Blackout

Darkness swallowed the command centre entirely, monitors dying one by one until only the faint emergency glow of exit signs remained.

"Everyone stay calm," Cruz said, voice steady despite the chaos. "Reed, backup generators."

"On it." Reed's footsteps moved swiftly toward a side panel, fumbling in the dark.

"Ethan," Black Viper's voice crackled again through hidden speakers, amused and unhurried. "I did warn you this wouldn't be polite twice."

"How are you in our systems?" Cruz demanded.

"Your systems were never as secure as you believed," Viper said. "Damien Voss has been inside federal networks for longer than you've had a task force to protect them."

Noah moved silently through the dark, positioning himself near the elevator, weapon raised toward the only entrance into the room.

"If they're in the building, they're coming through that door."

"Or they're already here," Olivia whispered, gripping Ethan's arm.

The backup generators kicked in with a low hum, dim red emergency lighting flooding the room just enough to reveal shapes and shadows without proper illumination.

Ethan scanned the space, pulse hammering, searching every corner for movement.

"I'm not here to fight tonight," Viper's voice continued. "Merely to remind you how thin the walls really are. Ethan Carter, you've made yourself very interesting to people who don't appreciate interesting things happening without their permission."

"Then tell Voss to come say that to my face," Ethan snapped.

A soft, mechanical laugh crackled through the speakers. "In time. For now, consider this your second warning. I only offer three."

The intercom cut abruptly, and the main lights flickered back to life a heartbeat later, the command centre's systems rebooting in a rush of restored monitors and quiet, relieved chatter.

"Report," Cruz barked, already moving toward the main console. "What did they access?"

The technician's hands flew across her keyboard, colour draining from her face with each passing second.

"Personnel files. Everyone in this room, plus every agent assigned to the task force. Home addresses, family details, everything."

"They didn't take data," Reed said grimly. "They wanted us to know they could."

Cruz's jaw tightened, fury and fear warring visibly across her expression.

"Lock every system down. Full audit, top to bottom. I want to know exactly how they got in, and I want it fixed before anyone goes home tonight."

Ethan sank into a nearby chair, exhaustion finally catching up with the adrenaline that had carried him through the night. Olivia sat beside him, quiet, processing.

"This is different," she said finally. "Blackwood was patient, calculated, but he still made mistakes. This organisation hasn't made a single one yet."

"They will," Ethan said, though he didn't fully believe it himself. "Everyone makes mistakes eventually."

"Let's hope we're still standing when they do."

Cruz crossed back toward them, exhaustion evident but her resolve unshaken.

"I need you both to understand what you're actually signing up for. Blackwood was a king ruling one city. Damien Voss commands an empire that spans borders most governments can't even see past. If you're in this, you're in it completely, no half measures, because Shadow Protocol doesn't do half measures either."

"I already said yes," Ethan said.

"I know. I'm asking you to say it again, now that you understand what tonight actually meant." Cruz's eyes were steady, serious. "They found us in under six hours. They can find you anywhere, anytime, and they've just proven it. Are you still in?"

Ethan looked at Olivia, who nodded once, silent but resolute. He thought of Reed, still recovering but standing anyway. Of Noah, already back at his post despite the chaos. Of a city that had nearly fallen once already, and the strange, unshakable certainty that walking away now would only delay the inevitable.

"I'm still in," he said.

"Good." Cruz managed something close to a genuine smile. "Then get some rest. Tomorrow, we start building a real strategy instead of reacting to theirs."

They found temporary quarters within the facility, small but secure, and Ethan finally allowed himself to close his eyes for the first time in over twenty hours.

Sleep came in fragments, restless and thin, until a sharp knock at his door jolted him fully awake before dawn.

"Ethan." Noah's voice, tense through the door. "You need to see this. Now."

Ethan pulled the door open to find Noah's expression grim, tablet in hand, already turning the screen toward him.

"Surveillance picked this up twenty minutes ago," Noah said. "Traffic camera three blocks from here."

The footage showed a black sedan parked motionless along a quiet street, engine idling, headlights off despite the pre-dawn darkness.

As Ethan watched, a figure stepped out — tall, unmistakable even in grainy footage, the same featureless mask from the pier catching the faint glow of a streetlamp.

Black Viper stood motionless on the pavement, staring directly up at the camera, as though fully aware it was being watched.

Then, slowly, deliberately, the figure raised one gloved hand and pointed directly toward the building where Ethan now stood.

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***