PROJECT SOLACE — CHAPTER 7
Three Eyes Surveillance Center, Undisclosed Location — 02:13 AM
The underground facility hummed like a living organism—machines whispering, lights blinking, and rows of analysts hunched over glowing consoles. The walls were paneled with matte black steel. Screens flickered across the room, displaying live satellite feeds, biometric scans, and encrypted message trails.
At the center stood a circular command hub, ringed by curved monitors and surrounded by standing operatives in tactical suits. A towering digital map of Europe hovered mid-air, with Finland enlarged and pulsing red.
Dragan leaned in, hands resting on the edge of a holographic control table. His accent was thick Serbian, his eyes sharp as razors.
Dragan: "She hasn't moved for over twenty-seven hours. What pregnant woman sits that still?"
Ivana, a cold-eyed Russian data analyst, flicked through surveillance feeds. "It's a decoy house. Parker's wife hasn't set foot outside. But see this?" She pointed to a grainy heat scan. "Third signature, smaller than adult mass. Someone else is there."
Milan, a muscular Belarussian in a black combat vest, snorted. "A bodyguard maybe. The Americans are shielding her already."
Dragan: "Then we're too late."
Ivana: "Not necessarily. Look at this—" She zoomed in on a transmission log. "Encrypted chatter started spiking twelve hours ago. Something bounced off a Finnish government satellite… relayed three times, then vanished."
Milan: "Parker?"
Ivana: "Or the Americans. Either way, they're trying to mask it."
Dragan: "Where is Nathan?"
A shadow moved behind them—Nathan Briggs, quiet and composed, stepped into the circle. He was dressed casually, a dark jacket over a gray shirt, but his presence pulled attention like gravity.
Nathan comes in. "You asked for me?"
Dragan: "Tell me something useful. Or are you just going to keep smiling while they erase us from relevance?"
Nathan (calmly): "You think too loud, Dragan. Let me show you something."
He tapped his bracelet, and a separate feed opened. It was a side-door camera from a café in Turku, Finland. Parker's wife had entered it 38 minutes ago—hooded, sunglasses on, but her gait unmistakable.
Ivana (shocked): "She moved?"
Nathan: "They're rotating her. Clever. Short trips under different aliases, always in plain sight. But she's pregnant—she can't be invisible forever."
Milan: "So we intercept her?"
Dragan said, "We'd have to breach Finnish security protocols. That's a declaration of intent."
Nathan looked peeved. "No. We follow up. Patiently. The baby is the key, remember? Not her. The child's genetics are the only match to the program's locking mechanism. If we kill her now, the host dies. And the weapon stays locked forever."
Ivana walked to the center of the room; a tab in her hand. " Miss Elena would soon be here so let's finalize this on time."
Nathan stood up. "Let me suggest a third option. We all know we can't destroy the AI already; we had activated the AI already so we can't destroy it again. We force the Americans to bring the child to us."
Milan looked curious. "You want to kidnap a pregnant woman to draw them out?"
Nathan smiled. "No. I want to scare them. Just enough to make them relocate her... into our hands."
Dragan leaned forward. "Explain."
"Fake intelligence leak. A credible threat. We leak coordinates of her safehouse to a known radical group—someone with a reputation. When the Americans detect the breach, they'll panic. Shift her immediately."
Ivana: "And we'll be ready. With eyes in the sky."
Milan: "What if Parker intervenes?"
Nathan smirked ."Then we kill him."
They resumed with their works as Nathan moved to a very secluded place —blocked out of every frequencies or transmissions.
"D7 transmitting", he said into the comm as low as possible. "D-T-7-3-2-20 just launched as planned. Groks requesting permission to carry on."
A voice husky transmitting from the Oval office directly from White House replied immediately. "Permission granted."
Nathan smirked as he left the place quietly as possible.
------------------
-----------------
Northern Finland — Undisclosed Location
Time: 3:02 AM (Local Time)
The compound lay buried beneath endless sheets of snow and pine forest, miles away from civilization. It was Christmas, and bells could be heard far away.
From above the ground, it looked like nothing more than a forgotten weather station. But beneath the frost-covered exterior was a fortress of modern security — a sanctuary designed not just to shield its residents, but to vanish from existence entirely.
Perimeter drones swept in gentle orbits, scanning for irregular heat signatures and magnetic field shifts. Above the thick ice-glass dome, invisible UV lasers formed a protective net across the sky. Hidden automated turrets were sunken along the tree lines, calibrated to identify human heartbeats versus animal rhythms. Every square inch of the facility was mapped, monitored, and backed by one of the most advanced AI surveillance systems in the U.S. arsenal: Cerberus-X.
