Location: Bellini Bros. Pasta Warehouse – 1:01 AM
The lights flickered again. Then died completely.
Total darkness.
Emily pressed against Ryan's back, whispering, "Do you smell pesto and paranoia, or is that just me?"
Ryan didn't answer. His ONYX CORE watch was vibrating like mad, the Glitch Wolf emblem pulsing red with static.
Then the warehouse lit up—not with electricity, but with infrared lasers, crisscrossing the air like a hacker's version of a laser show.
From the ceiling, a cold mechanical voice echoed:
"Security lockdown engaged. Subject: RYAN BRUCE."
Ryan blinked. "Okay, that's new."
1:03 AM – The Glitch Activates
Suddenly, all the mafia goons' phones began buzzing. Their GPS signals turned against them, projecting holographic decoys of Ryan—flickering images of him moonwalking, flossing, even juggling breadsticks.
Confused, half the thugs began swinging at the air.
"Who programmed this?" Emily asked, ducking a wild haymaker meant for one of the illusions.
Ryan narrowed his eyes. "The Glitch Wolf. He's not just a hacker anymore. He's hijacked the security system. And now—he's playing us."
From above, something dropped.
A drone—sleek, wolf-branded—fired off a net of glowing cables, shocking several thugs into unconsciousness. Then it turned… directly toward Ryan.
"RUN!" he shouted.
He and Emily bolted down a side corridor, dodging drones and panicking goons. A man slipped on a puddle of pesto and fell flat, bringing down two of his comrades in true cartoon style.
1:07 AM – Pasta Parkour
They leapt over crates. Swung on sausage chains. Ryan grabbed a rack of lasagna sheets, yanked it down, and surfed across the slippery tile floor as bullets whizzed past.
Emily grabbed a hanging pizza oven paddle, swung like a pendulum, and drop-kicked a goon into a vat of clam chowder.
At the exit, the final door slammed shut and locked itself.
"Glitch Wolf's sealing us in!" Emily shouted.
Ryan scanned the room. His eyes locked on an emergency pasta chute labeled Industrial Ravioli Dispenser.
"Shortcut."
He kicked open the chute, dove inside, and yelled back, "Slide or fight. Your choice!"
Emily didn't hesitate. "Ravioli it is."
They plunged into darkness—sliding down a narrow shaft lined with dough and ricotta.
1:09 AM – Secret Sub-Level
They landed in a hidden sub-basement. A low hum vibrated through the walls. Giant crates labeled Castini Imports: High-Grade Circuitry surrounded them.
"This isn't just about pasta," Ryan muttered.
Emily pried open one crate. Inside: modified ONYX CORE tech—reengineered, corrupted, branded with the Glitch Wolf's sigil.
"He's using Castini's smuggling operation to steal and repurpose ONYX CORE equipment," she gasped.
"And the worst part?" Ryan added grimly. "That drone upstairs knew my name. Which means… he's inside our agency. He has access."
Emily's fists clenched. "We have to warn them."
"First, we get out of this pasta dungeon alive."
1:12 AM – Above Ground
Don Castini stomped through the upper floors, eyes bulging with fury. "Where are they?!"
Bella Castini's voice echoed through his earpiece. "Forget them. You have bigger issues. He's here."
"Who?"
The lights cut again. The laser grid returned. And the mafia's comms system glitched out with a single howling message:
GLITCH WOLF: SYSTEMS COMPROMISED. MISSION – CHAOS ACTIVATED.
Don Castini dropped his wine glass. It shattered on the floor.
1:14 AM – Beneath the Warehouse
Ryan held Emily close as the briefcase pulsed in his hands—its biometric seal blinking. Holly had upgraded it. Inside were ONYX CORE secrets that the Glitch Wolf wanted badly.
A chill passed through Ryan.
He looked up at the digital map Holly sent before the system cut off.
Then he whispered:
"Emily… the message said he's coming home. But this? This was his home."
Emily's eyes widened.
"You're saying—?"
Ryan nodded grimly.
"The Glitch Wolf used to be ONYX CORE."
(TO BE CONTINUED…)