Tom didn't offer them a seat or a word of praise. He turned toward the primary console, a sleek obsidian desk that rose from the floor. With a steady hand, he slotted the silver flash drive into a shielded port.
The room's lights dimmed automatically, and a massive, 3D holographic projection bloomed into the center of the War Room. Code streamed in front of them—layers of deep-black encryption peeling away as the Agency's mainframe chewed through the security protocols. Finally, the data coalesced into a rotating schematic that made Vance whistle low under his breath.
"That's not a weapon," Vance whispered, leaning in. "That's a map."
The hologram displayed a global network of subterranean vaults, but the primary focus was a specific site located deep beneath the Ozark Plateau, not far from their current position in Chesterfield.
"It's the Aegis Protocol," Tom said, his green eyes reflecting the flickering blue light of the map. He pointed to a pulsing red node on the schematic. "This drive contains the biometric keys to every 'dead-man' switch in the Western Hemisphere. The contractors in Nashville weren't trying to protect a mansion; they were trying to prevent us from seeing where the next phase begins."
Tom turned away from the hologram, the scar on his nose twitching as he set his jaw. He looked at Vlad and Vance, his expression more grave than they had ever seen it.
"The second wave you encountered wasn't just a hit squad. They were the vanguard for a group called The Hollow. If they had secured this drive, they could have blacked out the entire Eastern seaboard with a single command. You didn't just steal a drive; you started a war."
He tapped a button on the console, and a new set of coordinates appeared on their tactical HUDs.
"Get to the armory," Tom commanded, his voice cold and absolute. "The Ozark site just went active. You leave in twenty minutes. And Vlad? This time, don't worry about the property damage."
The transition from the sterile halls of The Forge to the rugged, mist-covered valleys of the Ozark Plateau was jarring. The Agency's tactical VTOL (Vertical Take-Off and Landing) craft hovered silently above a dense canopy of ancient pines, its cloaking skin shimmering like a heat haze.
Inside the hold, the light was a harsh, neon violet. Vlad and Vance weren't wearing the standard-issue gear from the Nashville job anymore; they were encased in Mark VII Kinetic-Strike Suits. The armor was a matte-grey composite that moved like a second skin, featuring integrated neural links and reinforced plating that could withstand a point-blank blast.
The Advanced Armory
Vlad's Loadout: He checked his new primary—a high-frequency vibro-blade that hummed with a faint blue glow, capable of slicing through reinforced steel. On his thigh sat a pulsed-energy pistol with zero recoil, and his forearms were fitted with retractable grappling spikes.
* Vance's Gear: Vance sat surrounded by a hovering fleet of nano-drones the size of hornets. His compound bow had been swapped for a magnetic-accelerator longbow that fired bolts at hypersonic speeds. His blue iPhone 15 had been replaced by a wrist-mounted quantum-decryptor that pulsed with orange light.
Vance checked the seals on his gauntlets, looking over at Vlad. "You'd think Tom would let us take 10 or 20 before sending us out on another mission," he commented, his voice echoing slightly through the cabin's comms. He shook his head, the reality of the situation sinking in. "Whatever's going on must be life-threatening to the human race. He didn't even give us time to grab a coffee."
"Coffee is for survivors," Vlad replied grimly, checking the charge on his blade. "And we aren't done yet."
The Vault Entrance
The VTOL's floor hatch slid open, and the two men rappelled down into a narrow limestone gorge. At the base of a towering cliff sat a massive, rusted steel door—half-buried in decades of moss and overgrowth. It looked like an abandoned Cold War relic, but as they approached, Vlad's HUD lit up with a dozen hidden turret signatures and infrared tripwires.
"The biometric key is active," Vlad said, pulling the silver flash drive from a specialized slot in his chest plate.
As he stepped toward a concealed panel in the rock face, the ground beneath them began to vibrate. The rusted door didn't open; instead, the entire cliff face groaned, sliding back to reveal a gleaming, hyper-modern airlock made of white ceramic and reinforced glass.
"This isn't a bunker," Vance whispered, his drones fanning out into the dark tunnel ahead. "It's a laboratory. And something inside is definitely awake."