"Hm." Elias hummed.
The person at the other end of the line sounded alarmed. "For real? I still haven't locked down the sender's ID. Whoever's running their comms has serious chops, probably a triple-layer proxy route But that's nothing I can't crack. It's just… been a while since I spun up my MBCR suite, so the neural packet filters—"
"Speak human language," Elias suddenly cut in as he walked out of the conference room.
"Okay, okay." Loid chuckled. "Anyway, what I mean is that it is risky for you to go. They even asked you to come alone. Even a person like me with little military knowledge knows how risky it is. Did your bosses really approve of it?"
Elias didn't respond to that. He strode through the facility which was quiet except for the occasional salute of the guards along the way.
He ordered, "From now on, maintain close surveillance. You can look into the lab itself for now so we have a starting point. There is less than an hour left."
Loid: "I already started digging. You should get the details in a few minutes."
"Okay."
The device soon went blank again after the call and if one didn't know how it worked, they would think it was broken.
Elias threw it into his pocket before calling for a meeting with the secondary team members. His personal secretary, Jax also appeared and after they had a plan, Elias walked out with him in tow.
"Sir, the team is already running thermal and motion on the building. There's been no motion for now."
"Okay." Elias ordered, "Contact the extraction team. Tell them specifically that they are not to come in until they receive the alert."
"Yes, Sir." Jax gave a sharp nod and quickly rushed off while Elias strode into his quarters.
He crossed to the tall locker built into the wall of his bedroom, its biometric seal recognizing him in a blink. Inside, his gear was arranged with exacting order; combat shirt and tactical trousers, lightweight body armor, gloves, and the matte-black sidearm holstered at his hip. He slid the vest into place, tightened the straps, and slung a compact rifle across his back. The faint clink of steel buckles was the only sound in the room.
By the time he stepped out to the back door of the facility as planned, Jax was already there waiting by the rear exit, standing beside a nondescript black SUV with the driver beside him. The driver straightened at the sight of Elias, spine rigid, and hand coming up in a crisp salute.
Elias returned it with a brief nod in response but looked toward Jax and ordered, "You'll drive."
Then, he climbed into the back seat while the other two exchanged glances in confusion. But they quickly did as he said and Jax slid into the driver seat. He turned the ignition and the car shot out into the night.
As they drove, Elias looked around. The secondary team must have taken off already to set up an ambush, according to plan. He deliberately asked Jax to drive to reduce the level of passiveness on their side just in case any unexpected situation erupted.
He gave a small sigh and quietly closed his eyes to refresh his brain.
The drive was silent, the low purr of the engine blending with the sounds of the tires moving on uneven asphalt. Outside, the night stretched wide and dark, broken only by the sweep of headlights across overgrown fences and abandoned industrial blocks. They stopped short of their target, the building's shadow rising ahead like a sleeping giant.
Jax parked in a less conspicuous area although Elias was sure the other party would see them anyways. He slipped out of the backseat and turned to Jax, "Don't come in unless I give the order."
"Yes, Chief."
Elias quickly strode into the abandoned space. At first, it was nothing but dust, sand and piled sewage. The loading bay yawned open, its rusted doors half-collapsed. But past that threshold, the scene shifted and gone was the dust and neglect. Inside, the air was cool, dry, and unnervingly clean. White-paneled corridors snaked away into the dark, lit by narrow strips of cold light embedded in the floor. Behind glass partitions, sleek consoles hummed softly, their screens alive with unreadable code. At the top of the wall was a plaque that read, "Granton Labs"
Elias's eyes narrowed.
He intended to find a few blindspots in case of any foul play but to his surprise, the place was actually quite compact and small. He was instantly disappointed. Although it made it hard for the other party to launch any type of trick against him, he quickly figured this place must have very little to do with the real Project Helix.
At least, from what they knew, that project was not on such a small scale.
But anyway, it was still better than nothing. If the sender bothered to direct him here, then it meant it indeed had something to do with it even if it was minute.
He stepped in further, his body cam tracing the path, capturing every angle and detail. When he reached a junction where the corridors split, he touched a concealed control on his wrist unit, sending the feed directly into Loid's encrypted channel.
They were actually also on a call together and he had his earbuds on. Although Loid was not speaking, he knew he was likely watching the feed.
His steps slowed as he moved deeper, his eyes darting from one strange marvel to the next. A trio of palm-sized drones floated silently overhead, their movements so precise they seemed almost aware of being watched. A row of medical pods lined one wall, their surfaces flawless and white, each containing intricate AI-assisted surgical arms folded neatly at rest. In the far corner, suspended in clear stasis tanks, strange helmets gleamed faintly, their lattice of silver threads like cobwebs spun from light.
Even if this was a rather small lab, clearly it dealt with high level tech. He had to find a way to bring them in for analysis.
In the next few minutes, he had scoured the entire vicinity but there was absolutely no one in sight. There was also no chance for them to ambush except they planned to blow up the entire area. But, he doubted that.
In fact, he suspected that he was used as a decoy.
The other party must have deliberately separated him from his men. And, it just so happened to be the very night they intended to apprehend Marina Kovacs. Maybe, they thought his men would be easier to handle if he, the commander, was not present.
But it was ridiculous and he had nothing to worry about. All of his men were up to par. In fact, there was not one who wasn't as good as he was and he was not even worried that they would be in danger. If they couldn't even handle a gang like Cordova Circle, then they wouldn't be the Special Forces.
Since there was nothing else to see in the lab, he quickly sent Jax a message to call in the extraction team and come over.
Just then, his gaze fell upon something under a desk by his left. He quickly strode over and picked it up. It was a torn scrap of paper crumpled and likely thrown away, the only evidence that some people must have been here before.
He held it up and a list of names appeared in his line of sight. They marched down in hurried ink; half-legible and half-smudged.
His eyes quickly caught the first name and they narrowed instantly, his jaw tightening.
Beaumont.
That was the name of one of the aristocratic families in the city.
A coincidence? He didn't think so.
"Looks like a donor ledger," Loid's voice suddenly crackled in his ear. "Maybe those people are the real owners of this mess."
"Send me a picture of it," He added. "We can start from there."
Elias was about to do so when Jax's voice suddenly erupted over comms.
"Chief—something's wrong with the extraction!"