The morning light filtered through the precinct's narrow windows as Lena leaned against the wall, gripping her phone tightly. She had spent most of the night tracking down Olivia, navigating a network of cryptic messages and elusive locations. It hadn't been easy to convince her, but now she had a glimmer of hope.
Finally, a soft chime. A new message from Olivia appeared on her screen, a simple "We're here." Lena's relief was tempered by a sharp undercurrent of anxiety. She knew Olivia and Roman were walking into an unfamiliar environment, wary and potentially ready to bolt at the first sign of betrayal.
Lena looked up to see Sophia and Reed waiting nearby, both tense with anticipation. She straightened, motioning for them to follow her to the entrance. A moment later, Olivia and Roman stepped into the precinct, their eyes darting around as if gauging every possible exit.
"Thank you for coming," Lena said, her voice calm but resolute. "I know this isn't easy, but we're trying to protect you."
Olivia's lips thinned, a trace of skepticism flashing across her face. She glanced at Roman, who stood silently beside her, his gaze steely but almost submissive. It was clear that Olivia held the reins in their relationship, the one controlling what they would reveal and what they would withhold.
"Lena, you don't understand what you're asking of us," Olivia replied, her voice barely above a whisper. "If we talk, if we give away the wrong details… they'll find us. And when they do, we won't have a chance to walk away."
Lena softened her tone, stepping closer. "We have resources to keep you safe. You're not alone in this. But we need to understand what we're facing."
Roman's shoulders relaxed slightly, as if the idea of protection offered a sliver of hope. Olivia, however, was less convinced. She cast a wary glance at Reed, her gaze measuring him before finally giving a small nod. "Fine," she murmured. "But we control what we say. You ask, and if we decide it's safe to answer, we will."
Reed gestured to a room down the hall. "Let's start with what you're comfortable sharing," he said evenly, guiding them toward the dimly lit interrogation room. Inside, the air was thick with unspoken tension as they took their seats.
Reed sat across from Olivia and Roman, his hands resting on a thin file that contained only the sparse information they'd managed to gather on the pair. Lena and Sophia stood off to the side, their attention focused intently on Olivia, waiting to see if she would finally pull back the curtain on the Aurora Initiative.
Reed began, his tone calm yet probing. "Olivia, Roman, let's start with the basics. Tell me about your initial involvement with Dr. Samantha Taylor and the Aurora Initiative. How did it begin?"
Olivia cast a sidelong glance at Roman, as if weighing how much to reveal. After a long pause, she spoke, her voice steady. "It started years ago. Samantha approached us, talked about the Initiative's mission to eliminate disease, create a healthier world. It sounded… noble, at first. We were recruited because we were young, ambitious. We believed we were going to change the world."
Roman shifted in his seat, a flicker of guilt crossing his face as he recalled those early days. "She had a way of making you feel like you were part of something revolutionary," he added quietly. "We were doing groundbreaking work in genetics, disease prevention. But… it didn't take long for things to start shifting."
Reed's eyes narrowed, leaning in slightly. "Shifting? In what way?"
Olivia hesitated, her gaze flickering toward the one-way mirror, as though expecting Samantha's specter to be watching. "Samantha's focus changed. She became obsessed, driven by something more than the initial vision. It was no longer about saving lives; it was about… controlling them."
Sophia's breath hitched at the statement, and she exchanged a quick glance with Lena. The narrative they'd built around Dr. Taylor was starting to gain form, dark and foreboding. But something told Sophia that they'd only scratched the surface.
"So what happened?" Reed pressed. "Why didn't you leave when things took that turn?"
Roman opened his mouth, a flash of willingness to speak shining through before Olivia shot him a warning glance. She turned back to Reed, her expression guarded. "Leaving wasn't an option," she said flatly. "Once we saw what Samantha was capable of, we knew too much to walk away."
Reed's gaze bore into them. "Was that when Alexei Taylor stepped in?" He slid the photograph across the table, revealing the image of a younger Olivia and Roman standing beside Dr. Taylor and another figure.
Both Olivia and Roman stiffened as they looked down at the photograph. Roman's mouth tightened, and he averted his gaze, but Olivia's eyes lingered on the face of the unfamiliar man.
"Yes," she said, voice taut. "That's Dr. Alexei Taylor. He and Samantha had… conflicting visions. She saw control; he saw hope. He wanted to cure the diseases that threatened humanity, not use them as weapons."
Sophia stepped forward, her voice soft but insistent. "What about you two? Whose side did you choose?"
For a moment, Olivia looked as though she would remain silent. But then, slowly, she answered, her tone laced with bitterness. "Alexei's. He had plans to counter Samantha's designs, a way to undo the effects of the virus she intended to unleash."
