The rain hadn’t stopped since the fire.
Ethan sat in the backseat of a black SUV as it sped through the outskirts of the city. Logan drove without saying a word, eyes flicking to the mirrors every few seconds.
Claire sat beside Ethan, silent, arms crossed, still shaken from what she’d seen.
He hadn’t told her much — just that they needed to lay low for a few hours. She didn’t argue, but every now and then, he caught her looking at him like she was trying to recognize the man he’d become.
Finally, she spoke. “You said they were Helios. What does that mean?”
Ethan’s voice was calm, almost too calm. “A ghost corporation. Publicly, they fund clean energy and biotech. Privately, they buy governments, fund wars, and erase anyone who stands in the way.”
“And Lila?”
He looked out the window, watching the blurred city lights. “She found something she wasn’t supposed to.”
They reached a secluded compound hidden behind an abandoned textile warehouse. To the untrained eye, it was forgotten. But as the SUV approached, sensors flickered to life. Steel gates slid open.
Inside, underground lights revealed what looked like a private command center — sleek, cold, and alive with quiet purpose.
Claire stepped out and stared. “You built all this?”
“Not alone,” Ethan replied. “Specter did.”
The word seemed to echo through the room. A few figures turned toward him — men and women in dark tactical gear, faces mostly hidden. They stopped what they were doing the moment they saw him.
One of them, a tall man with a scar running down his cheek, stepped forward. His expression was disbelief mixed with relief.
“Boss?”
Ethan gave a faint nod. “Marcus.”
Marcus exhaled, almost laughing. “Hell, I thought you were dead.”
“So did they.”
Another figure approached — a woman with short hair and sharp gray eyes. “If you’re really back, then I guess things just got interesting.”
“Good to see you too, Zara.”
She smirked. “You always did pick dramatic entrances.”
Logan tossed his jacket aside and went straight to the monitors. “Helios has eyes everywhere. News channels already running footage of the café explosion. Unconfirmed reports say you might be among the victims.”
Ethan’s mouth curved slightly. “Good. Let’s keep it that way.”
Marcus looked between him and Claire. “You sure bringing her here is smart? She’s civilian.”
“She’s family,” Ethan said.
Claire shot him a look but didn’t argue. She wasn’t sure what she was anymore — family, friend, liability — but she knew one thing: she wasn’t leaving.
Zara folded her arms. “So what’s the move?”
Ethan walked to the holographic table in the center of the room. He tapped a control, and a three-dimensional map flickered to life — glowing red dots marking several locations around the world.
“Helios isn’t a company. It’s an umbrella for contractors, spies, mercenaries. We don’t hit them directly. We isolate their network, expose the internal rot.”
Marcus frowned. “You mean go after the handlers?”
“Exactly. Cut the hands, then the head.”
Zara gave a low whistle. “You’re declaring war, Ethan.”
“I already did when they killed Lila.”
Claire’s voice cut through the tension. “You’re going to get yourself killed again.”
Ethan looked at her, the faintest trace of warmth flickering in his eyes. “That’s what they expect. Which is why we won’t fight the way we used to.”
He turned to Logan. “I want every file Specter ever gathered on Helios, no matter how old. Start with London, Zurich, and Seoul.”
Logan hesitated. “That’ll take time. We went dark after—”
“I know. Wake the ghosts.”
Marcus looked uneasy. “That’s risky. Some of those agents are unstable. Some don’t even use their old names anymore.”
Ethan’s voice softened. “Neither do I.”
Hours passed. The base buzzed with quiet energy. Monitors flickered with encrypted feeds, maps updated in real-time, faces of unknown operatives flashed across screens.
Ethan stood alone at the far end of the room, staring at a digital photo of Lila. She was laughing — carefree, bright, untouched by the darkness he’d dragged into her life.
He whispered, “You shouldn’t have gone near them.”
Claire approached, her voice gentle. “She believed in you, Ethan. She told me you’d come back one day.”
He didn’t turn. “And now she’s dead because she was right.”
Claire’s eyes softened. “You can’t carry it all.”
“I’m not,” he said, finally looking at her. “That’s why I built Specter.”
Suddenly, one of the monitors flashed red. Logan’s voice cut in sharply. “Incoming signal — encrypted ping. It’s coming from one of our old channels. Someone’s trying to reach Specter.”
Zara frowned. “That’s impossible. Those lines were buried years ago.”
Ethan moved closer. “Trace it.”
A pause. Then Logan said quietly, “Signal’s bouncing through six dead satellites… but origin points to Prague.”
Marcus muttered, “Who the hell’s in Prague?”
Ethan’s expression shifted — something cold, haunted. “Someone we buried a long time ago.”
Claire frowned. “Who?”
He whispered the name like a ghost from the past.
“Archer Kane.”
The room went silent. Zara’s smirk vanished. Marcus looked genuinely shaken.
Logan said what they were all thinking. “He’s supposed to be dead.”
Ethan’s jaw tightened. “So was I.”
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