Inside, motion-sensitive doors slid open only with multi-tier authentication—retina, voice, genetic trace. A soft hum echoed from the subfloor, where quantum encryptors kept the entire facility in blackout mode from global grids.
In the center suite, under dim golden lights and surrounded by medical drones, Grace Parker lay on a surgical pod bed—sweating, teeth clenched, her hands gripping the sides of the sterile surface.
Dr. Alisa Rinne, the U.S government's top prenatal trauma specialist, stood at her side, issuing sharp instructions to the surgical team.
Dr. Rinne: "Vitals dropping—oxygen saturation at 84%! Increase oxygen supply. Prepare neonatal emergency protocols. This baby is coming now, whether we're ready or not!"
The room smelled of antiseptic and metal. The low beeps from the monitors were quick, sharp, anxious. Sweat trailed down Grace's pale face as she screamed out in pain.
Grace (gasping): "Please… is he going to be okay?"
Dr. Rinne: "Focus on your breathing, Grace. He's strong. You've both come too far."
Then—one more contraction. A cry.
Not Grace's. The baby's.
A small, sharp sound, piercing the air like a miracle.
The AI nurse drone, Ava-3, gently raised the child from the pod and began cleaning him with mechanized arms that moved with precision and care.
Dr. Rinne (smiling slightly): "He's breathing. He's early—but he's alive."
Grace let out a sob of relief, tears falling freely now.
Grace (whispering): "My baby…"
The drone scanned the infant, and the screen behind Dr. Rinne flickered.
> Genetic Signature Detected: 98.7% Match — Access Host Confirmed
Codename: SYNC-01
Dr. Rinne froze, eyes glued to the screen.
Dr. Rinne (to herself): "Oh my God…"
The door slid open sharply. Two agents in tactical gear entered, whispering into comms.
Agent 1: "We need full lockdown. The Cerberus system just received a tier-one alert from Utah. They know the child's born."
Agent 2 (gritting teeth): "They're coming. All of them."
Grace's expression twisted in panic.
"What do you mean? Who's coming?"
Dr. Rinne stepped forward, trying to remain calm.
"You don't understand, Grace. Your son is not just alive… he's already active. His brainwaves just interfaced with our AI grid. He's syncing with our systems—controlling things without intention."
Grace was terrified. "You mean he's—"
"A very highly classic entity; like a miracle, depends on who you ask though." Agent 2 interrupted her before she could complete her sentence.
Just then, the lights flickered once.
The child cooed softly in his glass incubator… and every system in the room recalibrated by 0.3 milliseconds, perfectly aligned with his vitals.
The AI Cerberus-X pinged a strange message on the mainframe:
> Override Attempt Detected. Core Protocols Adjusting. Host Access Authorized.
The baby—Parker's son—was already reaching into the system. Not consciously. Not maliciously. Instinctively.
The room grew cold with realization.
Agent 2 said quickly but quietly. "We need to get him out of here."
----------------
---------------
--------------
Somewhere Deep Beneath Utah – US Military Intelligence Bunker
Time: 02:03 AM (EST)
The cold hum of computers filled the underground war room. Large screens buzzed with satellite feeds, facial recognition logs, and coded transmissions. A digital map of northern Finland pulsed on the main screen, the location marked "FALCON HAVEN" blinking green. Below it, a bio-signature pulsed faintly—Grace Parker's. And beside it, a new one had appeared.
"She's delivered," a voice said.
Defense Secretary Lott stood with both hands on the edge of the command table, eyes locked on the data feed. "What's the condition of the infant?"
"Stable. Premature, but vitals are strong," said Dr. Emery Voss, the biometric analyst. "The birth triggered an encryption spike in CODEX. The AI recognized the neural imprint. This is it, sir—the human host has come online."
Brighton turned to Director Hannah Greene, who stood quietly, arms folded.
"So we were right. The child is the key."
Hannah nodded. "And now they'll come for him."
Travis looked excited."Three Eyes?"
Hannah blinked. "They've been watching us longer than we realized. We received Intel from Nathan some hours ago about this. "She pressed a button and the big screen at the center came to life.
"As planned, they followed Nathan's ideas and, as we can see, they already moved on the plan; they wanted to draw us out."
Travis beamed with smile.
"Perfect; seems it wasn't that hard after all."
Hannah splurged. "It's not that simple, Travis. We needed to be sure. If we moved prematurely and the child wasn't viable, we would've risked everything."
Gate paced. "We trusted Parker too much. Now we're juggling a weaponized AI, a fugitive scientist, and a rogue syndicate with military-grade intel. If you ask me I mean this Parker...."