Roman looked at Sophia, his voice a quiet murmur. "We helped him. He was working on a cure, something that could neutralize the virus's effects. We wanted to stop her… to prevent what she had planned."
Reed's gaze intensified, and he leaned forward, pressing them further. "And Project Elysium? We've heard whispers of it tied to Samantha's name. What can you tell us about that?"
A shiver passed through Olivia, and she seemed to sink deeper into her chair, as if the name alone held some terrifying weight. "Elysium… it was her answer to control. It was supposed to be a sanctuary, a safe haven in the wake of a global biological event. But it was also a cage."
"A cage?" Sophia asked, leaning forward.
Olivia nodded, her face a mask of forced composure. "Yes, a place where she could dictate who survived, who received treatment, who suffered. Her plan was to create a world where she decided the outcome. All of it… rooted in a loss, a death she couldn't accept."
Lena's brow furrowed. "What kind of loss could drive someone to this extreme?"
There was a pause before Olivia replied, her voice laced with barely concealed disdain. "Her sister. Samantha lost her sister to a rare but curable disease because she couldn't access treatment in time. She wanted to ensure that no one ever had the power to deny care again… even if it meant controlling everyone's lives. and overtime, her motivation took a sinister turn descending into madness"
The room grew cold, a silence settling in as they absorbed the revelation. Reed cleared his throat, a skeptical edge to his voice. "And Alexei's cure? How far did he get?"
Roman spoke up, his voice carrying a note of restrained optimism. "Far enough. His research was promising. He thought he could neutralize the effects of the virus, reverse the damage. But we never had the chance to finish. Samantha… she caught on. She took precautions, dismantled his lab. That's when we went underground."
Reed exhaled, frustration evident in his expression. "So you were both involved in helping Alexei counter his own wife's plans. Samantha's allies… who were they?"
A flicker of fear crossed Olivia's face as she hesitated. "Powerful people. Wealthy, connected. She had influence in government, in private sectors, people who believed in her vision for control. They're the reason we're constantly looking over our shoulders."
Sophia felt a pang of urgency. "And the Eclipse Protocol, was it part it?
Olivia shifted uncomfortably, her gaze lowering as if weighing how much to reveal. "The Eclipse Protocol… I wish I could tell you more, but we were never really allowed to understand what it was, or how it operated. It was… it felt like something outside of the Aurora Initiative, yet tied to it somehow." She shook her head, frustration flickering in her eyes. "They kept us in the dark about it on purpose, like it was on a need-to-know basis and we didn't need to know."
Her tone was almost apologetic. "All I know is that it's powerful. A shadow network, supporting Samantha's plans, maybe even pushing her in certain directions. But we never had access to any of their details or their true motives."
Roman leaned forward, his fingers laced tightly as he glanced at Reed and Sophia, his expression darkening. "I don't think her sister's death was really Samantha's motivation," he said, a slight tremor of anger edging into his voice. "I think she's just evil, has always been. It was like she was waiting—waiting for the right time to reveal who she really was. Manipulating everyone, making them believe her sister's death was—"
"Roman," Olivia's voice was sharp, cutting him off. She placed a firm hand on his arm, and the room went silent as she fixed him with a warning glare. Her message was clear: You've said enough.
Roman closed his mouth, his jaw clenched, but he didn't look away from Reed, his eyes simmering with the frustration of a man forced into silence. Olivia turned her attention back to Reed, her face composed and unreadable.
"We all have our perspectives, Detective," she said coolly, a slight edge to her words. "But we're not here to analyze Samantha's motives. We're here to share only what we believe is safe for us to reveal." She gave Roman's arm a light squeeze, a reminder that she was controlling this story, this narrative.
Sophia exchanged a glance with Lena, both of them sensing the friction between Roman and Olivia. It was clear: Olivia might be steering this conversation, but Roman's buried resentment and suspicions were just beneath the surface, waiting for a chance to emerge.
Reed's expression was a mixture of skepticism and frustration. "You were part of this network, you worked with her. How do we know you're not still loyal to her?"
Roman seemed ready to answer, but Olivia placed a firm hand on his arm, silencing him. She met Reed's eyes, her voice cool and controlled. "You don't have to trust us, Detective. But if you don't, you'll never know what's coming."
Reed's jaw tightened, the conflict visible in his eyes as he weighed their words. The stakes were higher than ever, and time was running out.
Suddenly, A thunderous bang reverberated from outside, halting their conversation mid-sentence. Reed's eyes narrowed as he shot a glance at Sophia and Lena. In the tense silence that followed, the faint echoes of car alarms and shouts filtered through the walls, a low, unsettling hum of activity brewing just beyond the precinct doors.