BLACKOUT PROTOCOL

Chapter 3

“Get off the tracks now, or the train will tear both of you apart”

The warning echoed through the underground tunnel just as the roar of the incoming train grew deafening, the sound wasn't merely loud, it was overwhelming.

The entire tunnel vibrated beneath Ethan's boots as if an earthquake was tearing through the city above. Red emergency lights flashed across the concrete walls, bathing everything in a blood-colored glow.

Ethan and Lena sprinted down the railway tracks. Behind them, armed soldiers flooded into the tunnel. Automatic gunfire erupted continuously.

The muzzle flashes lit the darkness like brief lightning strikes. Bullets rebounded off steel rails, sparks exploded beside Ethan's boots, the smell of gunpowder filled the air.

“The train” Ethan shouted.

“I noticed” Lena yelled back.

The headlights ahead grew brighter, much brighter. The darkness was disappearing beneath the approaching wall of light.

The train wasn't slowing, if anything, it seemed to be accelerating. The tracks shook violently beneath them. Every second felt shorter than the last.

“Left side” Lena shouted.

“There is no left side”

Ethan pointed toward the tunnel walls, solid concrete, no openings, no maintenance doors, no escape routes, just endless walls stretching into darkness.

The train's headlights swallowed everything ahead, Ethan's mind raced. Jump forward and die under the train, stop running and get shot, neither option looked appealing.

Death was rapidly becoming unavoidable, the soldiers behind them continued firing, one bullet clipped a pipe overhead, steam burst into the tunnel, visibility dropped instantly.

“Think of something” Ethan shouted.

Lena suddenly stopped, not completely, just enough to grab something hanging from the ceiling, a heavy steel chain, hidden in the darkness, connected to an overhead maintenance rail.

“Hold on to me”

Before Ethan could ask what she was doing, Lena jumped, the chain snapped tight. Ethan barely had time to react before she grabbed his vest and snatched him upward.

The world staggered violently, both of them swung away from the tracks. The train exploded beneath them.

The force of its passing slammed into Ethan like a physical punch, wind tore at his clothes, his body swung wildly.

The tunnel became a blur of lights and metal, then came the screams. Soldiers behind them weren't as fortunate.

Several men were still on the tracks when the train reached them, the impact was instant.

Bodies vanished beneath tons of steel, blood sprayed across the tunnel walls, the screech of metal against metal echoed endlessly.

The train continued forward without slowing, without stopping, without caring. A machine carrying death through the darkness.

Seconds later, Ethan and Lena crashed onto a narrow maintenance platform running alongside the tracks. Pain shot through Ethan's shoulder. But he was alive.

The train disappeared into the darkness ahead, its roar gradually faded. For a brief moment, silence returned, then gunfire erupted again.

“They're still coming” Ethan shouted.

The surviving soldiers had already resumed pursuit. Lena grabbed his arm immediately.

“This way”

She dragged him toward a steel security door positioned at the far end of the platform.

The door looked old, heavy, industrial, exactly the kind of barrier designed to keep people out, or trap them inside.

Ethan fired twice toward the approaching soldiers, one man dropped, the others took cover, that bought them only seconds.

Lena reached the door first, she slammed her shoulder against it, the metal groaned open, both of them rushed through. She immediately grabbed the emergency wheel lock, the mechanism whirled loudly.

BING!

The lock engaged, a second later bullets slammed into the steel from the opposite side.

CLANG!

CLANG!

CLANG!

The entire door vibrated, the soldiers weren't giving up. Ethan leaned against the wall, his chest rose and fell rapidly, his lungs still burned from the river, his muscles screamed from exhaustion, yet the nightmare continued.

“What exactly are we running toward?” he demanded.

Lena ignored him. Instead, she moved deeper into the corridor beyond the door. Ethan followed reluctantly.

The hallway looked abandoned, maybe for years, maybe decades, rust covered the overhead pipes, water dripped steadily from cracked sections of the ceiling.

Flickering lights barely illuminated the path ahead, the air smelled stale, forgotten, dead. Something about the place unsettled Ethan, his instincts rarely failed him and right now every instinct screamed danger.

“You still haven't explained why my name is connected to Blackout Protocol” he said.

Lena slowed, only slightly.

“You really don't remember, do you?”

Ethan frowned.

“Remember what?”

She stopped completely, then turned toward him. For the first time, her expression carried something unexpected, sympathy.