Hannah cut-in. "We don't have time for blame. We need act fast. We need to play along."
A new voice entered the room—a grizzled, gravel-toned voice through a secure line.
Nathan Briggs.
Nathan (over comms): "I'm on the ground in Helsinki. Tracking chatter. You've got less than three hours before Three Eyes launches something big. They've mobilized a sleeper unit—Serbian origin, ex-military."
"What's your assessment?"
Nathan: "They're not coming to talk. They're coming to wipe the site clean. No survivors. No evidence. I think they're now moving directly. We need to act fast now."
"And you think they're after the child."? Hannah asked, her voice tensed. " That place was secured with our top security protection; there is no way there could be a breach. No way they could have known about the child being born."
Nathan voice sound desperate over the comm. "I don't think. I know."
Gate exchanged a grim look with Hannah.
Gate muttered."We need to send a recovery team to Falcon Haven."
"Too late."
"What?"
Nathan: "They're already en route. Drones are down. Comms are jammed. The safe house is compromised."
A tense silence.
Nathan broke the silence."Requesting permission to take charge now."
"Briggs, that's suicide." Gate advised
"I'm the only one who knows that terrain, and the only one Parker might trust. I get the kid… or no one does."
Hannah looked unconvinced. "That's not possible, Nathan. Remember Blake's death. He's damn sure to hate you for that. "
Nathan chuckled. "I think he knows Blake's daughter still in my charge; that's some hope to gain his trust."
Defense Secretary Lott spoke next. " Okay", his voice thicked over the line. " You're granted permission. All necessary helps would be sent. Good luck Nathan."
--------------
--------------
Northern Finland – 03:14 AM
U.S. Protected Compound – Breach Commencing
The sky outside ignited.
Explosions rocked the snow-covered exterior of the compound. Automated turrets burst to life, swiveling on their steel arms and releasing torrents of armor-piercing rounds. But it wasn't enough.
General Colton shouted over the alarms.
"Activate CODE firewall. Lock every external port. No one gets in through the digital perimeter!"
A young plump woman was busy on her computer; typing furiously away.
"I'm already there, sir. But they're not just attacking physically. I'm getting intrusion signals into our internal nodes—AI-tier breaches. They're using adaptive malware."
" Grab your weapons men. "
"They came for one thing. The child."
Nathan entered through the wired door on the east wing. He passed the men without a comment as he made his way to the lab where Grace was.
Grace gritted her teeth, her hand gripping the blanket, eyes glazed with pain but still fighting.
She looked furious and ready to shout when she noticed who entered. Nathan sat beside her; not caring on her reactions whatsoever.
"What are you doing here?"
No reply.
Grace looked irritated. She shooked with hate as she took hold of a device, ready to press the blinking red button. Nathan rushed to her, gently and passionately, to cool her down.
The fluorescent light above hummed softly. Snow fell thick against the sealed windows. Stillness, like the kind before a storm.
Then she spoke. Cold. Controlled.
"You killed Blake."
Nathan swallowed.
"You betrayed my husband," she continued. "The only man who ever trusted you. And you murdered his best friend. Why are you even here?"
He didn't move. Just stared at the floor, jaw tense. "It wasn't like that."
Grace's eyes burned. "Then what was it like, Nathan? Because from where I'm sitting, you're just another liar in a suit with a gun."
Nathan raised his eyes to meet hers. "I had orders, Grace. From the White House. They said Blake went rogue. That he was going to expose Parker's location—jeopardize the entire operation."
"And you believed them?"
"I had to," he said, voice breaking. "You think I wanted this? Grace I—" He stopped. Looked away. "It is my job though it was hard to; But the interest of the nation and its security comes first. It's better somethings remained in the dark."
Grace leaned forward. "What is the truth in all these?." She looked into his eyes. "Who are you?"
Nathan looked at the sleeping child.
"They were never trying to destroy the weapon, Grace. Not really. They were trying to control it. And your baby—he's the key."
Grace's breath caught. "What are you saying?"
Nathan stood. Pacing now. Eyes darting like he was being watched.
"I've seen the files. Classified backchannel chatter between the Pentagon and DARPA's black labs. A new technology had been developed. The child is only needed to activate the locked weapon now—once that happens, his genetic material could be extracted artificially and induced into a machine to replace your child. This could be segmented whereby giving the completely to the government."
Grace shook her head. "So they wanted to use my son?"
"They wanted to use him."
Silence again.
Nathan stepped closer. "I'm not here to hurt you. Or Parker. Or the baby. I'm here to get you all out—before the government comes to collect."
Grace stared. "Why should I trust you?"
