Chapter 14 - Siege of Svalbard
Missiles streaked through the black sky, lighting up the frozen ocean below. Victor’s pilot deployed flares, twisting the stealth jet through violent evasive maneuvers before a surface-to-air missile clipped the starboard engine.
"Brace for impact!" Victor roared, pulling Evelyn into his arms as the jet spiraled downward, crashing onto the ice-covered helipad of a massive, fortress-like oil platform anchored in the Arctic sea.
The crash sent metal screeching against ice. Victor kicked open the emergency hatch, pulling Evelyn out through the black smoke into the biting sub-zero wind. Tactical mercenaries clad in white winter gear opened fire immediately.
Thomas and Victor’s remaining loyal security team returned fire, creating a protective envelope around Evelyn as they breached the platform's inner airlock.
Inside, the temperature plummeted, but the air smelled of ozone and hot silicon. The interior of the oil rig had been completely hollowed out, transformed into a massive, multi-level server farm surrounding a central glass sphere.
Inside the sphere sat the five children, suspended in anti-gravity harnesses, their eyes glowing with a faint, faint luminescence. Neural wires floated around their heads like silver cobwebs.
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Above them, standing on a suspended catwalk, was Isabella, holding a tablet displaying a live global map where financial networks were rapidly flashing red.
"You're too late, Victor!" Isabella’s voice echoed through the massive chamber via loudspeakers. "The global banking node in London just collapsed. New York goes dark in three minutes. Project EOS is taking its seat at the head of the world!"
