The first morning light flowed through the cracked blinds of the safehouse. Ethan was sitting at the table, staring at the Phoenix Ring. It now glinted more brightly than ever, seeming to pulse faintly and feel alive.
Natalie poured him black coffee. "You haven't said a thing since you woke up," she said.
"I'm thinking," he replied.
"That much is new," she touched him in jest.
Ethan gave a faint smile before his voice hardened. "Damian said something just before the gas moved in. He mentioned The Code of the Phoenix. Said I possessed it — that Vale left it for me."
Natalie frowned. "Code? Like a password? Like a document?"
"I don't know," Ethan said. "But whatever it is, everyone wants it. Perhaps Vale hid something inside this ring."
Natalie pulled a small scanner out of her bag. "Then let's check."
She held the ring to the light. The scanner softly hummed, projecting faint symbols on the wall — a circle, flames, and underneath it, a code line composed of numbers and letters.
"What is that?" Ethan leaned in.
Natalie's brow creased. "Encrypted data. Old tech. Vale must have hidden some digital information in the ring alloy. That's... genius."
"You think you can break it?"
"I can try," she said, keying rapidly, "but if Vale made it it's probably going to take a while."
Ethan stood and went to the window. Outside, the city was alive — cars, lights, people, all moving, not knowing that underneath their feet the earth would soon explode.
Vale's voice echoed in his mind: "When the fire dies, light it again."
Now he understood — the Phoenix was more than power. It was about rebirth. And this code could be the most powerful thing in the city — maybe everywhere.
Natalie looked up from her screen. "The encryption is heavy. Military-grade stuff. But there is one word hidden in the data — one name that is repeated over and over again."
"Whose name?"
"Iris."
Ethan's heart raced. "She is connected to Vale's code."
"And possibly his death," Natalie said. "If she is after this, then she knows what it reveals."
Ethan's hands clenched into fists. "Then we must find her before she can find us."
By evening, Natalie had traced the data to an abandoned research lab on the far east side of the city. According to old records, the lab had at one time belonged to Vale Industries — one of Victor Vale's front companies.
"This was shut down five years ago," said Natalie, skimming through files. "But newly issued lease popped up under a fake name two months ago."
"Whose name?" Ethan asked.
Their eyes locked. "Claire's."
He froze. "What?"
"Everything leads back to her," Natalie said softly. "Either she's being used or she's in on it."
Ethan's jaw clenched. "Then it's time I stop speculating and start asking."
As night fell, they reached the lab. The building towered over the desolate industrial block — gray concrete, shattered windows, and a flickering security light at its entrance.
Ethan pushed the door open. The interior held a scent of dust and oil. Old computer terminals lined the walls, covered in sheets.
Natalie swept her flashlight around. "If Vale hid something here, it's long gone."
"Not everything," Ethan said, pointing at one faint symbol engraved upon the far wall — a phoenix carved into the concrete, surrounded by strange markings.
He brushed off the dust. Embedded beneath the carving was a steel panel, very small.
Natalie proceeded to take her tools. "Help me open it."
It took them a few minutes, and with a click, the panel popped open, revealing a small drive inside — black with an engraving of the same phoenix.
Natalie's eyes widened. "This must be it. The real Code."
Before Ethan could respond, a soft voice broke the darkness. "You found it quicker than I thought."
They turned sharply. A woman stepped out of the shadows, tall and graceful, the silver of her hair glowing in the dim light. Her eyes were sharp, cold, knowing.
Ethan's voice lowered. "Iris."
She smiled. "Victor always said you were clever. I see he was not wrong."
"You knew Vale?" Ethan asked.
"I was his partner," Iris said calmly. "In every sense of the word. Together, we built the Phoenix Circle. But when he grew sentimental — when he wanted to protect the weak instead of to rule — I left him. The Circle needed strength, not mercy."
"You killed him," Ethan said in a quiet tone.
Iris tilted her head. "No. Vale killed himself the day he gave that ring to you. He believed in rebirth. I believe in control."
Natalie raised her gun. "Back away."
Iris did not move. "You cannot kill what is already set in motion. The Code belongs to me, Ethan. Hand it over and I'll let you live."
Ethan held her gaze. "You're lying."
A faint smile. "Of course, I am."
Before Natalie could react, the lights flickered. And in that very moment, dozens of red dots appeared all over the room — laser sights. Armed men dressed in black emerged from every corner, rifle on the ready.
"Drop the gun," Iris breathed softly.
Natalie glanced at Ethan. "They have us surrounded."
He leaned in to whisper, "Not for long."
In one fluid motion, he grabbed the drive from the wall, smashed a pipe close by, and brought it crashing down upon the electrical panel. Sparks erupted. The lights exploded, casting the room into darkness.
Gunshots rippled through the obscurity, bullets shredding their way through the walls. Ethan tugged Natalie behind a console and returned fire.
Through the haze, he could make out Iris, her dim silhouette walking with equanimity towards the exit.
"You cannot stop the Circle, Ethan," she called. "The Code is bigger than you. It's the future."
And then she was gone.
When the gunfire stopped, the room fell silent except for the crackle of burning wires.
Natalie coughed, lowering her weapon. "You okay?"
"Yeah," gasped Ethan, catching his breath. "But she got away."
Natalie looked down at the drive in his hands. "At least we got this."
Ethan turned it over; the phoenix symbol gleamed faintly amid the smoke.
He locked eyes with her. "This is what they have been killing for. The secret of Vale, the premise of the Circle, the core of it all."
Natalie frowned. "So what's next?"
Ethan looked out the broken window. In the distance, the city burned in small fires. Riots, chaos, and power struggles marked the signs of the Circle's growing reach.
"Now," he said, "we need to find out what's on this drive before Iris does. When we do, we will destroy her empire."
Far away, inside a sleek penthouse overlooking Eastbridge, Iris stood before a wall of screens. One showed Ethan escaping the lab. Another displayed lines of code slowly decrypting on her system.
A man stepped forward. "Should we send Ghost after him again?"
She shook her head. "Not yet. Let him run. Let him think he's winning. The Code will bring him back to me soon enough."
She smiled faintly, her eyes glinting like steel. "The Phoenix always burns brightest before it dies."