Outside, the street is almost deserted. Gabriel scans the dark corners. In the distance, he thinks he sees a silhouette turning at the corner of an alley.
He sets off in pursuit. His legs protest—he is exhausted, and the long day without rest weighs heavily on him—but adrenaline gives him a sudden surge of strength. The unknown figure spying on them could be an accomplice of Lucien, or Lucien himself.
The alley reeks of mold and fuel. A sewer grate clangs farther ahead—someone has just jumped down through it.
Gabriel rushes over. Below, in the fetid darkness, footsteps echo over stagnant water. Without hesitation, he grabs the metal ladder fixed to the rim and climbs down into the sewers.
The air is suffocating. The tunnel stretches into the depths. Gabriel narrows his eyes, catching sight of a shadow fleeing ahead.
"Stop! Police!" he shouts, though he no longer carries a badge.
A gunshot cracks in response. The bullet whistles past his ear and embeds itself in the concrete wall. The muzzle flash briefly lights up the tunnel—Gabriel catches a fleeting glimpse of brown hair.
Nadia.
His heart tightens with both anger and confusion. She must have followed Vernet from their hideout.
"Nadia! Stop!" he yells, taking off again and rounding the next bend.
A tense silence now reigns. She has stopped firing. Gabriel advances cautiously into the next corridor, slipping on the wet stone.
Suddenly, a dark shape lunges from the shadows to his right. Before he can raise his weapon, he is slammed violently into the wall.
Gabriel hits hard, and his revolver slips from his grasp, splashing into a few inches of filthy water. He reaches for it, but a hand strikes his wrist sharply, knocking it away.
Nadia stands before him, breathing hard, a pistol aimed point-blank at his chest. Her eyes burn with fury mixed with distress.
"I didn't want this…" she hisses through clenched teeth. "You shouldn't have spoken to Vernet."
Gabriel slowly raises his hands, cornered against the damp wall. The barrel of her pistol trembles slightly.
"Go ahead. Shoot," he says bitterly. "After all, what's one more life?"
"Shut up!" she cries, her voice echoing through the tunnel. "Do you think this is easy?"
For a moment, Gabriel clearly sees the tears lining Nadia's eyes. Her arm is rigid, but her gaze wavers.
"Why?" he asks more gently. "Why drag me into this only to set a trap? I want to understand, Nadia."
Hearing her name makes her flinch. She shakes her head, torn by an inner conflict.
"Because I didn't believe in it anymore…" she confesses through a restrained sob. "I thought… maybe if an honest cop knew the truth, it could stop the worst from happening. I wanted you to uncover the accident, Vernet, everything… To stop Lucien somehow."
Gabriel is stunned. So she had used him both as bait and as a possible safeguard?
"And yet you set the trap at Météore, and the ambush… You knew it would happen."
"I… I couldn't sabotage everything," Nadia stammers, tears now streaming down her cheeks. "Not without betraying myself completely. Lucien trusts me. I owe him so much…"
Gabriel shakes his head in disgust.
"You owe him enough to sacrifice innocents? Enough to have my partner killed?"
Nadia's face twists in pain.
"I didn't pull the trigger… I couldn't…"
"But you led us there, Nadia," Gabriel growls. "You sold us."
Silence. She looks away, unable to meet his grief-stricken gaze. The barrel of her gun lowers slightly.
"I'm trapped just like you," she whispers. "If I let you go now… he'll kill me."
"Lucien?"
She nods faintly.
"And if he succeeds, we're all doomed anyway. You know that," Gabriel presses. "Do you want to die a monster, or live knowing you tried to stop him?"
Her lips tremble.
"You… you don't understand…"
Suddenly, voices echo farther down the tunnel. Men shout to one another, heavy boots clanging against the ladder.
Nadia stiffens.
"They're here… our men… They followed me."
Gabriel realizes time has run out. If he is captured now, everything is over.
He locks eyes with her.
"You have a choice, Nadia. Stop them from finding me—or shoot. Decide. Now."
She stands frozen, gun still trained on him. Flashlights begin to sweep the walls nearby.
"Nadia? Where are you?"
"Over here! I heard voices!"
She closes her eyes for a brief second.
Then she moves.
In a swift motion, she lunges at Gabriel and drags him down into the stagnant water, forcing him completely under.
Gabriel struggles instinctively, but Nadia clamps her hand over his mouth to keep him from breathing. Through the murky layer of filth, he hears amplified footsteps approaching. He understands—she is hiding him.
Holding his breath, submerged and freezing, he sees blurred silhouettes pass beside them.
