The distant echoes of pulse rounds faded as Ethan and Lena emerged from the maintenance tunnel, their breath ragged and hearts pounding. The cool night air hit Ethan's face like a wave, but it did little to ease the tension that coiled in his chest.
"We can't stay here," Lena murmured, her voice tight as she scanned the dimly lit alleyway they had emerged into. The neon glow of Nexara's skyline pulsed in the distance, but here, on the city's fringes, shadows ruled.
"Agreed," Ethan muttered, his fingers still clenched around the data core. "They're not going to stop hunting us."
Lena's eyes flickered to the core in his hand. "We need to decrypt it. Fast."
Ethan's jaw tightened. "Not here. HelixCorp's got eyes everywhere."
Lena nodded, her expression grim. "I know a place."
Ethan followed her lead as she slipped deeper into the maze of alleyways, her movements quick and practiced. Lena had always known the backstreets of Nexara better than anyone. It was her world—a world of secrets, codes, and hidden paths.
"Where are we going?" Ethan whispered, his voice barely audible over the distant hum of hover-cars above.
"Old district," Lena murmured, her eyes scanning the shadows. "There's a safehouse. Belongs to a contact I trust."
Ethan's instincts prickled. "Contact?"
Lena glanced back, her expression unreadable. "I vouch for him."
That didn't exactly ease Ethan's nerves, but he kept moving.
They slipped through the maze of Nexara's underbelly, where neon lights gave way to flickering streetlamps and rusted scaffolding. The hum of the city above was muffled here, replaced by the occasional hiss of steam escaping from forgotten pipelines.
After what felt like an eternity, Lena stopped in front of a nondescript warehouse, its exterior worn and weathered by time.
"Here?" Ethan asked, his voice low.
Lena nodded, her pulse pistol still ready in her hand. "Stay close."
She tapped a sequence on her wrist console, and a faint hum echoed from the door. A moment later, the heavy metal slid open with a low hiss.
The space beyond was dimly lit, the air thick with the scent of old machinery and oil. Rows of broken tech lined the walls, remnants of a time when Nexara's industries still relied on manual labor.
"Lena," a voice echoed from the shadows.
Ethan's muscles tensed as a figure stepped forward.
Tall, broad-shouldered, and clad in a patchwork of reinforced armor, the man's presence filled the room. His dark eyes flicked between Ethan and Lena, assessing.
"Didn't think I'd see you again," the man said, his voice rough like gravel.
"Nice to see you too, Knox," Lena replied, her tone laced with just enough sarcasm to hide the tension beneath.
Knox's gaze settled on Ethan. "And this?"
"Ethan Vale," Lena said quickly. "We need your help."
Knox's expression darkened. "Help with what?"
Lena glanced at Ethan. "Show him."
Ethan hesitated for a moment before stepping forward, holding up the data core.
Knox's eyes narrowed. "What the hell is that?"
"Crowe's data," Ethan said softly. "The Codex."
Silence fell over the room like a heavy blanket.
Knox's gaze snapped to Lena. "You brought the damn Codex here?" His voice was low, but the danger in it was impossible to miss.
"We didn't have a choice," Lena said firmly.
Knox's jaw clenched. "Do you have any idea what HelixCorp will do if they track it here?"
"We're already being hunted," Ethan interjected, his tone sharp. "They're not going to stop."
Knox's eyes locked onto Ethan's, a flicker of something unreadable in his gaze.
"And what makes you think I won't sell you both out to the highest bidder?"
The words hung in the air, thick with tension.
Ethan's pulse quickened, but he didn't back down. "Because if you wanted to, you would've done it already."
Knox's expression didn't change, but something shifted in the air. A silent acknowledgment.
"Smart," Knox muttered, his gaze finally breaking away. He turned toward a console near the far wall. "Follow me."
Lena cast Ethan a glance before following Knox deeper into the safehouse. Ethan stayed close, his grip on the core tightening as they moved into a more secure part of the building.
"Sit," Knox said, motioning to a worn metal bench near the console.
Ethan and Lena took their seats as Knox powered up the ancient system. Blue holographic displays flickered to life, casting a faint glow across the room.
"Let's see what's so damn important," Knox muttered, taking the data core from Ethan and slotting it into the console.
The core pulsed once, and lines of encrypted data began to stream across the screen.
Ethan's pulse hammered as the system struggled to decrypt the layers of protection Crowe had buried within the core.
"Come on," Knox murmured, his fingers flying across the interface.
Minutes passed in silence, the tension growing thicker with each passing second.
"Almost..." Knox's brow furrowed, his eyes narrowing as the encryption began to break.
Then—
"Access granted."
The words flashed across the screen, and the data unfolded before them.
But what they saw wasn't just code.
It was a blueprint.
Lena's breath caught. "Is that...?"
Ethan's eyes widened as the realization hit.
"The rewrite protocol," he whispered.
Knox's jaw tightened. "Crowe wasn't just trying to unlock genetic potential."
Ethan's pulse pounded in his ears. "He was trying to... reset it."
Lena's gaze darted between them. "Reset what?"
Knox's voice was grim.
"Everything."
A heavy silence filled the room as the weight of the revelation settled over them.
"Crowe built a way to wipe the genetic slate clean," Ethan murmured, his throat dry. "To rewrite humanity from the ground up."
Knox's gaze darkened. "And if HelixCorp gets this..."
"They won't just control people," Lena whispered. "They'll control evolution itself."
Ethan's mind raced as Crowe's memories surged forward, whispering warnings that echoed louder than ever.
"Protect the Codex, Ethan."
"We have to stop them," Ethan murmured, his jaw tightening.
Lena's eyes met his, her resolve mirroring his own.
"Then we need allies," she said softly.
Knox's gaze lingered on the screen before he turned toward them, his expression unreadable.
"Lucky for you," he murmured, "I know just where to start."
Ethan's stomach knotted.
Allies.
But in Nexara's underworld, allies often came with a price.
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