Shadows of Deception

A low hum reverberated through the underground facility as the speakers crackled with static. Then, Kane’s voice, smooth as ever, filled the room.

“Ethan. It’s been a long time.”

Ethan’s fists clenched as the memories resurfaced in jagged fragments. The cold steel restraints. The blinding white light. Kane’s calculating eyes watching as the experiments unfolded.

Izzy took a cautious step forward. “Ethan… who is he talking to?”

Ethan didn’t respond. He couldn’t. His breathing was shallow, his mind caught between past and present.

Sarah raised her gun, eyes scanning the dimly lit room. “Kane, where are you?”

A chuckle echoed through the speakers. “Oh, Agent Thompson. Still playing hero, I see.”

Sarah’s jaw tightened. “Come out and face us.”

“Why would I? You walked right into my experiment. Again.”

A hiss sounded from the walls. Gas.

Ethan snapped out of his trance. “Move!”

He grabbed Izzy’s hand and pulled her back toward the entrance, but the hatch slammed shut. Sealed. Sarah fired at the lock, but the bullet ricocheted off reinforced steel.

The gas thickened, its acrid scent burning their throats.

Izzy coughed. “We need… to shut… the vents…”

Ethan forced himself to focus, blinking through the haze. He stumbled toward the main console, hands flying over the controls. The text on the screen blurred, but he recognized the emergency override.

ACCESS DENIED.

“Dammit.” His fingers hovered over the keys. His mind screamed that he had done this before. Here. In this room.

Then, instinct took over. He typed a code.

The vents sealed shut. The gas stopped.

Sarah collapsed to her knees, coughing violently. Izzy wheezed, gripping the edge of a desk for support.

A slow clap echoed through the room.

“Impressive,” Kane mused. “The muscle memory remains.”

Ethan’s vision cleared just as a door slid open on the far wall. A single figure stepped into the light.

Tall. Sharply dressed. A smirk playing on his lips.

Victor Kane.

He looked exactly the same as Ethan remembered—like time had barely touched him.

“You never could stay away, could you?” Kane mused.

Ethan leveled a cold stare. “Where’s Dr. Wells?”

Kane chuckled. “Still so noble. Do you really think you’re here to save someone?”

Sarah aimed her gun. “You have ten seconds to tell us where he is.”

Kane didn’t flinch. “Go ahead, shoot me.”

Sarah hesitated.

That was all the proof Ethan needed.

“You’re not really here,” Ethan muttered.

Kane smiled. Then, his form flickered, glitching like a bad signal.

A hologram.

“You’re catching on,” Kane said. “But don’t worry, Ethan. You’re not leaving empty-handed.”

The screen behind him lit up with live footage.

Izzy gasped. “Oh my God.”

Dr. Adrian Wells. Strapped to a chair. Electrodes attached to his temples. Eyes wide with terror.

LOCATION: SYNTECH FACILITY – NEW YORK CITY.

Sarah cursed under her breath. “He’s not even in Cairo.”

Kane’s smirk deepened. “No. But now that I have you all here…”

A loud click.

The floor trembled beneath them.

Ethan’s stomach dropped.

Explosives.

Sarah grabbed her radio. “Aamir, do you copy? We need extraction, now!”

Static. Then—

“The whole place is rigged! You have sixty seconds—move!”

Ethan didn’t hesitate. He grabbed Izzy, pulling her toward the exit. Sarah covered their flank as they sprinted down the corridor.

The facility shook violently. Dust rained from the ceiling. Metal groaned under the force of unseen charges.

50 seconds.

The first explosion ripped through the hallway behind them. Heat seared Ethan’s back as he threw himself forward, rolling onto the ground.

Izzy stumbled. Ethan caught her, hauling her to her feet. “Go!”

40 seconds.

They reached the emergency ladder. Ethan shoved Izzy upward. “Climb!”

Sarah followed, her face grim as another explosion rocked the bunker.

30 seconds.

Ethan climbed last. His muscles screamed, but he pushed forward. The ground beneath him cracked.

Then—

Gunfire.

Sarah swore, returning fire. “They have guards topside!”

20 seconds.

Ethan pulled himself over the edge, dragging Izzy behind cover. He saw the enemy team—heavily armed, masked.

Sarah fired again. “Aamir! Where the hell are you?”

Then, headlights pierced the darkness.

A black SUV skidded to a stop. Aamir leaned out the window, gun in hand. “Get in!”

10 seconds.

Ethan grabbed Izzy and ran. Bullets whizzed past. Sarah dived into the vehicle as Aamir floored the gas.

The bunker erupted. Fire and debris shot into the night sky. The shockwave hit them hard, rattling the SUV.

Then—silence.

Aamir exhaled sharply. “Well, that was close.”

Izzy clutched Ethan’s arm. “Dr. Wells… he’s still alive.”

Ethan nodded, eyes burning with determination.

“Kane wants us in New York.”

Sarah reloaded her gun. “Then let’s not keep him waiting.”