Tactical gear packed into unmarked vehicles waiting just outside the perimeter.
But I walk in alone.
I step out of the car wearing a tailored suit, my expression calm and my polished shoes clicking softly against the pavement. In my hand is an official-looking ID card and a folder containing corporate documentation authorizing a routine systems compliance audit.
To anyone watching, I’m just another analyst sent to inspect financial infrastructure.
Another bureaucrat with paperwork and authority.
But beneath the paperwork and polite smile, I’m infiltrating Katerina’s fortress.
And this time—
I’m walking straight through the front door.
Timofey remains outside the compound with the team, positioned a few kilometers away, where they can move fast if things go wrong. The plan is simple.
If I find Ellie, we try to leave quietly.
If we can’t, I trigger the signal.
And Timofey storms the lab with everything he has.
It’s not a perfect plan.
But it’s the only one we have.
The gates of the compound rise high above me, reinforced steel framed by surveillance cameras that track every movement. Two guards stop me before the entrance checkpoint.
“Identification.”
I hand over the card without hesitation.
One of them scans it while the other watches my face carefully.
Seconds stretch.
The scanner beeps.
Green.
The guard nods.
“Clearance confirmed.”
The massive gate slides open with a heavy mechanical hum.
Inside, the compound looks less like a fortress and more like a corporate campus—glass buildings, clean walkways, quiet efficiency.
Which somehow makes it more dangerous.
A staff member approaches me almost immediately.
“Mr. Benson?” he asks politely.
That’s my alias.
“Yes.”
