The wind howled through the ruins of the abandoned subway tunnels beneath Chicago. The old Blue Line extension had been sealed off since 2003, a forgotten artery of the city, perfect for hiding secrets.
Von moved silently through the pitch-black corridor, flashlight clutched in one hand, the other resting on his Glock. His footsteps echoed against the damp walls, the faint hiss of dripping water the only other sound. He was alone, almost.
Behind him, BD lookouts crept carefully, three soldiers handpicked by Lil Marco himself. Each man carried suppressed weapons and headsets, scanning the darkness for movement. The word from the top was clear:
"Find the Oracle files. Protect Von. Or don't come back."
Von's mind raced. The documents he'd discovered in the safe house, Project Oracle's Final Phase, had been fragmented. Maps. Names. Coordinates. And one code name repeated in bold: "ZEUSPOINT."
Zeuspoint was a CIA deep lab, rumored to exist beneath the city, masked as part of a water treatment plant. According to the stolen flash drive, it wasn't just a testing site. It was where they bred the next generation of "Oracles."
Von's father had helped design it.
And Agent Carter Mays had taken it from him.
As the team reached a steel service door covered in grime, Von turned to his men. "Stay sharp. No one shoots unless I say."
He pushed the door open.
What waited inside wasn't darkness.
It was a corridor bathed in white fluorescent light and humming with power.
Back at the CIA field office, Agent Carter Mays barked into the comms. "Team A, secure the west tunnel. Team B, push toward the lower sector. Royner is in the facility."
A dozen CIA agents moved in tight formations through the underground maze. Carter remained above ground, watching from a surveillance van parked blocks away, screens glowing with heatmaps and infrared visuals.
His second-in-command, Agent Ripley, leaned in. "Sir, if he gets to the lab, he could expose everything, Oracle, the tests, the failures…"
Carter's stare didn't waver. "We're past damage control, Ripley. We terminate Royner tonight."
He paused. "And destroy everything in Zeuspoint."
Von reached the central chamber.
Rows of glass pods stretched from wall to wall. Inside each pod floated a child, no older than eight, hooked up to wires and monitors. Their eyes fluttered under closed lids, each one living in some kind of induced vision state.
His gut twisted. "What the hell…"
A whisper of movement.
Von spun around, gun raised.
A figure stood in the doorway. White coat. Clipboard.
"Dr. Myles," Von growled. "Didn't think I'd find you alive."
The old scientist smirked. "You shouldn't be here, Von. But then again… you always were unpredictable. Like your father."
Von aimed the Glock at his chest. "You helped them do this to kids?"
Dr. Myles sighed. "We didn't force them. These children were given up. Abandoned. They had… potential."
"You turned them into lab rats."
"No," the doctor replied. "We turned them into gods."
Before Von could reply, alarms blared. Red lights began to flash across the facility.
Carter's voice crackled through a speaker in the wall.
"Von Royner. You're surrounded. Lay down your weapon and surrender."
Von smirked. "Guess he finally figured out how to talk to me."
He fired at the speaker.
"Fall back!" one of the BD soldiers yelled. "They're coming from the east!"
Gunfire erupted in the hallway.
Von dove behind a workstation as bullets ripped through glass and sparks flew from exposed wires. His men returned fire, pinning CIA operatives behind a wall of overturned lockers.
But they were outnumbered.
And it was about to get worse.
Shanice stood on the rooftop across from the plant, a sniper rifle cradled in her hands. Her phone buzzed. She tapped the Bluetooth in her ear.
"I see movement. A whole team just went into that sewer hatch."
On the other end, her friend Tanya spoke fast. "Girl, what the hell are you doing? This ain't your war."
"It became my war the moment they came for Von."
Tanya hesitated. "You really love him, don't you?"
Shanice adjusted her scope. "I don't know what this is. But I know I'm not letting him die."
She squeezed the trigger.
Below, a CIA agent collapsed with a hole in his chest.
Inside Zeuspoint, the firefight intensified.
Von ducked low, sliding toward the emergency generator. He yanked the lever down, plunging the chamber into darkness. A second later, the red backup lights kicked in, painting the room in an eerie crimson glow.
"I'm getting us out of here!" he shouted to his men. "Cover me!"
He ran for the control terminal. Plugged in the flash drive. The screen flickered, asking for a code.
He typed: "O-R-A-C-L-E-J-R."
Files unlocked. Downloads initiated.
Meanwhile, BD soldiers fired round after round, holding the line against the CIA assault. Blood painted the walls. Shouts echoed through the metal halls.
One of Von's men fell.
Then another.
Dr. Myles tried to escape, but Von grabbed him and threw him to the ground.
"You're not going anywhere," he growled.
Then came the worst noise of all.
The sound of heavy boots.
Carter Mays stepped into the chamber, gun drawn, flanked by elite CIA operatives in black tactical armor.
"End of the road, Von."
Von didn't flinch. "You lied to my father. You used him. Then you killed him."
Carter nodded. "Because he was dangerous. And so are you."
Von moved fast, reaching into his jacket and hurling a flash grenade. It exploded, filling the chamber with blinding light and smoke.
Gunfire erupted again.
Von grabbed the flash drive and dashed for the emergency exit, dragging Dr. Myles behind him. Carter fired but missed, eyes burning from the flash.
By the time the smoke cleared, Von was gone.
He emerged onto the street, gasping, bleeding from a graze across his ribs. BD cars were already waiting. Shanice stood beside them, sniper rifle slung over her shoulder.
She ran to him. "You look like hell."
Von smiled weakly. "Feel worse."
They jumped into the backseat of a blacked-out Escalade. Von clutched the flash drive tight.
Inside it was proof.
Proof that the CIA had been experimenting on children. Proof that they had killed his father to cover it up. Proof that Carter Mays wasn't a patriot.
He was a butcher.
Hours later, in a warehouse on the West Side, Von sat across from BD leaders.
Lil Marco tapped the flash drive. "You sure about this?"
Von nodded. "It's time people knew the truth. All of it."
Marco looked grim. "They'll come harder now. They'll call you a terrorist."
Von leaned forward. "Let them. I'm not hiding anymore."
Far across the city, in a high-security government compound, Carter Mays sat in silence.
On the screen before him, satellite images of the warehouse lit up. His jaw clenched.
"Activate Phase 2," he said coldly.
"What about the boy?" Ripley asked.
Carter stared into the screen.
"We bring him in alive."
He paused.
"And if we can't… we kill him."