CHAPTER 5 — THE TRAITOR IN UNIFORM
The footsteps were slow.
Measured.
Confident.
Whoever was approaching wasn't hiding.
The bunker door slid open.
General Marcus Holloway stepped inside with four heavily armed soldiers behind him.
Nathan froze.
"Marcus?"
They had served together for almost thirty years.
Shared deployments.
Shared funerals.
Shared promotions.
Nathan had trusted him more than anyone still wearing a uniform.
Holloway smiled.
"I hoped you'd find the files before I did."
Nathan's expression hardened.
"You knew."
"I knew everything."
The General slowly removed his cap.
"The project never failed, Nathan."
"It evolved."
Evelyn stepped in front of Nathan.
"You left twelve children underground."
"No," Holloway corrected calmly.
"I left twelve prototypes."
The words echoed through the bunker.
Nathan's fists clenched.
"They were children!"
"They became history's greatest soldiers."
"They became prisoners."
"They became survivors."
"They became exactly what you made them."
For the first time, Holloway's confident smile faded.
"You still think this is about revenge."
"It isn't."
He reached into his coat and produced a small encrypted drive.
"The world has changed."
"Enemies don't wait for permission anymore."
"I need Vulture alive."
Evelyn looked him directly in the eyes.
"You don't need us."
"You need control."
Without another word, Holloway nodded.
His soldiers raised their rifles.
Nathan instinctively stepped in front of Evelyn.
"No one touches my daughter."
The General sighed.
"I was hoping you wouldn't say that."
The first shot rang through the bunker.
Lights shattered overhead.
May you like
Concrete exploded from the walls.
The firefight had begun.
