23:47 PM| NPU Rooftop Helipad, Metro City
The night air whipped across the rooftop, sharp and cool, carrying with it the distant hum of the city below. Marcus shifted uneasily as he followed Garrick toward the waiting helicopter.
His boots clicked against the helipad's steel grid, each step echoing far louder than it should have. Adrian trailed a few paces behind, jaw tight, mind ticking through the mission plan for the thousandth time.
The machine loomed ahead of them - matte black, blades idling in slow rotation, its body gleaming under the helipad's floodlights.
Adrian caught Marcus's expression; wide-eyed awe, a boyish curiosity peeking through his otherwise calm exterior. It was Marcus's first time on a helicopter. Adrian almost smirked. Of course he'd be fascinated. Who wouldn't?
"Quit staring like it's your prom date."
Garrick barked, already climbing into the cockpit.
"It's a ride, not a rollercoaster."
Marcus muttered something under his breath, tugging his jacket tighter against the wind. Adrian leaned closer, speaking just loud enough to cut through the rotor's hum.
"You'll get used to it. Just don't puke on my boots."
Marcus shot him a look, half-annoyed, half-amused, before ducking into the cabin. Adrian followed, sliding into the seat opposite, strapping in as the rotors picked up speed. The helicopter shuddered, lifting from the pad in a gust of wind.
Airborne, en route to South Metro
Below them, Metro City sprawled like a living organism, arteries of light stretching into the horizon. Adrian leaned back, trying to let the steady thrum of the rotors settle him. His wrist still twinged faintly from their last op, and tonight promised worse.
Marcus pressed his forehead to the window, eyes wide as skyscrapers slid beneath them. Adrian couldn't resist a jab.
"What's next, you gonna ask the pilot if you can fly it?"
Marcus didn't look away.
"Just... never seen the city like this." A pause.
"Kinda makes you wonder what the hell we're risking all this for."
Adrian didn't answer. He knew the answer - and he also knew Marcus wasn't really asking him.
"Focus." Elias's voice crackled over the earpiece, calm but firm.
"Garrick will drop you in South Metro. Marcus enters first. Adrian, you wait for his go signal. No improvising."
"Sure thing, captain."
Adrian muttered. He hated when Elias pre-empted him like that, as if recklessness was tattooed on his forehead.
00:03 AM | South Metro Landing Zone
The helicopter descended in a tight circle, skids kissing down onto a deserted rooftop in South Metro.
The neighborhood was quieter than Metro's neon core, buildings more corporate, more sterile. Nexon Pharmaceuticals' glass towers glimmered in the near distance, their logos glowing faint blue against the night.
Adrian unclipped his harness. Marcus fumbled with his strap for a moment before freeing himself.
"Eyes up." Garrick growled, pointing toward the towers. "Your playground. Don't screw around."
They disembarked. Marcus straightened his jacket, smoothed his hair, and tried to adopt the casual gait of a tired employee heading back in for late-night work. His fake ID badge swung lightly against his chest, catching the light.
Adrian watched him descend the stairwell, vanishing into the streets below. He hated letting Marcus go alone, but the plan demanded it.
00:17 AM | Nexo Pharmaceuticals, South Metro Gate
Marcus approached the security turnstiles, heart pounding louder than the fluorescent hum above him. The glass facade of Nexon loomed ahead - sterile, cold, unforgiving. He adjusted his ID lanyard, flashing it to the bored-looking guard at the scanner.
"Long night." Marcus offered, voice carefully casual.
The guard barely glanced up. The scanner beeped green. "Floor?"
"Two. Data."
The guard waved him through. Marcus exhaled silently, pressing forward into the sterile halls of Nexo.
His shoes squeaked faintly against polished marble floors as he made his way to the elevator. He tapped his ID again at the panel - another green flash - and the doors slid open.
He entered, thumb trembling slightly as he keyed the floor.
00:19 AM | Exterior, Nexo Pharmaceuticals
Adrian crouched in the shadows of a service alley, eyes fixed on the building. Marcus's voice filtered through his earpiece, calm but quiet.
"Inside. Floor two. Give me a minute."
Adrian flexed his hands, gripping the grapple gun. His pulse thrummed. He hated waiting.
"Patience." Elias's voice came again, like a knife. "You go too early, you blow the whole op."
"Yeah, yeah." Adrian sighted the upper floors, calculating. The Archives were on four. Bulletproof windows. No way in direct. That meant floor three first. He scanned for anchor points.
"Alright." Marcus whispered. "You're clear."
"Finally."
Adrian fired. The hook shot upward, clanging against metal. It took him three tries - the first slid loose, the second failed to catch.
By the third, sweat beaded at his temples. Finally, the line went taut. He tested it with a hard tug, then began climbing, arm over arm, boots scraping against the glass.
00:23 AM | Floor 3 Window,
He swung into the third-floor window, bracing his boots against the frame. With a grunt, he drove both legs forward, shattering the glass with a muted crash.