“Your father”

The words hit harder than any bullet, Ethan froze.

“My father is dead”

“That's what they told you”

Anger flashed across Ethan's face.

“My father died twenty years ago”

“No” Lena whispered.

“He disappeared”

The corridor suddenly felt colder, much colder. Ethan stepped forward and grabbed her arm.

“Start talking”

Lena didn't resist, she simply looked him directly in the eyes.

“Your father helped create Blackout Protocol”

Ethan released her immediately, the statement sounded absurd, impossible.

“No”

“He was one of the lead architects”

“That's impossible”

“He helped design the original system”

Ethan shook his head, his father had been a scientist, a researcher, a quiet man who spent evenings helping Ethan with school projects, not someone involved in global conspiracies, not someone connected to whatever Blackout Protocol had become.

“You're lying”

“Am I?”

Lena reached into a hidden compartment inside her suit. She removed a small data chip.

“What is this?” Ethan asked.

“Proof”

Ethan stared at it for several seconds, then inserted it into the tablet. A file immediately appeared.

VIDEO ARCHIVE.

Date: March 8, 2006.

His pulse quickened, he pressed play. Static filled the screen, then a face appeared. Ethan stopped breathing, his father, older, tired, terrified, but undeniably his father.

Dr. Marcus Vale stared directly into the camera.

“If you're watching this” Marcus said shakily,

“It means they finally activated Blackout Protocol”

Ethan felt his chest tighten, every memory came rushing back, his father's smile, his voice, his disappearance, everything.

“They told me the system would protect nations” Marcus continued.

“But I discovered the truth too late”

Marcus looked over his shoulder nervously, as if someone might enter the room at any moment.

“Blackout Protocol was never designed for defense” His voice trembled.

“It was designed for control”

The video glitched, static flashed repeatedly, Marcus leaned closer, his fear became unmistakable.

“They'll come after Ethan next”

Ethan froze.

“He's the key”

The footage abruptly cut to black, silence followed. Ethan stared at the frozen screen, unable to move, unable to think.

His father knew, his father had known this would happen years ago.

“No...” Ethan whispered.

Lena watched quietly.

“Your father tried to destroy the project”

“What are you talking about?”

“He created a biological encryption system”

Ethan frowned.

“A what?”

“A genetic authorization lock”

Realization slowly appeared on Ethan's face.

“No”

Lena nodded.

“The system was coded to your bloodline”

The words felt unreal, like something from a nightmare.

“You're saying Blackout Protocol can't fully activate without me?”

“Yes”

“Why?”

“Because your father made sure only someone carrying his genetic markers could unlock the final layer”

Ethan felt dizzy, his entire life suddenly looked different, every promotion, every assignment, every opportunity.

Had they all been planned? had someone been guiding him toward this moment?

“That's why they kept you alive” Lena said quietly.

“You weren't just another agent”

She looked directly at him.

“You were the final access key”

Suddenly alarms exploded throughout the corridor.

ACCESS BREACH DETECTED!

ACCESS BREACH DETECTED!

Red lights flashed overhead, the emergency sirens echoed endlessly. Lena cursed.

“They got through the security door already?”

Then another voice appeared, a familiar voice.A voice Ethan knew better than his own.

“Agent Vale”

Director Crowe, the words echoed through hidden speakers.

“You've become very difficult to kill”

Ethan froze, Crowe sounded calm, almost amused.

“But I'm willing to offer you one final chance”

Security cameras slowly rotated toward them, their lenses focused directly on Ethan.

“Surrender willingly” Crowe continued,

“And I'll let the girl live”

Lena immediately pulled her knife.

“It's a trap”

“Obviously” Ethan muttered.

Crowe's voice returned.

“You have sixty seconds before this entire tunnel is sealed permanently”

Heavy steel shutters began slamming down across nearby passageways.

BANG!

BANG!

BANG!

Each impact echoed through the underground complex. Escape routes vanished one by one. Lena grabbed Ethan's wrist.

“We need to move”

But Ethan wasn't listening anymore, something had appeared on the tablet screen, a hidden file.

One final message left behind by his father, only four words.

SHE IS NOT TRUSTWORTHY.

Ethan slowly looked up, his pulse hammered violently. Lena stood several feet away, watching him, waiting, and then he noticed something.

The pistol in her hand, already raised, already aimed directly at him, and for the first time since the bridge collapsed, Ethan genuinely didn't know which side wanted him alive.