The sound of the footsteps grew louder, closer, moving toward them. They were no longer faint whispers, but heavy, deliberate steps. Zoe and Kael were frozen in terror, the flickering holographic file abandoned. A foot entered the room from the darkened hallway, and the rest of the man followed. He was a Black man with a mustache, wearing casual clothes—not the uniform of an officer. He was holding a gun, pointing it directly at them.
"Hands up," he commanded. He stepped fully into the light, his gaze hard. "Surrender."
Kael and Zoe slowly raised their hands, their eyes locked on the barrel of the gun. But just as the man took a step closer, a shadow moved in the darkness behind him. Before anyone could register the movement, a length of rusty metal pipe suddenly swung into view.
THWACK!
The pipe slammed hard against the base of the man's skull. He didn't make a sound. His eyes rolled up, his body went instantly limp, and he collapsed to the floor with a heavy, sickening thud. Unconscious.
Kael and Zoe stood frozen, staring at the motionless body on the floor. Their gaze then tracked to the figure standing over the fallen man, the one still gripping the rusty pipe: Ethan. He looked just as shocked as they were.
Ethan released the metal pipe, and it tumbled from his hand, hitting the floor with a loud, ringing CLANG! "What happened? Who is he?" Ethan asked, his voice shaky. "Why was he pointing that gun at you?"
"I don't know," Kael replied, his eyes wide. "He just showed up with that gun."
"Maybe he was a J-COD officer," Zoe whispered, her gaze fixed on the man's casual clothes.
"They found us already?" Ethan said, his earlier fear returning in a rush.
"I think so," Zoe agreed, snapping herself out of the shock. "First, we have to tie him up."
They worked quickly. They found two pairs of magnetic handcuffs on the man's belt and used them to secure his hands and legs, leaving him lying on the dusty floor.
After some time, the man on the floor began to stir. His eyelids fluttered; he was waking up. Zoe saw the movement. "Kael, he's awake." They both immediately turned and walked toward the restrained figure. The man was still visibly dizzy, his head moving slightly against the floor.
Zoe knelt down, her face hard. "Who are you?" He didn't answer, just blinked slowly. "Kael, bring some water," Zoe commanded. Kael quickly brought a plastic bottle of water. Zoe took it, uncapped it, and without hesitation, splashed the water directly onto the captive's face. He gasped, his eyes flying open and focusing instantly.
Zoe leaned in, her voice low and dangerously serious. "So, who are you?"
"I was from J-COD," he replied, his voice rough.
"Which division?" she pressed.
He met her gaze, his eyes sharp despite the situation. "The Phantom Division."
Zoe stared down at the captive officer, the water dripping from his face. His words hung heavy and cold in the dusty room. "The Phantom Division."
"So the rumor was true after all," she said, her voice low. The chilling reality of their situation settled over her. She took a deep breath and leaned closer. "How did you find us?"
"By tracking your friend's hoverbike," he replied.
"Ethan's bike?" Kael said, his voice confused.
"Yeah," the officer replied. "For the past three days, he was consistently coming here. The pattern showed he hid you both here."
"But why would that be enough?" Kael asked.
"The Ghost Division hacked into your social media accounts," the officer explained with a hint of pride. "And your last message was to Ethan. You sent an 'I want to meet' message. He sent you a location. You deleted that message within the next minute." He gave them a cold look. "That's why it took us three days to find you. Otherwise, we can catch you terrorists in no time."
"Terrorists?" Zoe snapped, anger boiling over. "Who are you calling terrorists? You don't know anything about what happened!"
"I know," he replied, his voice laced with the arrogance of authority. "I read your case file. You both hacked into Nexus Corp's database and stole user and company data. You are going to sell this to hackers and our enemy countries."
"No, that's not true!" she shouted. "We are framed! We really—"
"Then why did you hack into their servers?" he asked with cold sarcasm.
Zoe looked him straight in the eye, her anger giving way to conviction. "We are trying to expose the company's truth to the world."
"Then what truth are you talking about?"
Zoe took a deep breath. She explained everything that had happened: the corruption, the file, the password, and why they couldn't go to the authorities. After she finished, the room filled with a heavy silence.
"The Zero-Day Protocol?" He frowned, searching his memory. "When I read your case file in the system, there was no mention of a 'Zero-Day Protocol' or any specific data theft. The file only referred to 'stolen user and company data' as part of an espionage plot."
Zoe's face hardened with triumph. "Exactly! Nexus Corp hid that file from your own J-COD, and whole Cyber Security Unit! They're running the show, not you!"
"How can I believe you?" the officer demanded, his eyes fixed on Zoe. "Show me proof. I am not committing treason for a passionate story. Show me the Zero-Day Protocol exists." Kael, seeing his chance, immediately moved to the NODE. "Sol, show him the file's existence." The flickering blue hologram immediately brought up the floating, heavily encrypted file. Sol then pulled a single, unencrypted sliver of data and projected it into the air: an internal Nexus Corp code used for legal suppression and data forgery.
The officer's breath hitched. "That's... impossible," he muttered, his voice shaking. "It's really true." He leaned back, his professional skepticism annihilated. He was silent for a long moment, staring at the ceiling as the reality of his situation crashed down. He opened his eyes, his expression now cold with the resolve of a man who had nothing left to lose. "Untie me," he said. "I will help you. But understand this: I am a law enforcement officer first. If I get any wrong feeling about your methods, I will bring you both in myself. Understood?" Kael was instantly happy, rushing forward to unlock the magnetic handcuffs.
"Why?" Zoe asked, her voice quiet with suspicion, even as Kael helped the man to his feet. "Why risk everything for us?"
The officer met her gaze, his expression etched with a deep, silent pain. "Three years ago, my family was using a custom AI from Nexus Corp—a Geans model. My six-year-old son was hit by a self-driving car from the Mono company. He lost his leg." He took a slow, pained breath. "When I sued, Nexus Corp used the data they took from my family's own Geans AI to create false evidence. That false proof claimed my family had planned the whole thing to frame the Mono company. They used my own data to destroy my life." He closed his eyes. "You have the evidence to take down the company that ruined my son's life. I don't care about my badge right now. I care about justice." Zoe gave a reluctant nod.
Suddenly, a paper bag full of groceries dropped onto the dusty floor with a dull thud. Ethan stood frozen in the doorway. His eyes were wide with pure terror, seeing the J-COD officer untied and standing in front of Zoe. His panicked gaze immediately located the rusty metal pipe lying near the wall.
"No, Ethan!" Zoe shouted.
But Ethan, lost in panic, couldn't stop. He scrambled for the pipe, snatched it up, and in one fluid motion, swung the rusty metal rod toward the officer's head.
The officer moved with the impossible speed of a Phantom Division operative. He bent down sharply, blocking the rod with his forearm, and simultaneously delivered a sharp, controlled punch to Ethan's stomach. Ethan flew backward, hitting the wall with a hollow thud.
Kael and Zoe were stunned. Slowly, Ethan pushed himself up from the floor. "Ouch. My back hurts."
Zoe rushed to him. "Are you okay, Ethan?"
Kael ignored them, staring at the officer. "Wow, you are so awesome, man!"
"What was happening here?" Ethan asked, still rubbing his back. Zoe quickly explained the proof, the backstory, and the new alliance. Ethan took a long, slow breath, looking between the officer and the abandoned handcuffs. "Hooo, okay. So we got a Cyber Security officer now."
Kael nodded. "Yeah."
Zoe stepped forward, looking the man directly in the eye. "What's your name?"
He met her gaze, the authority returning to his voice. "It's Jax."