Chapter 8: The Iron Veil

The hum of machinery echoed faintly through the walls. Elián sat on the cold floor of the hidden room, his back against the rusted pipes. Sleep felt impossible—his mind kept racing, replaying every word Oleg had said.

Sera leaned against the wall opposite him, absently adjusting the plates of her cybernetic arm. The dim light caught the metallic surface, casting fragmented shadows across her face.

"You trust him?" Elián finally asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

Sera didn't look up. "I trust that he wants to live. And right now, that's enough."

Elián frowned. It wasn't the answer he wanted, but it was the one he expected.

Before he could respond, Oleg returned, closing the door behind him. His jacket was damp with sweat, and his expression was tense.

"Viktor's keeping an eye out for us," Oleg said, wiping his forehead. "But he's spooked. Says there's chatter in the lower districts—someone's hunting people like us."

"People like us?" Sera asked sharply.

"Runners. Hackers. Anyone outside the system."

Elián felt his stomach drop. "How close?"

Oleg hesitated. "Closer than I'd like."

The words hung heavy in the air.

Sera stood abruptly. "We need to leave."

"Not yet," Oleg said, stepping in her path. "We don't even know who's after us—or why."

Elián watched the tension build between them. Sera's eyes flashed with frustration, but Oleg didn't back down.

"They're tracking us," Oleg said. "If we keep running without a plan, we'll just lead them straight to wherever we go next."

"Then what's your plan?" Sera demanded.

Oleg reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, data-encrypted drive. "We dig deeper."

Sera's eyes narrowed. "What is that?"

"Evidence."

Elián stepped closer. "Evidence of what?"

Oleg hesitated, then handed the drive to Sera. "The project. The one we were chasing before everything went sideways."

Sera turned the drive over in her fingers, her expression hardening. "You said you didn't have it."

"I lied."

Elián's pulse quickened. "What's on it?"

"I don't know yet," Oleg admitted. "But it's big enough that someone's willing to kill for it."

Sera stared at him for a long moment, then wordlessly handed the drive to Elián.

"You're the fastest with decrypting," she said. "Get to work."

Elián's fingers flew across the holographic keyboard, lines of code scrolling faster than his eyes could follow. The encryption was heavy—military-grade, at least—but he chipped away at it bit by bit.

Sera and Oleg stood guard, weapons at the ready, their shadows stretching across the dimly lit room.

Finally, the drive unlocked. A series of files unfolded before him—schematics, lab reports, and surveillance footage.

"This… this isn't just tech," Elián whispered.

Sera stepped closer. "What do you mean?"

Elián pulled up one of the files—a video feed. It showed a dimly lit lab, where bodies lay on cold metal tables, their limbs covered in implants and wires. Some twitched violently, as if struggling against invisible restraints. Others didn't move at all.

"This is experimentation," Elián said, his voice shaking. "They're making weapons out of people."

Sera's face darkened. "Who's behind this?"

Elián sifted through the files until he hit a name: GIDEON INDUSTRIES.

A chill ran down his spine. "It's them."

Oleg cursed under his breath. "I knew it."

Sera didn't hesitate. "Then we burn them down."

But Elián wasn't so sure. He scrolled further and froze when another name appeared—one he never expected to see.

Project Seraphim: Sera Model Prototype 02

His blood ran cold.

"Sera," he said softly.

She turned to him, her eyes sharp. "What?"

He turned the screen toward her. "You're in their files."

For the first time, Sera looked shaken. Her cybernetic hand clenched into a fist as she stared at the data, her breathing shallow.

"No," she whispered. "That's not possible."

Oleg stepped closer. "Sera—"

"Don't!" she snapped, pulling away. "I'm not one of them."

"Nobody's saying you are," Elián said carefully. "But this… this changes things."

Sera backed away, her eyes flicking between them.

"No," she said again, this time more firmly. "It doesn't."

She turned and stormed out of the room, leaving Elián and Oleg in stunned silence.