where they were, an abandoned maintenance station, old railway tracks stretched through the darkness.

Concrete pillars supported the ceiling overhead, rust covered everything, the place looked forgotten, perfect for hiding.

“Your agency announced you dead twelve minutes ago” Lena said.

“What?”

She tossed him a waterproof tablet, Ethan caught it, and the screen was already open. A news report, his blood froze.

NIGHT AGENT ETHAN VALE KILLED DURING TERRORIST ATTACK ON BLACKWATER BRIDGE.

His photograph appeared beside the headline, the article claimed he murdered Senator Warwick before dying during the explosion.

The lies continued line after line, domestic terrorist, rogue agent, mass murderer. His grip tightened around the tablet.

“They buried you fast” Lena said quietly.

Ethan stared at the screen, this wasn't damage control, this wasn't media manipulation, this was preparation.

Someone needed the world to believe he was dead, someone wanted every future question answered before it was asked.

“Who are you really?” he asked again.

Lena hesitated, for the first time since they met, uncertainty crossed her face, then she spoke.

“I used to work inside Blackout Protocol”

The tunnel suddenly felt colder, smaller, more dangerous.

“You’re lying”

“I wish I was”

“What is Blackout Protocol?”

Lena remained silent for several seconds, as if deciding whether he deserved the truth, or whether the truth itself was worth sharing. Finally she answered.

“It’s not a weapon”

Ethan frowned.

“Then what is it?”

“It’s control”

“Control over what?”

Lena stepped closer.

“Everything”

The generator crackled loudly behind them, her voice remained low.

“Power grids”

“Military satellites”

“Financial markets”

“Communications”

“Transportation networks”

“Election systems”

Every word made Ethan's stomach tighten further.

“Blackout Protocol can shut down entire countries without firing a single missile”

Ethan stared at her.

“That’s impossible”

“No”

Lena's voice dropped to almost a whisper.

“That’s exactly why people kill for it”

Silence filled the chamber, then came a sound, metal scraping against metal, both of them froze. Another sound followed, footsteps, distant, but growing closer.

Lena instantly killed the generator, and darkness swallowed the room. Ethan raised his pistol, the footsteps continued.

One person, then another, then several more. Flashlight beams appeared at the far end of the tunnel, sweeping across the darkness, searching, hunting.

“They found us already?” Ethan whispered.

“They never stopped looking”

Lena pulled a small combat knife from her boot, the approaching voices became clearer.

“Search every sector”

“Crowe wants confirmation of the body”

Ethan felt his pulse hammering against his ribs.Crowe, his former mentor, his former director, the man now leading the hunt. Lena leaned close enough for him to hear her breathing.

“There’s only one exit” she whispered.

“But once we go through that door, there’s no coming back”

Ethan glanced toward the approaching lights.

“How far?”

“Three miles beneath the city”

“And what’s waiting there?”

For the first time, Ethan saw fear in her eyes, real fear, not for herself, for what lay ahead.

“The reason your name was inside Blackout Protocol”

Gunfire suddenly exploded through the tunnel, concrete shattered beside Ethan’s head, dust filled the air.

“MOVE” Lena screamed.

They sprinted into the darkness, bullets ripped through the chamber behind them. Ethan fired blindly over his shoulder, muzzle flashes illuminated the tunnel.

Alarms suddenly activated throughout the underground system, red emergency lights flooded the tracks, sirens echoed through the darkness.

The entire station came alive, more soldiers emerged ahead, weapons raised, blocking their path, trapped. Ethan grabbed Lena’s arm.

“You said one exit”

Lena stared ahead, her expression darkened.

“There was”

A deep mechanical roar echoed beneath their feet, the tracks began shaking violently. Dust fell from the ceiling, the sound grew louder, closer, faster.

Then two bright headlights appeared in the darkness ahead, blinding, racing toward them.

A train was coming straight at them, and it wasn't slowing down.