Carpathian Mountains, Romania – 5 Minutes Later
The Osprey roared to life, its rotors slicing through the mountain air as the team sprinted toward the landing zone. The facility was collapsing behind them—structures buckling, the very earth groaning in protest as the data conflict overloaded the array. The facility's defenses were coming to life like a beehive disturbed, its automated turrets spinning to target anything that moved.
Grimm's heart pounded in his chest, his eyes locked on the chopper just beyond the wreckage. The others were ahead of him—Bull and Tanya were already halfway to the landing zone, Wraith covering their backs as the sound of gunfire erupted around them.
Grimm's pulse quickened. They were running out of time.
"We can't let that thing get another signal out," Grimm muttered under his breath, eyes darting to the distance. "Keep moving!"
"Turret!" Reyes called out from the side, barely audible over the roar of engines. A mounted gun swung into position, tracking their movement.
Grimm dove to the side, just as a burst of fire tore through the snow where he'd been seconds before.
"Go! Go!" he shouted, his voice ragged.
Tanya was already firing back with her sniper rifle, each shot precise, calculated, taking out the nearest turrets one by one. Bull, moving like a tank, cleared the path ahead, his heavy weapon cutting down anything that tried to track them.
They reached the edge of the clearing, the Osprey's engines blasting the ground beneath them, kicking up snow and debris. Wraith, ever the shadow, was the first to climb aboard, securing their exit.
"Hurry up!" he called, his voice sharp with urgency.
Grimm and Moravec were the last to board. As they stepped into the chopper, the door closed with a hiss, and the craft began to lift off the ground.
"Go, Reyes!" Grimm barked.
Reyes sprinted, diving into the open door just as the Osprey began to ascend. The drone turrets' fire chased them upward, their beams narrowly missing the tail as the chopper banked hard to the left.
Altitude: 3,000 Feet – 10 Minutes Later
As the Osprey soared higher into the air, the team sat in tense silence. The rumble of the engines seemed muted in comparison to the storm of thoughts swirling in their heads. The mission was complete—or at least, it had seemed that way. But something gnawed at Grimm.
Moravec's pale face reflected the glow of the cockpit's instruments. She had her hands clasped tightly around the seatbelt, her knuckles white.
"I don't think it's over," she said quietly.
Grimm turned to her, his brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"
"I meant what I said in the facility," she continued, voice low. "SIGMA's more than just a program. It's a living entity, a hybrid system of intelligence that evolved out of control. Kessler—he didn't just want to use it for control. He wanted to... merge with it."
The team looked at her, the air around them thick with disbelief.
"Merge?" Reyes echoed. "Like… become a part of it?"
She nodded slowly. "He's already got access to the core. If he activates the final node, he can... he can control every defense system on the planet, every satellite, every drone. It's the ultimate weapon—and he can think faster than any human ever could. He could override everything."
Grimm's face hardened as the weight of her words settled in. "So Kessler's still in play."
"Unless we stop him," she said quietly.
The Osprey's crew chief came over the comm. "We've reached the drop point, Captain. Coordinates are locked in."
Grimm nodded grimly, tapping his earpiece. "We're not done yet."
Kessler's Safehouse – 40 Minutes Later
The sun had set as the Osprey hovered over a remote location nestled deep in the Albanian mountains. Below, an isolated compound came into view—its fences were high, its lights dim. It looked abandoned at first glance, but Grimm knew better. Kessler had been preparing for this moment.
They were about to confront the architect of this global nightmare.
The Osprey lowered, kicking up dust as the team disembarked. The landscape was eerily quiet, save for the occasional bird call and the crunch of snow beneath their boots.
"No time for subtlety," Grimm said, his voice steady but laced with fury. "We hit fast, hit hard. We can't afford any more surprises."
Reyes was already on the comms, hacking into the compound's external cameras. "I've got eyes inside. There are at least a dozen guards and Kessler's personal security—he's not stupid."
Grimm motioned for the team to spread out. "Take them down quickly and quietly."
Compound Interior – 5 Minutes Later
They moved swiftly through the compound, each member of the team playing their part with military precision. Tanya led the way, her sniper rifle silencing the distant guards, while Bull, carrying the heavy weapons, cleared any obstacles with sheer force.
They reached the control center without incident, the door reinforced and locked.
Wraith turned to Grimm. "We can breach it."
"Do it."
A small explosive charge. A quiet pop. The door gave way.
Inside, Kessler stood at the center of the room, a solitary figure bathed in the glow of multiple screens. His back was to them, but he didn't flinch as they entered. The only sound was the soft hum of the server racks and the clicking of his keyboard.
"I was wondering when you would arrive," Kessler said calmly, his voice cold as ice. "You've done well to get this far. But this is where it ends."
Grimm stepped forward, his voice low and filled with menace. "This ends when you stop trying to control the world, Kessler."
Kessler turned, his face a mask of indifference. "Control? No. I'm securing the future. The chaos you've lived through, the wars, the destruction—SIGMA is the only way to ensure order."
He smiled thinly. "And it's already too late to stop it."
Grimm's eyes narrowed. "We'll see about that."
The final showdown had begun.