The sirens hadn't even faded when the boardroom reconvened. It was smaller now. Most of the senior security and several junior executives had been killed or incapacitated in the blast. Smoke still drifted in from the shattered windows of the observation deck, carrying with it the acrid scent of ozone and charred electronics.
Adrian Voss stood at the head of the table, eyes cold, unblinking. Around him, the survivors—mostly mid-level executives and terrified scientists—stared at the man, waiting for a word. But Voss didn't speak immediately. He had already anticipated disaster. Bloodhollow had been the risk, the variable, the chaos in a perfect equation. And yet…his mouth curled into a faint, controlled smile.
"We underestimated our variable," Voss said finally, voice smooth, almost casual. "But we are not defeated. Not yet. Kenji, status report. Alive?"
Dr. Watanabe's hands shook as he typed furiously on a tablet. "Most lab personnel… casualties high. Security neutralized. The test chamber—obliterated. Subject… escaped. Reports of a monstrous figure… roaming the lower districts. Early footage shows extreme aggression, exceptional strength, and… calculated movements. He is intelligent. And deadly."
"Excellent," Voss said. The word was clipped, sharp, echoing through the room like a blade. "By intelligent, you mean predictable?"
Kenji swallowed. "No, sir. Highly unpredictable. Capable of…strategic attacks. Tactical awareness."
A wave of unease rolled through the room. This wasn't just a failed experiment. This was the birth of a predator unlike anything the city had seen.
Commander Isaac Hale stepped forward, hands clasped behind his back. "We need to contain this immediately. Evacuate civilians. Deploy our drone units, our automated interceptors. Every security asset we have should be mobilized. We cannot—cannot—allow him to reach the city center. He is faster, stronger than any human operative. And from what I've seen in the data feed…he is learning. Observing. Planning."
Voss's eyes never left the holographic projections of the city below, where tiny red dots represented disturbances in multiple districts. "Containment is secondary. Observation is primary. He is…perfect. A specimen. And once we understand him, once we control the variables…we profit from him. Every government in the world will pay for a soldier like this. The more chaos he creates, the more desperate they become. You call it disaster, I call it leverage."
Hale's jaw tightened. "Sir, you cannot use civilians as pawns. He is already hunting, killing indiscriminately. And he will learn fast. This is not a controlled environment anymore."
Voss turned slowly, gaze slicing Hale like a scalpel. "And you think morality has ever made a man like me…effective?" His smile was thin and dangerous. "Listen carefully. We are not here to save the world. We are here to survive it—and profit from it. Let the government worry about casualties. Let the city burn if it must. Every failure, every horror…will be converted into opportunity."
Kenji rubbed his temple. "But…he's not a soldier. He's…a predator. The moment he senses the slightest weakness, the first chance for blood—"
"Then we will learn from it. Adjust the formula. Enhance control. You will develop countermeasures, Kenji. Immediately."
Outside, the city's neon lights reflected in the shards of broken glass. On the streets, chaos was spreading. News drones caught glimpses of a towering, crimson-eyed creature leaping between rooftops. Reports of attacks poured into government hotlines: screams, disappearances, entire blocks abandoned. Panic spread faster than fire through dry grass.
And yet, in the midst of the chaos, Voss's mind was already calculating profit margins. How many nations would pay for containment? How much would a single supersoldier, capable of slaughtering entire packs of vampires or werewolves, be worth? He tapped his fingers on the holographic table. Numbers, probabilities, variables—all dancing like fireflies across his vision.
Kenji looked at him, despairing. "Sir…we created a monster."
Voss's eyes gleamed. "No, Kenji. We created evolution. Nature will catch up…if it can."
Hale shook his head, pacing. "And if it can't? If he grows beyond anything we can predict? You're talking about a city…a country…entire nations destroyed for profit."
Voss leaned back, finally allowing a hint of amusement. "Then we adapt. That is the way of the world, Commander. Kill or be killed. And right now, Bloodhollow is our teacher."
In the lower districts, the first human casualties of the outbreak screamed into the night. Small, scattered mobs of vampires and werewolves—disoriented, disorganized, but already influenced by the genetic chaos—began roaming the streets. Citizens fled. Cars collided in panic. Holographic billboards flickered, announcing safety advisories that no one paid attention to. News networks scrambled for information, repeating official Helix Dominion statements that everything was "contained." Lies.
And yet, somewhere in the shadows, a boy—later to be known as Marcus Cox—watched from the edge of the city, the faint red glow of fires reflecting off his determined eyes. He didn't yet know the scale of the danger. He didn't yet know about Bloodhollow. But the world around him was beginning to fracture.
Inside Helix Dominion, the surviving executives gathered for what would become known as the Emergency Contingency Session. Voss was calm, unshakable. They trembled in his presence. And above them, in the shattered lab, somewhere between smoke and the broken remains of scientific ambition, Bloodhollow tested his newfound strength and intelligence.
The predator had learned. Already, he calculated, observed, and waited. And Adrian Voss smiled.
Because the real game had only just begun.
---
This section reinforces:
Corporate ruthlessness and greed
Panic vs. controlled observation
Early societal chaos, social commentary
Foreshadowing of Marcus Cox as a hero in waiting
Bloodhollow's intelligence and predatory learning