Bishop stared at the screen. The name **Cipher-01** glowed in sharp digital text, yet it meant nothing to him.
His fingers curled into fists. **"What the hell is this?"**
Coil leaned back, tapping the terminal. **"You tell me, ghost-boy. Because this? This ain't just some alias. 'Cipher-01'—that's high-tier black ops stuff. Like, *top-of-the-food-chain, never-existed* kind of stuff."**
Bishop's gut twisted. **"You're saying I was some kind of assassin?"**
Coil chuckled. **"Assassin? Spy? Prototype AI host? Hell if I know. But whatever you were, someone wanted you erased."**
Bishop exhaled slowly. The information felt like a lead weight in his chest. He glanced at Argus's interface in the corner of his vision.
**"You recognizing any of this?"**
A long pause. Then, **"No. But something about that name… it feels familiar."**
Bishop gritted his teeth. He was getting tired of vague half-answers.
**"There has to be more."** He turned to Coil. **"This drive—what else is on it?"**
Coil smirked. **"You really think I'm just gonna hand over all my hard-earned data?"**
Bishop narrowed his eyes. **"You want me to rip your arms off?"**
Coil raised his hands, laughing. **"Relax, choom. I like my arms just fine. But… maybe we can work something out."**
Bishop clenched his jaw. **"Of course there's a catch."**
**"Always."** Coil tapped the drive. **"This thing is encrypted. I can crack it, but I'll need access to a specific decryption key."**
**"And let me guess—you don't have it."**
**"Nope."** Coil spun the drive between his fingers. **"But I know where to find it."**
Bishop crossed his arms. **"Where?"**
Coil grinned. **"Ever heard of *The Well*?"**
###
The Well wasn't a place. It was a legend. A hidden sector deep within the city's underground networks—a digital fortress where only the most dangerous data traffickers operated.
Argus spoke up. **"The Well is where secrets go to die. It's a no-man's-land for hackers, rogue AIs, and black-market dealers. If Coil's decryption key is there, it won't be easy to get."**
Bishop adjusted the jacket Coil had thrown him—an old, patched-up thing, but at least it made him look less like a hospital escapee.
**"How do we get in?"**
Coil smirked. **"Oh, you don't just 'walk into' The Well. You earn your way in."**
Bishop sighed. **"Of course. What's the job?"**
Coil tossed him a small, circular device—a sleek black disc with a faint blue pulse in its center.
**"This is a data siphon. There's a Corpo tower not far from here—Helios subsidiary, real high-tech security. You jack this into their server mainframe, and we get ourselves a pass into The Well."**
Bishop stared at the device. **"And I assume breaking into a corporate server room is as suicidal as it sounds."**
Coil grinned. **"Pretty much."**
Bishop exhaled sharply. **"Fine. Tell me where to go."**
###
The Helios tower loomed over the city like a monolith, its sleek black exterior reflecting the neon haze of the skyline.
Bishop crouched on the adjacent rooftop, scanning the layout.
**"Two security checkpoints on the main floor,"** Argus noted. **"Thermal scans show automated turrets inside. This won't be a walk in the park."**
Bishop smirked. **"Good thing I don't like parks."**
He spotted a ventilation shaft near the rooftop's edge. Slipping his knife into the panel's seal, he pried it open.
**"Hope you're not claustrophobic,"** Argus muttered.
**"I don't have time to be."**
Bishop slid inside, the metallic walls narrowing around him. The air was thick with the scent of processed oxygen and machine oil.
He crawled forward, listening. Below, voices echoed.
**"Increase security patrols. If Cipher-01 is active again, we need to be ready."**
Bishop's breath hitched.
**"They know about me."**
Argus's voice was tense. **"More importantly, they think you're dangerous."**
Bishop clenched his jaw. He needed to move fast.
Reaching a vent opening, he peered through the slats. The server room lay below—rows of humming data towers, their cores glowing softly. A lone technician worked at a console.
Bishop pushed the vent cover loose and dropped down.
The technician barely had time to turn before Bishop struck—one quick hit to the side of the head. The man crumpled to the floor.
**"Plug in the siphon,"** Argus instructed.
Bishop moved to the main terminal, inserting the black disc. The device pulsed, its interface flooding with code.
**"Downloading decryption protocols now."**
Bishop exhaled. Maybe this would actually work.
Then the alarms blared.
Red lights flashed. The building came alive with automated warnings.
**"You had to say something,"** Argus groaned.
Bishop yanked the siphon free.
The doors hissed open—two guards storming in with rifles raised.
Bishop moved.
He kicked over the nearest server rack, sending it crashing into one of the guards. The second guard fired—Bishop dodged, rolling behind a console.
**"Exit route?"** he barked.
**"South hallway! But you'll have company!"**
Bishop ran.
The guards pursued, their gunfire shredding the walls behind him. Sparks flew. Bishop vaulted over a railing, landing hard on a lower level.
More security flooded in.
**"Too many,"** Argus warned.
Bishop gritted his teeth. Then he saw his way out—an emergency window, reinforced but breakable.
He grabbed a metal chair and hurled it with all his strength. The glass shattered.
Without hesitating, Bishop leapt.
The city blurred around him. Wind roared in his ears.
And then—impact.
He crashed onto a transport drone mid-flight, rolling onto its metallic hull.
**"You are completely insane,"** Argus muttered.
Bishop smirked, catching his breath. **"And yet, still alive."**
###
By the time he got back to Coil's hideout, his body ached, but he tossed the siphon onto the table.
Coil whistled. **"Damn, you actually did it."**
Bishop cracked his neck. **"Now hold up your end."**
Coil grinned. **"Alright, ghost-boy. Next stop… The Well."**
Bishop exhaled. **One step closer to the truth.**
But something told him—he wasn't ready for what he'd find.