The Shenzhen night pulsed with neon and menace as Alex Mercer crouched on a rooftop overlooking Dr. Lin's safehouse, a sleek penthouse glowing against the city's jagged skyline. His silenced pistol felt heavy, its weight echoing the encrypted files—Control Grid, Subject AM-17—burning in his mind. Fae's note, hidden in his gear, whispered: They've taken your mind. Carlton's voice crackled through his earpiece, cold and precise. "Mercer, you're point. Neutralize Lin, clean exit."
Huei, crouched beside him, adjusted her holo-device, her sharp eyes scanning for security. "Guards are light—two outside, one inside. I've looped the cameras." Her micro-comm, tucked in Alex's sleeve, was their secret link, a lifeline after uncovering Zenith's mindwiping.
Shvery, hulking nearby, checked his rifle, his bandaged arm steady but his glare fixed on Alex. "Don't choke, Mercer. You've been shaky."
Alex ignored him, a memory flash hitting—a burning tower, a woman's voice, "You're our edge!"—fading fast. His head throbbed, but he focused on the mission. Dr. Lin, XinTech's scientist, was key to the neural relay—and maybe to his past. "Let's move," he said, voice steady despite the storm within.
They descended, shadows slipping through the penthouse's outer defenses. Huei disabled the gate's sensors, her fingers a blur. Shvery took out the first guard with a silenced shot, his precision brutal. Alex moved ahead, disarming the second guard with a swift strike, his body acting on instinct he couldn't name. The safehouse door loomed—glass, reinforced, but Huei's device cracked it open.
Inside, the penthouse was stark—white marble, minimalist tech, a single terminal glowing. Dr. Lin stood at it, a slight woman with gray-streaked hair, her back to them. Alex raised his pistol, Carlton's order echoing: Neutralize. But as she turned, her eyes met his—sharp, weary, familiar. A flash roared through him: a lab, a man's bloodied face, "You saved us!" His hand trembled, the shot unfired.
"Mercer, now!" Shvery hissed, rifle ready.
Huei's voice was urgent. "Alex, what's wrong?"
Dr. Lin's gaze held him, a flicker of recognition—or fear. "You're not one of them," she whispered, barely audible. Another flash—glowing orbs, a city under siege—froze him. Was she part of his past?
Shvery cursed, shoving past to aim at Lin. "I'll do it."
"No!" Alex snapped, grabbing his arm. The delay cost them—an alarm shrieked, hidden sensors triggered. "Huei, kill it!"
She dove for the terminal, her device plugging in. "It's layered—thirty seconds!"
Guards burst through a side door, rifles blazing. Shvery fired back, dropping one, but a bolt grazed his leg, blood seeping. Alex ducked, returning fire—each shot perfect, yet detached, like a stranger's skill. A flash hit harder—a woman with auburn hair, "Kid, fight back!"—and he stumbled, vision blurring.
"Mercer, move!" Huei yelled, yanking her device free as the alarm died. But the guards kept coming, and a new figure emerged—a lean operative in black, face masked, moving like a predator. Their blade flashed, aimed at Alex.
He parried with his staff, the collapsible metal sparking against steel, but the operative was relentless, their strikes a blur. Shvery roared, tackling a guard, while Huei stunned another, her staff crackling. Alex fought, instincts sharp, but the flash lingered—New Haven, a shield collapsing—slowing him. The operative's blade grazed his side, pain flaring.
"Fall back!" Carlton barked through comms. "Exfil's hot!"
Huei grabbed Alex's arm, pulling him toward the exit. "We've got Lin's data—go!" Dr. Lin vanished in the chaos, slipping through a hidden panel. Shvery limped after, blood trailing, his glare accusing.
The operative lunged, their blade slashing Alex's shoulder. He swung back, stunning their chest, but a final blow—a fist, heavy with intent—cracked against his temple. The world spun—a flash of a burning city, a name, Fae—then darkness swallowed him.
He woke to searing pain, the penthouse gone, the team dragging him into Carlton's hovercraft. Huei's face hovered, her hands pressing a med-patch to his shoulder. "Stay with us, Alex!" Shvery, bloodied, piloted, his curses drowned by the craft's roar.
Carlton's voice was ice. "You hesitated, Mercer. Lin's gone, and we're exposed. Explain."
Alex's head pounded, the operative's blow unlocking something—a flood of fragments: battles, allies, betrayal. He clutched Huei's micro-comm, their secret intact. "I… saw something," he rasped, deflecting. "Won't happen again."
Shvery snorted, unconvinced. "Better not."
Huei's gaze held his, a silent question. She'd seen his freeze, knew he was cracking. "Rest," she whispered, slipping him the drive with Lin's data. "We'll talk."
The hovercraft sped through Shenzhen's neon haze, the city a blur of light and shadow. Alex's side burned, but his mind burned hotter. Dr. Lin's eyes, her words—You're not one of them—echoed Fae's note. The flashes weren't random; they were his life, stolen by Zenith. The operative's strike had jarred something loose, and he wouldn't let it slip away.
Carlton's gray eyes studied him, unreadable. "Med bay, then debrief. No excuses."
Alex nodded, but his resolve was iron. The drive held answers—about the relay, the Control Grid, himself. Huei was with him, Shvery against, and Carlton a wildcard. Fae's warning was a beacon, and Dr. Lin was a key. He'd find her, break Zenith's lies, and reclaim what was his.
As the facility loomed, Alex gripped his staff, the weight grounding him. The mission had failed, but his war was just beginning.