chapter4:The Trap Beneath the name

Chapter 4: The Trap Beneath the Name (continued)

By morning, Rayen had drawn the plan in the dirt.

A Black Sun data facility—hidden beneath an abandoned ski resort outside Bran. Guard rotations. Two-minute camera loops. A tunnel access point that used to move fuel.

Nikesh volunteered to go with Juhi.

“I know the clearance patterns. They’ll expect a soldier, not a singer.”

She almost laughed at that. But she nodded.

....

They entered through the tunnel wet, narrow, breathless. Inside, the air was colder than outside, like the place itself rejected warmth.

The data room was buried four floors down.

Nikesh bypassed security while Juhi kept watch. Her hands didn't shake anymore not like they used to. She’d learned that fear could be managed. What couldn’t be managed was betrayal.

Inside the data core, lights flickered over walls of servers humming like distant insects.

Nikesh handed her a small drive. “Stick to the terminal labeled 4B. They don’t encrypt that one. It's the backup for high-clearance files.”

She slid into the chair, boots soaked, heart racing.

Folder after folder spilled open. Surveillance footage. Audio transcripts. Juhi’s name. Her face. Her life documented by people who had no right.

Then: Subject KARDIA Active Containment

● Location: Site RZ-9

● Status: “Not compliant.”

● Clearance: Omega-tier

● Handler: REDACTED

Juhi’s breath caught. It was real. He was alive.

But as she copied the files, a line of text blinked onto the screen:

(DOWNLOAD FLAGGED. RESPONSE TEAM DISPATCHED.)

She swore and ripped the drive free.

Nikesh was already moving. “They know we’re here. We take tunnel B. Now.”

Alarms screamed to life above them.

....

Gunfire cracked as they sprinted down a secondary shaft, debris kicking up behind them.

Rayen’s voice came through their earpiece. “Get out. NOW. They’ve locked the main exit. I’m on overwatch.”

“There’s another way,” Nikesh shouted. “South corridor emergency hatch!”

They ran.

Just before the door, Juhi tripped. Nikesh turned back, yanked her up and caught a bullet through the side.

He didn’t fall. He just gritted his teeth and shoved her ahead.

They burst into daylight. The trees. The air. Rayen waiting with the truck.

...

Nikesh collapsed in the backseat. Blood pooling. Breathing ragged.

Juhi gripped the flash drive like it was a piece of her own spine.

“We got it,” she whispered.

But Rayen didn’t start the engine.

He was staring at the dashboard, pale. His radio hissed.

A scrambled voice came through: low, distorted, but unmistakable.

“You brought her this far, Rayen. Well done. The lock is in place. Now let’s see if the key survives.”

Juhi froze.

The voice was John’s.

Or someone who sounded exactly like him.

She turned to Rayen, but his face was unreadable.

Nikesh coughed blood and looked up at her, eyes dazed. “They were never trying to kill you.”

“They were guiding you.”

to be continued....

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