INN HQ — OPERATIONS LEVEL – NIGHT
The Ops Deck hums with kinetic precision.
Tactical overlays. Cipher streams. Agents cross-coordinating departments.
But tonight, the air carries a new tension — the ripple effect of Hydra-07's entry into New Atlantis.
Jaxon Steel steps out of the Strategy Bay, still processing the intel from the last briefing. His gait is steady, but the fatigue behind his eyes is unmistakable… until—
[AGENT LOPEZ ]:(from behind) "Kid Steel! You look like you wrestled a freight train and then argued with it."
Jaxon doesn't even need to turn. That voice is unmistakable.
[Agent Steel]: (smiles) "Lopez… last I checked, freight trains aren't armed with plasma blades."
AGENT LOPEZ, early 30s, seasoned, sharp-eyed, beard trimmed to precision — the kind of agent who has seen enough missions to fill a memoir. Three years older than Steel but treats him like a younger brother he actually likes.
Lopez slaps a hand on Jaxon's shoulder with big-brother energy.
[Agent Lopez ]:You keep collecting near-death experiences like they're loyalty points.
[Agent Steel]:Redeemable for…?
[Agent Lopez]:A punch from me. And a lecture from Susan.
Jaxon laughs, and for a moment, the weight lifts.
---
INN HQ — CAFETERIA — LATER
Agents cycle in and out, grabbing late-night fuel.
Steel sits with Lopez and Agent Paul, a calm, analytic operator known for being a quiet execution specialist. Paul is methodical, cool under pressure, and the unofficial mediator of any Lopez-Steel chaos.
[Agent Paul]: You know… statistically, you should be dead.
Steel sips his coffee.
[Agent Steel]:Great talk, Paul. Really uplifting.
[Agent Lopez] : (grinning) He means he's proud of you, kid. This is how emotion works for him.
Paul nods once — a serious nod — the Paul version of a hug.
Lopez leans in with a smirk.
[Agent Lopez]: You should've seen him yesterday. He filed a complaint because the tactical drones weren't arranged symmetrically.
[Agent Paul]: It impacts workflow efficiency.
Steel shakes his head.
This trio… it works.
Not just colleagues. Not just teammates. A support structure — built from battlefields and bad coffee.
---
INN HQ — TRAINING CHAMBER – JUST AFTER MIDNIGHT
Lopez tosses Steel a practice baton.
[Agent Lopez]: Hydra-07 is in the city. You know what that means.
[Agent Steel]: No mistakes.
[Agent Lopez]: And no solo hero crap either. You pull that stunt again, I'll drag you out by your ears.
Steel grins.
[Agent Steel]: You sound like Susan.
Lopez raises a brow — amused, curious.
[Agent Lopez]: Oh? That tone?
Steel freezes. Lopez smirks.
[Agent Lopez] :Relax, brother. I'm not blind. She cares. You care. It's good. Helps keep you grounded.
Steel tries to deflect, but Lopez reads him like a book.
[Agent Steel]: Focus on training, old man.
[Agent Lopez] : I'm three years older. Not eighty.
They engage.
Steel fast, instinct-driven. Lopez precise, technical, elegant.
Each strike echoes with rhythm — mentor vs. rising star.
Lopez disarms him in a fluid move.
[Agent Lopez]: Still predictable with your left.
Steel groans.
[Agent Steel]:Still annoying with your mouth.
Lopez laughs, ruffling his hair.
INN HQ — MONITORING STATION – SAME TIME
Agent Paul observes surveillance feeds while sipping tea — calm, almost too calm.
The system spikes.
A foreign signal slips through the outer detection grid.
Paul jolts upright.
[Agent Paul]: …This isn't Ghost Serpent signature.
He zooms in.
A cryptic digital glyph pulses across the feed.
Not random. Not noise.
An encrypted Hydra-07 marker.
---
INN HQ — HALLWAY OUTSIDE TRAINING CHAMBER
Paul bursts in.
[Agent Paul ]: Lopez! Steel! We have a breach — digital, not physical.
Lopez straightens. Steel wipes sweat from his forehead.
[Agent Steel]: What did they hit?
Paul turns the tablet toward them.
[Agent Paul]: Not 'hit.' Tested.
Onscreen:
A Hydra-07 passcode fragment. Deliberate. Taunting.
A message appears below it.
PHASE ALPHA: COMPLETED.
NOW WE WATCH.
NOW WE CHOOSE.
Steel's jaw clenches.
Lopez and Paul exchange glances — seasoned agents who've seen this pattern before.
Adaptive infiltration.
Behavioral profiling.
High-precision threat calibration.
[Agent Lopez]: They're studying us.
Steel exhales.
[Agent Steel]: "No… they're studying me."
Lopez steps closer — firm, protective.
[Agent Lopez]: Then let them watch. Because this time, you're not facing whatever's coming alone.
Paul nods, resolute.
[Agent Paul]: Hydra-07 operates like a machine. But we're not machines. We adapt faster.
Steel looks at both of them — two allies, two anchors.
His circle is growing. His foundation is stabilizing.
And Hydra-07 has no idea what kind of unity they're about to provoke.
---
HYDRA-07 MOBILE COMMAND VESSEL – SAME NIGHT
The Hydra Leader stands before a circular console.
Dozens of holo-projections illuminate the chamber — Steel, Lopez, Paul, Susan… each tagged, each evaluated.
A segmented voice breaks the silence.
HYDRA SYSTEM "Behavioral scan completed.
Agent Steel has extended support network.
Probability of interference: 89%."
The leader taps a control node.
[HYDRA LEADER ]:Then isolate the network.
He zooms in on Agent Lopez.
SECONDARY TARGET ACQUIRED:
AGENT MARCO LOPEZ.
THREAT LEVEL: VARIABLE.
A thin smile tugs under the mask.
[HYDRA LEADER] :Target the bonds…
and the structure collapses.
The vessel shifts direction — quiet, surgical, predatory.
TO BE CONTINUED...
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