Chapter 26 - The Swiss Alps
The air in the mountains was sharp and thin, a stark contrast to the humid, suffocating tension of the city. We arrived at a small, unassuming cabin perched on the edge of a jagged cliff. Inside, it looked like a high-tech fortress.
"This is Elias," Arthur introduced a man with silver hair and eyes that seemed to see through walls. "He’s the one who designed the security protocols for the original Serpent network."
Elias looked at the drive with disdain. "You stole this from the belly of the beast?"
"I fought for it," I said, my voice cold.
"Then let's see what secrets it hides," Elias said, plugging it into a console that spanned the entire wall.
Lines of code flooded the screens, complex and terrifying. It wasn't just data; it was a blueprint.
"It’s a kill list," Elias whispered after an hour of silence. "Names, addresses, and dates of future 'operations.' And look at the target list."
I walked over to the screen, my heart stopping. At the top of the list, marked in bold red, was my name. Below it, in even bolder letters, was Ethan’s.
"They’re planning an extraction," I said, my voice barely a breath. "They aren't just sabotaging the grid. They’re planning to kidnap children who carry the genetic markers. They’re building an army."
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"We need to stop this," Arthur said, his hand hovering over the keyboard. "If we release this to the authorities, we can trigger an international warrant."
"No," I said, my eyes hardening. "The authorities are infiltrated. We release this to the press, the underground, and every rival organization. We start a war."
