The moment Maya stepped into the underground safe house, a chill ran down her spine.
It wasn't just the cold concrete walls or the dim, flickering lights. It was the feeling that someone was already watching her — waiting.
She tightened her grip on the small pistol tucked into her waistband and scanned the room. Empty, except for a single chair turned away from the entrance.
A voice whispered from the darkness.
"You're asking the wrong questions."
Maya's heart skipped a beat. She spun around, gun raised. No one.
"Show yourself," she demanded, voice steady but sharp.
Silence.
Then, from behind the chair, a figure emerged — a man, tall, lean, his face hidden beneath the shadow of a hood.
"Who are you?" Maya asked.
He took a step forward, and in the faint light, she recognized the cold glint in his eyes — the same that had haunted her dreams.
"The one you least expect."
Before she could react, he pulled a small device from his pocket and pressed a button. A pulse rippled through the room, and Maya felt her vision blur, her knees weaken.
The last thing she saw was his smirk.
When she came to, she was strapped to a chair, the room spinning around her.
Her head throbbed. Her mouth was dry.
And in front of her was the man from before, now standing fully in the light.
"My name is Cain," he said, voice low and dangerous. "And you've been meddling in something far bigger than you realize."
Maya swallowed hard. "What do you want?"
Cain smiled. "Information. And I want you to deliver a message — to your friends. Tell them the game has changed. The Serpent Protocol is no longer just data. It is power. And it will decide who survives."
He leaned in close, eyes burning with cold fire.
"But first, you will tell me everything you know."
Outside the safe house, shadows shifted.
Unseen eyes watched.
The war for the Serpent Protocol had just taken a deadly turn.