Vienna didn't sleep that night.
Not after the sky turned orange.
Not after the explosion swallowed half the industrial district.
And certainly not after the Reich's emergency broadcasts flooded every screen, every radio, every loudspeaker in the city:
"PROJECT PHOENIX SUFFERED A SABOTAGE INCIDENT. REINFORCEMENT TEAMS EN ROUTE. ALL CITIZENS REMAIN INDOORS."
Sabotage.
The word hit the population like cold steel.
In a state built on fear, sabotage was the ultimate crime.
The ultimate insult.
The ultimate threat.
And within an hour, new checkpoints appeared across Vienna.
Gestapo trucks prowled the streets.
Armored patrols sealed the southern districts.
The Reich wanted answers.
Someone was going to bleed for this.
1. The Halden Directive
Far from Vienna, deep within the Austrian Alps, a train cut through the snow like a metal spear. Inside the luxury command carriage stood Dr. Otto Halden, alive, furious, and unscathed.
He watched the fire from the distance through the panoramic window, expression carved from ice.
His aide, a thin officer with trembling hands, whispered:
"Sir… Phoenix is gone."
Halden didn't blink.
Didn't breathe.
Didn't show a single drop of human emotion.
"Phoenix," he replied calmly, "was a prototype."
"But— but our years of work— the weapons modeling— the quantum oscillator— all the data—"
Halden finally turned to him with a faint, terrible smile.
"I memorized every calculation. Every frequency. Every thermal stress curve. Phoenix is not a machine. Phoenix is knowledge."
He tapped his temple.
"And knowledge cannot be destroyed."
The aide swallowed.
"What about security protocols? There were survivors. Witnesses. Possibly even records—"
Halden cut him off.
"Vienna will be cleansed."
The aide stiffened.
"…Cleansed, sir?"
Halden poured himself a glass of liquor.
"Twenty-four hours from now, the Gestapo will begin interrogating every technician, guard, janitor, cook, and secretary who ever stepped foot inside Sector 12. If they don't find the saboteur—"
He swirled the glass casually.
"—they will eliminate all suspects."
The aide felt his blood turn to ice.
"Sir… that's over three thousand people."
Halden raised his glass toward the burning horizon.
"And if a forest harbors a plague… you burn the forest."
2. The Reich Reacts
Inside the Führerkanzlei in Berlin, high-ranking generals shouted over one another, trying to assign blame before blame found them first.
A massive map of the Empire glowed red where Phoenix once stood.
"…our nuclear timetable is now delayed by a full year—"
"…Halden should never have been given operational autonomy—"
"…this is sabotage from the East, I guarantee it—"
"…or internal dissent—"
The chaos broke instantly when Martin Bormann entered the war room.
Silence fell like a guillotine.
Bormann looked at the map, then at the trembling officers.
"Where is Halden?" he asked.
A general answered cautiously. "He fled before the explosion."
"Of course he did," Bormann murmured. "That man always knows how to survive his own disasters."
He turned to the table.
"Begin purges in Vienna. Effective immediately. Anyone connected to Phoenix is to be detained."
Another officer stepped forward. "And the public explanation?"
Bormann's eyes narrowed.
"Foreign sabotage. Preferably Soviet."
His lips curled in a grim smile.
"And if we cannot prove it, we invent it."
3. The Safe House
Meanwhile, Raed lay on a wooden cot in a small Viennese apartment, sweat beading on his forehead. The wound burned like fire, but Helena worked quickly, stitching with steady hands.
"You're lucky," she said. "The bullet missed your kidney by two centimeters."
Raed chuckled weakly. "Should I send Dietrich a thank-you card?"
Helena smirked despite herself. "You're delirious."
But then her expression darkened.
"They've already locked down the whole city. I saw patrols marching in formation on the Ringstrasse. They know someone sabotaged Phoenix. They just don't know it was us."
Raed pushed himself upright, grimacing.
"They'll find out."
"Yes," Helena admitted. "Unless we move first."
She handed him a glass of water.
"You remember the list?"
Raed nodded. "The names of Halden's shadow operatives."
"There are four left. If we eliminate them, Halden loses his eyes. His ears. His network."
Raed exhaled.
"And the clock is against us."
Helena opened the curtains slightly.
Outside, Vienna's streets glowed with flashing lights and marching soldiers.
"The Gestapo began arrests two hours ago," she said. "Anyone who worked at Sector 12 is being dragged out of their homes."
Raed's jaw tightened.
"They'll torture them."
"Of course they will."
"Then we have to get to the survivors before the Gestapo does."
Helena nodded.
"And Halden will be after them too. He wants to tie up loose ends."
Raed swung his legs off the cot.
"Then it's a race."
4. The First Name on the List
Gerhard Müller
Chief Engineer, Sublevel 3
Last seen evacuating the facility minutes before the explosion.
He lived in a townhouse east of the Danube, near the old bridge.
Raed grabbed his coat, ignoring the pain in his side.
Helena stopped him. "Wait—something doesn't feel right."
"What do you mean?"
She tightened her gloves.
"Müller didn't flee by accident. If he survived… Halden may have let him."
Raed froze.
"You think Müller is bait."
"I think the Reich wants the saboteurs to come looking for him."
Raed thought for a moment.
"Then we need to move quickly," he said. "Before they're ready."
Helena nodded.
"And quietly."
They slipped out of the safe house and into the freezing street. Snow muffled the city's cries. Patrols marched like iron ghosts between the ruined fire-lit skyline.
Raed pulled up his collar.
"Let's get to Müller before Vienna collapses on our heads."
They vanished into the shadows.
5. In the Dark, Someone Watches
Across the street, unseen, a figure lowered a pair of binoculars.
A radio crackled softly.
"Target Alpha is on the move," the watcher whispered. "Repeat: the Arab agent has left the safe house. He is injured but mobile."
A voice replied:
"Do not engage. Follow."
The watcher smiled.
"Yes, sir. Long live the Reich."
He melted back into the snow-covered alleyway.
The hunt had begun.
And Raed had no idea.