A flashlight beam sweeps the water just inches from their position. Nadia, soaked to the waist, shouts confidently:
"He went that way! I saw him run—quick!"
"Let's regroup with Lucien!" one of the men shouts. "We'll catch him at the exit!"
Their footsteps fade in the opposite direction. Nadia finally releases Gabriel, who surfaces gasping, covered in foul sludge.
They stare at each other for a moment in the dim light.
"Go," Nadia whispers, her voice breaking. "Leave before I change my mind."
Gabriel nods, retrieving his drenched revolver.
"Come with me," he urges anyway. "You still can—"
She is already stepping back into the shadows, shaking her head.
"Too late for me. Save this city, Inspector… that's all that matters."
Light flares again at the end of the tunnel—her accomplices are returning.
Gabriel does not argue further. He slips away in the opposite direction, crouched low, disappearing into a side conduit she indicates with a quick gesture.
Before vanishing, he meets her gaze one last time. In it, he sees fear, regret—and the struggle of someone trying to break free from fate.
In the underground darkness of Paris-Nova, a glimmer of conscience has sparked. Fragile and flickering—but real.
---
### On the Brink
The following evening, an unusual tension hangs over the ultra-modern Prometheus complex. Behind the glass-and-steel façade of the main building, the elite of Paris-Nova have gathered to witness the final full-scale test of the reactor. In the vast panoramic control room, Émilie Rochefort oversees preparations with pride, flanked by engineers in white coats and private security guards.
"Primary circuit pressure stable," announces a technician, eyes fixed on his screens. "Plasma temperature at eighty percent."
"Increase gradually to one hundred," Rochefort orders, her voice tight with contained excitement. "Activate the external magnetic shield."
Behind the glass, at the heart of the reactor chamber below, a bluish glow reveals the swirling plasma within the massive containment structure. A deep hum vibrates throughout the complex.
On a metal walkway overlooking the reactor room, three technicians appear to be working at consoles. In reality, beneath the helmets and protective masks hide Lucien and two heavily armed loyalists. They slipped in earlier using access codes Vernet had provided.
Lucien glances down at the control room, spotting Rochefort's rigid silhouette. His heart quickens—not with nerves, but with anticipation. The object of his hatred stands there, unaware of what is unfolding.
"Place the charges," he murmurs.
They open their cases, revealing pre-calibrated high-powered explosives. Swiftly, they attach them to strategic structural points and main cooling conduits.
Lucien arms the remote detonator. Once the reactor reaches peak output, the slightest disruption will trigger an uncontrollable chain reaction. The explosives will destroy the safety systems. The technical apocalypse will do the rest.
"Charge one in place."
"Charge two secured."
The gauges approach maximum.
In minutes, it will be done.
He briefly thinks of Vernet—the old fool vanished last night, likely eliminated by Nadia. No matter. They no longer need him. He also thinks of Nadia, positioned as lookout. She has seemed distant since yesterday. He pushes the thought aside.
Suddenly, the main control room doors burst open.
Nadia strides in, wearing a stolen lab coat, pressing a pistol to the temple of a subdued guard.
"Nobody move!" she shouts, her voice echoing through the speakers. "Everyone on the floor!"
Panic erupts. Engineers raise their hands. Rochefort turns, stunned.
Simultaneously, armed men disguised as security emerge from blind spots—Lucien's infiltrators. In seconds, Rochefort and the officials are surrounded.
Lucien smiles behind his mask.
"Target secured," he radios. "Hold them. We're finishing here."
"Copy," Nadia replies in his earpiece.
She glares at Rochefort.
"Do you even realize what you're doing?" Rochefort hisses. "You'll destroy this city!"
"Silence her," Lucien growls.
Nadia hesitates only a second before striking Rochefort with the butt of her gun, knocking her to her knees.
Meanwhile, below the complex, Gabriel forces his way through the narrow evacuation tunnel Vernet described. The reactor's hum is deafening now.
The badge opens a hidden access door. An emergency ladder leads to a ventilation grate.
He pries at it with a crowbar from his trunk. Bolts snap free.
Suddenly, an explosion shakes the tunnel. Dust fills the air. Lucien has begun.
Ignoring the pain in his shoulder, Gabriel forces the grate open and climbs onto an annular walkway beneath the main platform. Heat suffocates him. Alarms blare everywhere.
He presses against the wall, catching his breath. Above, footsteps pound on metal. He crawls toward the stairs and climbs carefully.
He sees two armed men setting another explosive charge.
Farther along, a tall figure in a mask oversees the control room below.
It can only be Lucien.