He didn't answer at first.
Then, he pulled a tiny chip from his jacket pocket and slid it across the bed.
"I've been sending intel to Parker since day one. He doesn't know it's me. But everything he's learned about the mission's real purpose? I gave it to him."
Grace glanced at the chip.
Outside, a flicker of red danced along the snow-covered horizon.
Nathan's voice dropped.
"We don't have much time. I intercepted a signal an hour ago. They're coming. But it's not the government."
Grace blinked. "Who, then?"
He looked out the window. Eyes hardened.
"Three Eyes."
The screen on the far wall flickered to life.
Grace turned, wiping her tears just in time to see him.
Alan Parker.
Still in his black jacket, snow dusted across his shoulders. He looked exhausted, beaten down by war and truth—but when his eyes found Grace's, the weariness vanished.
"Grace."
She almost choked. "Alan."
Nathan stepped back into the shadows, arms crossed, allowing them their moment.
Parker's voice cracked, barely above a whisper. "Is he okay?"
Grace nodded, eyes misty. "He's beautiful. Just like you."
Parker smiled—just slightly. "And just like his mother."
They held each other through the screen in silence, a thousand things unsaid.
Then Nathan moved forward.
"I told her."
Parker's face shifted. Cold. Calculating. But not surprised.
"I figured you would," Parker said. "You're still on that wire between loyalty and guilt."
Nathan didn't flinch. "I'm still on your side."
"No," Parker said. "You're on their side. But today, I'm willing to let that work for us."
A low thrum rumbled beneath the building. The screen glitched.
Nathan's eyes narrowed. "That's not good."
Parker's jaw tightened. "It's started."
"Three Eyes?" Grace asked, clutching the edge of the bassinet.
"Yes," Parker said. "They're jamming comms and scanning heat signatures. You've got ten—maybe fifteen minutes before they breach. Nathan, get her out. Use the secondary corridor. Code 'Crimson Solace.'"
Nathan nodded.
The screen buzzed again—static dancing across Parker's face.
"Alan," Grace said, her voice trembling. "Come with us. Please."
He hesitated. "I can't. I'm the distraction."
Nathan's face dropped. "What?"
Parker smiled, that same lopsided smirk he wore the night they burned the facility in Zurich. "They think I'm still here, Grace. If I run now, they'll follow. But if I stay… they'll believe the target is still inside."
"No, Alan," Grace whispered. "Please—"
"Listen to me." His eyes locked on hers. "Protect our son. Keep him hidden. Never let them take him."
Nathan stepped forward. "Parker—don't do this. We can still get you out—"
The screen went dead as the call got disconnected.
Grace looked dejected.The baby shrieks inside the protector. Nathan grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her toward the hallway, already slamming in his access code.
Down the corridor, red alarms flared as the first automated turrets activated. But the sounds—they were wrong. The defense system wasn't targeting the enemy.
It was targeting the staff.
Nathan cursed. "They've overridden the system. They have full access."
"Parker—" Grace sobbed.
He pulled her into the elevator. "He knew. That's why he stayed."
As the doors closed, a faint transmission buzzed through Nathan's earpiece—crackling through encryption.
Alarms wailed like dying sirens. The air was thick with smoke, gunpowder, and betrayal.
Nathan shoved open the final blast door, his body half-burned from shrapnel. Behind him was Grace who carried the baby tight against her chest, trembling, teeth clenched. Rose guided by a humanoid robot.
And Grace—bleeding from her shoulder—dragged her feet, her breaths shallow, her strength failing.
The AI vessel, Vanta, hovered above the launch pad. A sleek obsidian triangle with glowing veins of cobalt-blue energy—The last hope.
Rose screamed. "Nathan! The ship—it's charging!"
Nathan punched in the override. "Just a few more seconds!"
But then—
BOOM!
A barrage of heat-seeker grenades collapsed the corridor behind them. Three Eyes operatives stormed in, dressed in hybrid exo-armor and cloaking gear—each with embedded eye-lens trackers glowing red.
"Take the child!" one barked in Russian.
Grace shoved Rose forward. "Run!"
Nathan turned, pulling his last magnetic blade from his side. He charged the first Three Eyes soldier—his blade slicing through the exo-armor like silk, sparks flying.
A second operative appeared behind him—firing rounds from a silenced assault drone. Grace stepped in—firing point-blank with Blake's pistol, one shot catching the drone in its optical core, the other piercing the operative's neck.
But another soldier—Sarina Drake—emerged from a side corridor, holding a plasma spear.
"You always make this difficult," Sarina hissed.
Grace spun. "You'll never touch him."
