CHAPTER 35

Desperate Move

The rain hit like needles as Riley and I moved through the ruined streets, the city looming around us like a graveyard of forgotten battles. Our breath came in ragged clouds, exhaustion clinging to us like a second skin. We had nothing left—no base, no safety, no solid ground beneath our feet.

All we had was a plan. A desperate, reckless, probably suicidal plan.

I checked the stolen datapad again, its screen flickering in the dim light. The coordinates were set. A black site. One of The Oath's hidden facilities, buried deep beneath the city. If we could get inside, we might finally understand Julian's endgame.

Or we might not make it out at all.

Riley adjusted the strap of her rifle, eyes scanning the darkened skyline. "You sure about this?"

"No," I admitted. "But do we have a choice?"

Her jaw tightened. "Not really."

That was the problem. There was no other move left. Julian had forced our hand, cutting us off, hunting us like animals. If we wanted to hit back, we had to go straight to the source.

The rain masked our movements as we crept toward the site's perimeter. It looked unassuming—just another abandoned warehouse in a city full of them. But we knew better. Underground, beneath layers of concrete and steel, The Oath ran their darkest operations. Experiments. Interrogations. Executions.

If Julian had a master plan, the answers were down there.

I tapped my earpiece. "Marcus, tell me you've got something."

A second of static, then his voice—low, urgent. "I looped the security feed, but it won't hold forever. You've got ten minutes, maybe less."

"Plenty of time," Riley said dryly.

I wasn't so sure.

We moved fast, slipping through the outer gates, staying low. Every step sent my pulse hammering against my ribs. I hated this feeling—the waiting, the anticipation of the fight. I'd rather be in the middle of it, fists clenched, gun drawn.

Inside the warehouse, the air was thick with oil and decay. Dust clung to every surface. It smelled wrong—like chemicals and something deeper, something rotten.

Riley knelt near a control panel, fingers flying over the keys. "Ventilation shaft should lead us down. It's tight, but—"

"Do it."

She pried open the metal grate, revealing a narrow passage. I climbed in first, the cold steel pressing against my back as I slid down. The walls closed in around me, suffocating.

Then—solid ground. I rolled onto the concrete floor of the facility below, gun raised. Riley landed beside me seconds later, breathing hard.

The black site was worse than I imagined.

The hallways stretched in endless steel corridors, dimly lit by flickering overhead lights. The silence was deafening. No voices. No movement. Just an eerie hum from deep within the walls.

"Where is everyone?" Riley whispered.

"Somewhere we don't want to be."

We moved carefully, sweeping each corner, listening for anything—a guard, a scientist, even a whisper of life. Nothing. Just that sickening hum.

Then, a door. Heavy. Reinforced.

And behind it—voices.

I pressed my ear against the metal. Muffled words. Tension thick in the air.

Riley gave me a look. "Do we knock?"

I exhaled, then kicked the door in.

Inside, three men in lab coats scrambled backward, fear flashing across their faces. The room smelled like burnt wires and sterilized death. Screens lined the walls, displaying unreadable data. In the center—a table, covered in restraints, stained dark with something I didn't want to identify.

One of the men—the oldest—raised shaking hands. "You don't know what you're doing."

"Enlighten me," I said, leveling my gun at his chest.

His gaze flickered to the monitors. "You're too late."

Riley stepped closer, her voice sharp. "Too late for what?"

The man hesitated.

I pressed the barrel against his forehead. "Talk."

He swallowed hard. "The Execution Protocol. Julian's final phase."

Something inside me went cold.

I grabbed his collar, dragging him forward. "What does it mean?"

He flinched. "You think he's been hunting you? That this was about taking down the Resistance? No. This was never about you."

I tightened my grip. "Then what is it about?"

His lips trembled. "Control."

The word sent a shiver down my spine.

The Oath didn't just want power. They wanted obedience. Total, unquestioning loyalty. And if Julian was planning something worse than what he'd already done—

Riley pulled up a data log on the screen. Her eyes widened. "Nathan. This isn't just about soldiers. This is about entire cities."

I turned. "What?"

She pointed to the files—maps, blueprints, targets marked in red. "They're not just wiping out threats. They're replacing them. People. Whole populations."

I felt sick.

The old man looked at me, desperation in his eyes. "If you want to stop him, you have to destroy this facility. Now."

Before I could respond, a new voice cut through the room.

"You're making a mistake."

I spun, gun raised.

Marcus stood in the doorway.

My stomach clenched. "What the hell are you doing here?"

His face was unreadable. His hands were raised, but there was no fear in his stance.

"You need to leave," he said quietly.

Something was wrong.

Riley stepped closer. "Marcus, what—"

Then I saw it. The slight shift in his stance. The way his hand hovered near his belt, fingers brushing over something small, metallic.

An alarm trigger.

I inhaled sharply. "You knew."

Marcus's expression didn't change. "If you do this," he said, voice steady, "there's no turning back."

Riley's fingers curled into fists. "Are you working with Julian?"

"No," Marcus said. "But I know what happens if you keep pushing."

I clenched my jaw. "And what happens, Marcus?"

His eyes darkened. "You lose everything."

A moment stretched between us. Heavy. Unbreakable.

Then, outside—

Gunfire.

Alarms blared, red lights flashing across the room.

They were coming.

I turned to Riley. "Get the files. Wipe everything else."

She didn't hesitate, fingers flying over the console.

Marcus exhaled, dropping his hands. "I tried to warn you."

I aimed my gun at his chest. "Then get out of my way."

His lips pressed into a thin line. "I can't do that."

"Then I guess we see this through."

The doors burst open.

The Oath's soldiers poured in.

And the war truly began.