The dawn of a cold Berlin morning broke through the shattered blinds of their safehouse, casting fractured beams of light onto the grim faces of the team. The adrenaline from the previous night’s mission had long worn off, leaving a tense silence in its wake. Gabriel stood by the cracked window, his gaze fixed on the distant cityscape. The faint hum of life returning to Berlin did little to soothe the storm brewing in his mind.“We’re running out of time,” he said, his voice low but firm. “Umbra won’t let this slide. The moment they regain their footing, they’ll retaliate harder than ever.”Levi sat hunched over a laptop, his fingers flying across the keys as lines of code streamed across the screen. “We’ve got about 24 hours before their backup satellite is fully operational,” he said, his tone grim. “After that, they’ll reestablish their network, and we’ll be back to square one.”Amara, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed, frowned. “We need a lead on Erebus. Without him,

The descent from the Alps was slow and methodical, but the weight of the recent battle pressed heavily on the team. Each step brought them closer to the edge of exhaustion, yet none dared to speak about it. Gabriel led the group in silence, his mind replaying the final moments with Erebus. The man’s last words gnawed at him like a persistent ghost: The shadows will rise again.The sun had barely begun its ascent when they reached the rendezvous point. A black SUV waited for them, engine idling, its driver a nondescript figure with sharp eyes scanning the horizon. Without a word, they loaded their gear and climbed in.“Back to Zurich?” the driver asked, his voice clipped.“No,” Gabriel replied, his voice firm. “Take us to Geneva. We need to regroup.”Helena shot him a questioning glance but said nothing.The ride to Geneva was uneventful, save for the quiet tension that filled the air. Amara rested her head against the window, her breath fogging the glass as she stared at the endless s

The air in the safe house grew thick with tension as Dragovich sat, his face illuminated by the cold, flickering light of the single lamp in the room. His smirk lingered even as blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, evidence of his earlier scuffle with Amara. Gabriel paced back and forth, his mind working at a fever pitch."Let me save you some time," Dragovich drawled, his voice laced with mockery. "The Architect doesn’t deal with small fish. You’ll never find them."Gabriel stopped pacing and fixed his icy gaze on the man. "You’re going to tell us everything. You might think you’re loyal, but believe me, Dragovich, I’ll break that smug resolve of yours."Helena stepped forward, her voice calm but lethal. "You’re a middleman, a tool. The Architect left you to die the moment we stepped into that club. Why protect someone who sees you as expendable?"For the first time, a flicker of doubt crossed Dragovich’s face, but it was quickly replaced by defiance. "You don’t understand lo

The air in the safe house was thick with tension. Alexander, bound to a steel chair, sat with a smug expression, his eyes darting between Gabriel and the rest of the team. The revelation of their familial bond had left the group shaken, but there was no time to dwell on the past.Helena paced the room, her hands clenched into fists. “So, what’s the plan, Gabriel? He’s your brother, but he’s also The Architect. Do we interrogate him or”“We do what we came here to do,” Gabriel interrupted, his voice cold and steady. “We extract the information we need and shut down the entire operation. No exceptions.”Amara crossed her arms, her gaze fixed on Alexander. “And you think he’ll just hand over everything we need?”Alexander chuckled softly. “You’ve always been so single-minded, Gabriel. You think this is just about dismantling a network? You have no idea what you’ve stumbled into.”Gabriel’s jaw tightened. He crouched down to meet his brother’s eyes, the fire of years of betrayal burning i

The safe house was eerily silent, its dim lighting casting long shadows on the walls. Everyone sat around the central table, their faces marked with exhaustion and the weight of the mission. Helena was hunched over her laptop, decrypting the data they had retrieved, while Gabriel paced back and forth, his mind a whirl of conflicting thoughts.Alexander leaned casually against a corner, his enigmatic smirk ever-present. “You’re welcome, by the way,” he said, breaking the tense silence.Gabriel stopped pacing and turned to face him. “Don’t think for a second that this erases your past. We still don’t know where your loyalties lie.”Alexander shrugged. “I saved your lives. That should count for something.”Amara, who had been quietly sharpening her knife, interjected, her tone cold. “It counts for nothing if we can’t trust you.”“I trust him,” Helena said unexpectedly, her eyes still glued to the screen. “At least for now. This data is more complex than I thought. It’s not just financial