Chapter 8: Honeycomb Vault

00:47:32 – Blackwood Blacksite, Underground Access Tunnel

The countdown pulsed behind Hana's eyelids like a second heartbeat.

[00:47:31]

[00:47:30]

She adjusted the comm unit in her ear, the sterile voice of Blackwood's AI security system whispering static.

*"Motion detected, Sector 7-B."*

Beside her, Ren didn't react. His fingers danced across a holographic keypad projected from his watch, bypassing layer after layer of encryption. His expression was calm. Too calm.

"We have a problem," he murmured.

Hana's grip tightened on her pistol. "How big?"

Ren tilted the screen toward her. A live feed showed Director Kurosawa standing in the central vault, flanked by six armored guards.

"Big."

Hana exhaled through her nose. "We abort. Find another way—"

"No." Ren's voice was quiet but absolute. "This is the only terminal with access to the original files. We go now."

Before she could argue, he pressed a button—and every light in the complex went out.

00:52:18 – Blackwood Data Vault, Core

The emergency lights flickered to life, bathing the vault in blood-red.

Kurosawa and his men were gone. Vanished like ghosts.

Too easy.

Hana's instincts screamed as she swept the room, her pistol trained on every shadow. Ren moved like a wraith to the central terminal, plugging in a drive that hummed ominously.

"Thirty seconds," he said.

The screens flashed to life—and Hana's stomach dropped.

Video footage. Grainy, timestamped. A child.

Ren at seven years old, strapped to a chair, electrodes spiderwebbing from his temples to a bank of machines. His small voice recited numbers, predictions—stock market crashes, political assassinations, natural disasters—all with terrifying accuracy.

"Subject D-9 demonstrates 94.7% predictive accuracy," a voice narrated. "Phase two testing approved."

Hana's mouth went dry. "This isn't Blackwood."

Ren didn't answer. His hands were frozen over the keyboard, his breath shallow.

The next video loaded.

A military officer—not Japanese—leaned over the child version of Ren, gripping his chin.

"The Tanaka heir is a national asset," the man said in accented English. "Hiroshi has been compensated accordingly."

Hana's blood turned to ice.

Hiroshi sold him.

Then—

A new voice crackled through the vault's speakers, sweet and venomous.

"Hello, son."

Ren flinched.

"Did you miss me?"

Saeko's laughter echoed through the chamber as the vault doors sealed shut.

00:59:41 – Lockdown

The vents hissed, releasing a fine silver mist.

Hana's vision blurred instantly. Neural suppressant.

She grabbed Ren's arm—but he wasn't moving. Wasn't breathing. His eyes were fixed on the screen, where a final video played:

Saeko, younger, dressed in a lab coat, humming as she adjusted the electrodes on child Ren's forehead.

"Sing for me, dragon," she cooed.

And the child obeyed.

"Nemureru ryuu yo..."

The same lullaby.

The same trigger.

Hana slapped Ren hard across the face. "Snap out of it!"

No response.

The mist thickened.

Somewhere, Saeko kept laughing.

01:03:22 – Awakening

Ren came back to himself with a gasp, his fingers digging into Hana's arms hard enough to bruise.

"Move," he choked out.

The vault door wouldn't budge. The vents kept pumping poison.

Then Ren did something unexpected.

He smiled.

"You wanted to see my calculations?" He yanked open a panel beneath the terminal, exposing a nest of wires. "Here's one."

He ripped out the central cord.

Every screen in the vault exploded in a shower of sparks—followed by the distant boom of collapsing servers.

The door hissed open.

"Run," Ren said.

And they did.

01:17:55 – Rooftop Escape

The cold night air burned Hana's lungs as they emerged onto the roof. Behind them, Blackwood's HQ burned, its data cores melting from the inside out.

Ren leaned against the railing, his hands shaking.

"You knew," Hana said. "About the videos. About Hiroshi."

Ren didn't deny it.

"Then why—"

"Because seeing is different than knowing." His voice was raw. "Now you see."

Hana's comm crackled.

Kurosawa's voice, strained: "Agent Shiraishi, abort mission. The kill-switch was never meant to—"

Static. Then—

"Hello again, wolf." Saeko's purr sent shivers down Hana's spine. "Bring me my dragon...or I'll skin you alive."

The line went dead.

Ren met Hana's eyes.

"Now you choose," he said.

The countdown continued.

[00:42:05]

[00:42:04]