The thunderheads were gathering above Gravesend.
Lightning darted through purple clouds, briefly turning the city's abandoned docks into a labyrinth of gold-black silhouette. The rain fell heavy now — thick drops bouncing off rooftop metal, bouncing into the puddles that flowed toward the sewers.
Adrian Kane stood at the docks' furthest warehouse, his grip tight on a heavy-caliber sidearm. Inside, his greatest betrayal was waiting — or his greatest redemption.
---
Inside the Warehouse — Loading Bay 4B
He slipped in quietly, employing the training Black Talon had provided. His senses were sharp, his pulse slow — a calm forged by danger.
He turned a corner — and there she was.
Eliza Kane.
Tied to a metal gurney, a shimmering array of diagnostic equipment connected to her, her pulse and brain activity displayed in real time on nearby screens. An Ouroboros surgeon — mask glimmering gold — made small adjustments to the mechanisms delivering something directly into her nervous system.
Adrian tightened his grip.
He fought down the rush of rage and disbelief.
He forced himself to move forward… slowly, quietly, until he was close enough.
---
The Confrontation
He pressed his silencer against the base of the surgeon's neck. "Step away."
The surgeon raised his hands — then pressed a small button on his console. The machine began to beep faster — its signals growing more erratic.
"It's already underway, Mr. Draeger… or should I say… Kane." The man turned. His mask fell to reveal piercing green eyes — Dr. Vale Harper, the mind manipulator rumored to oversee the Leviathan Directive. "Your sister is nearly integrated into the collective. Once we complete the process, there's no turning back."
Adrian forced him forward with his sidearm. "Turn it off. Now."
Harper sighed. "Impossible. The process can't be interrupted without catastrophic neuronal shock. She'd be rendered a vegetable — or a corpse. Is that what you want for your sister, Mr. Kane?
He tightened his grip. "The only thing I want for her… is freedom."
Harper pressed a finger against his wrist-mounted console. "I'm afraid you're already too late for that."
---
The Machine Activates
The screens glowed a piercing orange-red.
Patterns of neuronal activity fell into synchronization with signals from a nearby satellite array — the Leviathan Directive's master controller.
Eliza began to convulse.
Adrian rushed forward, removing restraints and tearing away sensor clusters — but it was already underway. Her body fell into seizures, then grew calm. Her pulse fell to nearly undetectable.
He pressed two fingers against her wrist — weak, fading — then knelt close.
"Eliza… come back… please…"
---
Harper's Final Words
Harper fell to his knees, a sidearm pressed against his back by Adrian.
He turned just a bit — a sinister smile creeping across his face.
"It's finished… The Leviathan network is online… The world will soon obey…"
He pressed a small detonator in his pocket.
"And there's nothing you can do to stop it."
---
Explosions and Escape
Explosions began to ripple through the warehouse.
Flames sprang up in a chain reaction — threatening to destroy everything.
Adrian hoisted Eliza's unconscious form over his shoulder — ignoring the growing fire — and fought his way toward the nearest exit.
Harper stayed where he fell, the last man smiling amid the chaos — a mad genius welcoming oblivion.
---
Epilogue — The Edge of Abyss
Adrian stumbled into the rain-soaked docks with his sister in his arms.
He fell to his knees just outside the range of the growing fire.
He pressed his forehead against hers.
He whispered promises… promises that he might not be able to keep.
He called for backup.
He called for Morgan Voss.
He called for the only people he could trust.
Because from this moment forward, the war was not just against the Ouroboros…
but against their ability to enslave the human mind.
And Adrian Kane was the last barrier in their path toward total domination.