Nathan screamed, "Grace, no!"
But she already knew.
With her last strength, she sprinted into Sarina's path—shoving her against the wall and hitting the auto-trigger detonator clipped to her belt.
Sarina's eyes widened.
"For
The blast ripped through the hall—blinding, roaring, fire lashing out like a dragon's breath.
When the smoke cleared—Sarina's armor was cracked, her arm mangled—but she was alive.
Grace wasn't.
Her body lay smoldering against the far wall.
Nathan didn't let himself feel it—not yet. He grabbed Rose, shoved her toward the open AI vessel ramp. He took the body of Grace as he launched inside the vessel.
The baby evidently safe, he locked the inner core of the vessel and put it to action.
The ship's voice echoed.
> "Launch sequence initiated. Passenger registered: Infant. Rose Blakes. Nathan Briggs. Grace Parker: status – expired."
Nathan glanced back. The hallway was already filling again—Three Eyes pouring in.
---
Falcon Haven – External Yard
03:23 AM
Outside, war raged.
Stealth drones zipped through the sky, tearing into American automated defense towers. Three Eyes deployed cybernetic dogs and EMP grenades, disabling comms and vehicles.
American soldiers fought back with exosuits, launching from zip lines and elevated rails. Explosions lit the snowy night as flames danced across the compound.
A Three Eyes juggernaut slammed a U.S. operative through a wall. Snipers exchanged fire from broken towers. Blood streaked the snow.
But neither side held back.
This wasn't a skirmish. It was annihilation.
Because both sides knew what was at stake.
---
Inside the AI ship, Nathan stared down at the baby boy—Parker's son.
"We'll make it," he whispered. "I swear to you—we'll make it."
Then, just before the hatch closed—Nathan hit record on the ship's internal black box.
He looked at Rose. She looked terrified but calm.
He pulled her to a hug.
"Let's go", he said to the vessel.
The ship's engines roared to life.
----------
----------
Northern Finland ,
3 Days After the Breach,
Croatian Coast – 4:45 AM.
Rain streaked across the cracked windshield of the abandoned U.S. surveillance jeep Parker had stolen. His eyes were red—three sleepless nights hunting for something, anything.
Signal Lost.
That had been the last message from the AI vessel's tracker. It had vanished over the Baltic Sea—coordinates scrambled, response shut down.
For three days, he had followed whispers across icy fjords, through frost-bitten ports, and now—Croatia.
Parker staggered toward the pier. A salty breeze slapped his face. He clutched the small transmitter Nathan had left for him—a final breadcrumb.
And then he saw it.
A burnt remnant of the vessel's exoshell lay half-submerged in the marina's outer bay, covered in fishing nets and weather-worn flags.
Fishermen stood nearby, quiet. Watching. One of them stepped forward.
"Ti si poslao te ljude." He said in Croatian
Parker looked confused for some few seconds. A man who looked haggard step forward. "He was asking if you sent those men?"
The lines on Parker's head was evident. "What men?" He asked.
"Few men came some days ago. Some vessel sinked there few days ago. The owner was killed— or let say that's what they thought"
Parker nodded numbly.
The old man pointed to a tarp covering another body.
"We pulled one out. Four nights ago. A man. Barely alive."
Parker ripped the tarp aside.
Nathan.
The lines on the old man's face withdrew as he said gently, "But he escaped yesterday. We promised to take care of him; but he left without us knowing."
A deep wound stretched across his ribs.
Frozen tears clung to Parker's eyes. He hold tight to his engagement ring as the realization dawned on him. Grace wasn't going to be with him again. The men hold him; consoling him.
The rimming of engines got them startled. Behind them was three sleek cars with men in blacks and army clothing. They looked fierced as they jumped out and walking toward them.
" Parker Brooks," the commander called. "You are under arrest. U.S. extradition request. You're being taken home."
Parker didn't resist. He stood, dead inside, eyes fixed on the charred ocean beyond.
Washington D.C. – 72 Hours Later
U.S. Intelligence Briefing – Secured Vault, Pentagon
"Operation Crimson Rebirth is complete," the NSA Director said, flipping a file shut. "Three Eyes is no more."
"Status on Red Mars?"
"All executives detained. Hidden assets seized. The company is officially dissolved."
"And Parker?"
"Classified as a national-level prisoner. He knows too much."
A shadowed figure leaned forward.
"But… what about the child?"
Silence.
"Wherever Nathan sent that sub-vessel…" the Director muttered, "it's off-grid. We're scanning. But until then…"
He trailed off.
The room fell quiet. The future—now shaped by a memory-erasing child and a legacy of betrayal—hung in the silence.