Alarms didn't sound - not yet. Nexo's outer windows weren't alarmed the same way. He slipped inside, crouching low, heart hammering.
The office smelled of disinfectant and recycled air. Desks stood in neat rows, screens dark, papers aligned like soldiers.
Adrian padded softly across the carpet, every sense strained. He moved to the stairwell, climbing upward, every creak of the door handle like a gunshot in his ears.
00:27 AM | Floor 4 Archives,
Marcus's keycard slid easily into Adrian's gloved hand. He swiped it against the Archives reader. The lock clicked green. Adrian pushed inside.
The Archives room was colder, the air humming faintly from servers tucked against the walls. Tall cabinets lined the center, steel and matte black, their drawers labeled in sterile code. It smelled of dust, ozone, and secrets.
Adrian's breath fogged faintly as he stepped deeper. He pulled open the first cabinet. Files. Seven in total, thick folders stamped with Nexon's insignia, edges worn from use.
"Seven." Adrian muttered into his mic, stacking them under his arm.
"Like they're gift-wrapped."
Marcus's voice buzzed back. "Don't get cocky. Just get out."
Adrian chuckled, though his grip tightened. He could almost hear Elias's frown in the silence that followed.
He paused, flipping through a page. Classified reports, signatures of officials he recognized. Enough to drown half the city in scandal.
"You're quiet." Marcus noted.
"Just thinking how easy it'd be to torch these," Adrian replied.
"One lighter, and poof."
"Don't." Elias's voice cut in, sharp.
"Focus."
Adrian shut the file, slid it back into the stack.
00:34 AM | Archives Exit.
He moved to the window, balancing himself on the frame. That's when the comms crackled.
"Adrian-" Marcus's voice broke up. Static swallowed his words.
"What? Say it again."
Static. Then a fragment: "-limit-senti-"
Adrian frowned, straining.
Then the room bathed in red. Sirens howled. Lights flashed. Heavy boots thundered in the hall.
"Fuck."
He bolted.
The first guard burst through the stairwell. Adrian met him head-on, elbow slamming into the man's jaw. They grappled, Adrian's wrist screaming as the guard twisted it. Pain shot white-hot, but Adrian rammed a knee upward, throwing the man off. He staggered, gasping, wrist throbbing.
"Reckless!" Elias roared in his ear. "Get out, now!"
"Working on it!"
Adrian sprinted down the hall, lungs burning. He crashed into the stairwell, descended to floor three, and dove through the shattered window he'd entered from.
The night air swallowed him.
He landed hard against the adjacent rooftop, rolled, kept running. Boots pounded across tar and steel. Behind him, searchlights swept, guards shouting into radios.
He vaulted one rooftop, then another, breath tearing in his chest. Finally, pressed between two narrow walls, he braced his back against one, boots against the other, sliding downward.
His jacket screeched against the concrete, heat searing his spine. He grit his teeth, hissed as leather tore, as his back screamed. He hit the ground hard, gasping, jacket shredded.
00:42 AM| South Metro Streets
The street was chaos. Guards corralling workers, shouting orders. Marcus was among them, his head lowered, hands raised. Adrian saw him, felt his stomach twist.
Marcus caught his eye, shook his head minutely. His voice crackled through the comms, faint but steady.
"Leave me. I'll message when I'm out. Just go."
Adrian's jaw clenched. "Like hell I will-"
Static swallowed the rest. Marcus had cut the line.
Adrian cursed, bolting into the shadows.
00:48 AM | Extraction Point, South Metro
He spotted it: a public electric bike dock. He sprinted, snatched one loose, fingers fumbling on the lock. The machine hummed to life. He mounted, pedaling hard, weaving through alleys, adrenaline sharpening every turn.
"Stupid," he muttered to himself.
"Stealing a goddamn bike for a black-ops run. Real subtle, Adrian."
The city blurred. His chest burned. Ahead, the extraction tower loomed. Garrvick's helicopter waited, rotors already spinning.
Adrian skidded to a stop, tossed the bike aside, and bolted for the stairwell. He climbed, two steps at a time, lungs tearing, vision swimming.
00:55 AM | Extraction Rooftop, South Metro
The helicopter thundered above him. Garrvick leaned out, scowling.
"Get in here quick, you little menace!"
Adrian leapt, caught the skid, hauled himself in, chest heaving, sweat and blood streaking his face.
He collapsed into the seat, sucking in air, wrist throbbing, jacket torn to shreds.
"Rough night?" Garrvick asked dryly.
Adrian shot him a glare. "Drive."
01:07 AM| NPU Rooftop Helipad
The helicopter settled onto the rooftop where it had begun. Adrian staggered out, boots heavy, body aching. Garrvick followed, muttering curses under his breath.
Adrian tilted his head back, staring at the city skyline, sirens faint in the distance. Marcus was still inside Nexon. Elias was silent on the comms.
And Adrian knew this was only the beginning.