San Francisco, Donovan Headquarters – 6 Days Later
A new war was coming.
Sebastian could feel it in the silence.
The Donovan boardroom was packed — glass walls, 30th floor, the skyline buzzing in background static. But no one spoke. Not even Victor Donovan, who sat at the head of the table like a judge staring down a crumbling kingdom.
The screens behind him flickered to life.
Newscasts.
Leaked videos.
Security camera footage.
Satellite images.
Geneva in flames.
Cairo compounds breached.
Facial recognition hits for Project Sigma operatives in South Korea, Poland, and Turkey.
A female anchor's voice rang out:
"...anonymous whistleblower referred to as 'Heretic' has claimed responsibility for what is now being called the Aegis Exposure — a massive leak of classified paramilitary operations, including experimental training programs run in violation of international law."
Then came the bombshell.
The footage paused on a young woman, face half-obscured by shadows — but still traceable.
Audrey.
Even with the masking filter, she was recognizable to anyone who had studied Sigma or Aegis documents.
Sebastian's fists clenched under the table.
"She's officially on every list now," Victor said. "Interpol. CIA. NATO."
He looked at his son.
"She's toxic."
Sebastian said nothing.
Victor leaned back, steepling his fingers. "I gave you time, Sebastian. I let you chase shadows and chase women. But now it's in our house. Your house. Donovan Capital has been flagged by the European Council for non-compliance in covert sanctions. That's your signature on those funds routed to Geneva."
The room's silence turned to glass.
Sebastian stood slowly.
"I'll fix it."
"How?" Victor asked sharply. "With what army? The moment she steps into the U.S. again, she's either shot or arrested. And if she drags you down with her—"
"I said," Sebastian cut him off, voice razor-thin, "I'll fix it."
Location: Marrakech Safehouse, Morocco – That Same Day
The desert winds had changed.
Audrey stood on a balcony overlooking the Red City, her hood drawn low, sunglasses shadowing her face. The markets below pulsed with tourists, scent of saffron and leather twisting through the air like smoke trails.
She hadn't spoken much since Cairo.
Hadn't slept, either.
Lucien's words echoed constantly.
"You'll come running back to me…"
The data shard he left had been decrypted piece by piece. Coordinates. Financial records. Secret military contracts dating back fifteen years.
And one name stood out among all the chaos.
Aegis Protocol: Phase Two.
She didn't recognize the operation name, but the attached biometric files chilled her blood.
Children.
Dozens of them.
New projects. New camps. New subjects.
He hadn't just lit a match. He'd built a new laboratory in the dark.
Lucien wasn't trying to destroy the old world.
He was trying to replace it.
She stepped back inside the safehouse. Max was there — their new contact from SIGMA's remnant network. Blonde, wiry, twitchy, and probably high on more than just adrenaline.
"I cross-checked the coordinates you gave me," Max said, typing fast on his tablet. "There's movement in North Macedonia, deep in the Šar Mountains. You ever hear of Fort Cindar?"
Audrey's eyes narrowed. "It was rumored. Nothing confirmed."
"Not anymore. Lucien's last account activity was pinged there. And satellite heat signatures suggest they're running generators — massive ones."
Sebastian entered the room, pulling off his jacket. Dust coated his boots.
He'd flown in under cover, evading half the EU's tracking systems.
"We don't have long," he said. "Interpol's already traced our last Cairo jump to Marrakech. We've got maybe three days before this place lights up."
Audrey handed him the tablet.
He scrolled through the coordinates.
"You think he's hiding there?"
She shook her head. "He's not hiding. He's recruiting."
Max interrupted. "And here's the worst part — your name's already hit darknet bounties. Big ones. Half a million for either of you, alive."
Audrey turned to Sebastian.
Her voice was low. Deadly.
"We go in. Burn everything. No survivors."
Flashback
Four Years Ago, Eastern Ukraine
Audrey POV
Snow had fallen like ash.
Audrey's sniper nest overlooked the compound — a dilapidated weapons depot used by insurgent cells. It wasn't official. Nothing ever was.
She'd been sent in to extract Lucien.
He'd gone dark. Again. Disobeyed direct orders, intercepted signals from their own men.
She found him surrounded by bodies.
Enemy and friendly alike.
Lucien had wiped the site clean, left only fire and silence.
When she finally found him sitting against a charred wall, blood-soaked and shaking, he looked up at her like a child who knew he'd gone too far.
"They were going to betray us," he whispered.
"You don't know that."
"I know people. I see it. I feel it. Just like I feel it in you."
She stepped back then. Just one step. Enough for him to notice.
"You're afraid of me," he said.
"No," she lied. "I'm afraid for you."
That night, she carried him out under a burning sky.
And in the morning, he pretended to forget it ever happened.
Present – Marrakech
Sebastian studied Audrey as she repacked her gear.
Her movements were sharper now. More methodical. The softness she'd let him see in Geneva was gone.
"Are you planning to come back from this?" he asked.
She paused, not looking up. "Are you?"
"I want to."
"That's not what I asked."
He stepped closer.
"Don't shut me out, Audrey."
She turned, eyes blazing.
"I'm not shutting you out. I'm trying to make sure there's something left of us if this ends badly. Because Lucien doesn't care if the world burns — as long as it burns in my name."
She pressed her forehead to his, voice trembling.
"I'm scared of what I'll have to become to stop him."
He held her there, silent. Letting the fear bleed out between them.
"We do it together," he said softly. "Or not at all."
Šar Mountains, North Macedonia – Two Days Later
Snow again.
A full circle.
They moved in through an old Soviet trail, winding past frost-covered pine and rusting radio towers. The facility known as Fort Cindar was half-buried in the mountain, camouflaged from drones, surrounded by passive minefields.
Max had tapped into local feeds. "They're moving equipment in and out like clockwork. No national flags. No markings. But the tech is high-grade — American and Israeli both. This isn't just Lucien anymore."
It was a coalition.
Private. Silent. Deadly.
Aegis Phase Two was live.
Audrey lay prone at the ridge, scanning with her scope.
She saw the children first.
Six of them.
Being marched into the compound under the eye of men in black exo-gear.
Her stomach flipped.
"I can take the first two guards," she said. "But once I fire, it's on."
Sebastian nodded. "Then we go loud."
She took a breath.
Finger on the trigger.
Scope aligned.
And then—
A voice over the radio.
Lucien.
"You're right where I wanted you, Adelle. Good girl."
Her blood ran cold.
"Let's see how far you'll go to stop me."
Then the sky lit up.
An EMP pulse detonated above the ridge — frying all electronics.
Ambush.
From the trees, drones dropped like vultures.
And Audrey realized — Lucien wasn't building an army.
He was already testing one.