Jack and Rhea moved quickly through the ruins of the facility, their footsteps echoing in the empty corridors. The brief encounter with the masked figure had left more questions than answers, but one thing was certain—Jack wasn't alone in his abilities.
Someone else had been enhanced like him. And if Hesta had managed to create more like that, the scale of the conspiracy was far greater than he had imagined.
Rhea adjusted her weapon as she walked beside him. "That wasn't just an ordinary operative," she said, breaking the silence. "Whoever they were, they were trained specifically to deal with people like you."
Jack nodded, still lost in thought. "Which means Hesta knew I'd come here. They were waiting."
"That's what worries me." Rhea exhaled sharply. "They're still one step ahead."
Jack clenched his fists. Not for long.
They reached the innermost section of the facility, where the data vault was supposed to be located. The room was massive—rows of reinforced storage units lined the walls, dim lights flickering overhead. But something was wrong.
The vault had already been breached.
Jack rushed forward, his heart pounding. The heavy steel doors were bent out of shape, torn open by sheer force. Inside, shattered terminals and burnt-out data drives littered the floor.
"Damn it," Rhea muttered. "Someone got here first."
Jack scanned the room, his eyes narrowing. Whoever had done this didn't just take the information—they destroyed it.
They didn't want anyone finding out what was here.
But why?
Jack took a deep breath, stepping over the wreckage. His gaze landed on a half-melted terminal that still flickered with residual energy. He knelt beside it, placing his hand on the interface.
"I might be able to recover something," he muttered.
Rhea kept watch while Jack worked, his fingers moving swiftly across the damaged system. Most of the data was corrupted beyond repair, but deep within the remnants of the archives, he found something—a single intact fragment of a video file.
He accessed it.
The screen glitched, then stabilized. A grainy image flickered to life—a recording of a research facility, filled with scientists working frantically. Alarms blared in the background.
And then, a voice.
"The project is compromised. They're coming. We can't let them take this data—"
The video distorted, skipping forward.
A sudden explosion shook the facility. People screamed. The camera turned, capturing a fleeting image of a figure standing in the chaos—a scientist, holding a small, glowing device.
Jack's breath caught in his throat.
He knew that face.
It was his father.
The screen flickered again, the video cutting out entirely. The file was gone.
Silence filled the room.
Jack stared at the dark screen, his hands clenched into fists. He had been searching for answers, but all he had now was another mystery.
His father had been here. He had been part of whatever this facility was working on. And he had destroyed the data to keep it out of Hesta's hands.
But what had they been trying to protect?
And why had Hesta wanted it so badly?
Rhea placed a hand on his shoulder. "Jack…"
He exhaled slowly, forcing himself to stay focused. "We're not done here."
He turned to the ruined vault.
There had to be something left. Something Hesta didn't take.
Jack wasn't leaving until he found it.