A Storm and a Signal

The road to North Hill Observatory was narrow, steep, and flooded. Rain lashed against the windshield of the black Bureau interceptor as it climbed through mist and mud. Inside, Michael Trent sat in silence, his eyes fixed on the blinking GPS tracker.

“Signal strength holding at 78%,” Eva’s voice came through his earpiece. “But there’s interference. I’m picking up static every 40 seconds—could be a cloaked jammer.”

Michael responded with a calm breath. “Understood. Don’t lose the uplink. If it breaks, I’m alone up here.”

Eva hesitated. “Michael… Darrow doesn’t leave breadcrumbs. He leaves traps.”

He smirked slightly. “Then let’s see what kind of trap he’s laid this time.”

Inside the Observatory

The gates creaked open with a mechanical groan. The observatory loomed like a dead giant—abandoned, windows shattered, paint peeling. Once a beacon for astronomers, now a decaying relic on the edge of nowhere.

Michael pulled out his sidearm, a silenced M9, and entered the main hall. The beam of his tactical flashlight swept across dust-covered panels and rusted telescopic equipment. A crow startled him, fluttering away through a broken skylight.

Then, he saw it—on the control panel, a red blinking light.

He approached cautiously and tapped the console. It responded with a hiss and a mechanical whirr. A hidden drive ejected, revealing a data card.

Michael inserted it into his portable scanner. Immediately, encrypted lines filled the screen.

Operation NorthStar | NODE 2: Omega Initiated
T-Minus 64 Hours
“Let them watch, Michael. They always do.”

Below that message, one line scrolled repeatedly:

E.V.A. is not who you think she is.

Michael’s breath caught.

Eva?

A Shadow from the Past

Back at the Bureau HQ, Eva sat in her analysis room, unaware of the chaos brewing. Her screens were still linked to Michael’s live feed. But suddenly, one monitor flickered—an old pop-up terminal opened on its own.

A message appeared:

Agent Monroe
You were warned.
He is watching you now.

The terminal then force-logged out of all systems. Eva tried to reboot—nothing worked. Even the backup system was locked.

Director Adams stormed in. “What the hell just happened?”

Eva turned. “We’ve been breached. From inside.”

Adams stared at her. “From inside the Bureau?”

Eva nodded grimly. “And they know my name.”

Michael’s Doubt

Michael replayed the data card audio.

A voice—Darrow’s—whispered like a ghost through static.

“Omega is the end of control. Michael… you are not the only player left on the board.”

Michael closed the player and stood in silence.

Eva was one of his most trusted allies. They’d worked together for years. She’d saved his life more than once. But Darrow never bluffed.

“Eva,” Michael spoke into the mic. “I found something. But I need you to run a trace on a code fragment—file: Delta-Zero-Echo.”

There was silence.

Then Eva responded, her voice colder than usual. “Copy that.”

He caught the shift immediately. It wasn’t what she said—it was what she didn’t say. She didn’t call him “Sir.” She always did when something was wrong.

Eva’s Flashback: A Hidden Mission

Later that night, Eva sat alone in her private quarters, staring at an old secure hard drive. Her fingers trembled as she entered the 16-digit passkey.

The folder opened: Project Helix.

Inside were files she was never supposed to see—because she hadn’t gotten them from the Bureau. She had gotten them from someone else.

Someone long presumed dead.

Markus Grey.

A Code Cracked Too Late

Michael arrived back at Bureau HQ in the early morning. He handed the data card to Rivera.

“Pull everything. I want to know who coded that warning. And whether Darrow actually accessed our systems.”

Rivera nodded. “Already on it. But Michael…”

“What?”

“That voice signature… it’s been digitally mixed.”

“With who?”

Rivera paused.

“Yours.”

Michael blinked. “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying Darrow didn’t just hack us. He’s trying to make it look like you’re in on it.”

The Web Tightens

Director Adams met Michael in the private strategy room, eyes flaring.

“We have a mole. Possibly two. The system breach came from a Bureau-only backdoor—and it used a clearance pass with your ID stamp.”

Michael’s fists clenched. “Someone’s framing me.”

“Or,” Adams said bluntly, “you’ve been compromised.”

He didn’t flinch. “If I were compromised, Darrow would be dead already. He doesn’t share his throne.”

A long silence.

“Then prove it,” Adams said finally. “Find out who’s helping him—and stop them before Omega goes live.”

Michael turned to leave, his mind racing.

But one thought lingered louder than the rest:

Was Eva the one Darrow turned? Or was she just another pawn like him?

To Be Continued in Chapter 3: The Girl from Zurich