The briefing room was cold and sterile, hidden beneath the embassy safehouse in Singapore. Hana sat at the head of the long table, the encrypted drive resting in front of her like a silent bomb. Around her were her most trusted teammates—Mika, Nam, Alina, and two newly arrived agents from central command. The air was thick with tension.
Nam plugged in the drive. Holographic projections lit up the walls, displaying names, documents, and transaction trails stretching across continents.
"What you're seeing," he began, "is a black network of global influence. Politicians, CEOs, military officials… all connected through shell corporations that trace back to Kai."
Alina scrolled through a file. "This isn't just corruption. This is engineered chaos."
Mika frowned. "And Kai's just the face of it. Someone bigger is pulling the strings."
Nam tapped a folder marked "Project Synthesis." It opened to reveal biometric data, neural interface prototypes, and dossiers of genetically enhanced operatives.
"He wasn't just building a criminal empire," Nam said. "He was creating an army."
Hana's voice was low but resolute. "And someone inside our own government funded it."
Elsewhere, in a high-rise tower cloaked in digital silence, Kai stood before a floor-to-ceiling screen. Footage from the jungle played on repeat—his lab exploding, Hana escaping with the intel. A shadowed figure appeared behind him, cloaked in static from a voice-masking device.
"You let them take the data," the figure said.
Kai didn't turn around. "I let them take what I wanted them to see."
There was a pause.
"Your next phase better be cleaner."
"It will be," Kai replied. "Let the world hunt me. Meanwhile, you prepare the others. Project Origin is ready for deployment."
The screen behind them showed the faces of five individuals—each with altered eyes, glowing faintly with something… inhuman.
Back in Singapore, Hana stood alone on the balcony, watching the city lights flicker below. She knew the storm was far from over. What they'd uncovered was only the edge of something far deeper.
She pulled out her commlink.
"Patch me through to Command," she said.
A voice answered. "Go ahead, Captain."
"Put out a red alert on Project Synthesis. And one more thing—"
"What is it?"
"Tell them we've crossed the line," she said coldly. "This is no longer covert. We're at war."