Chapter 6: Enter the Wolf’s Den
Berlin, Germany – 01:45 Hours
The cold night air bit at Hawke’s skin as he and Sophia approached the heavily secured government facility. The building was an unmarked monolith, its darkened windows giving no hint of the secrets buried beneath its foundation.
Hawke adjusted the stolen access card in his gloved hand. “Once we’re inside, we’ll have ten, maybe fifteen minutes before someone realizes the credentials don’t check out.”
Sophia nodded. “We stick to the plan. In and out before they know we’re there.”
Hawke didn’t respond. Plans had a way of going sideways.
A uniformed guard approached as they reached the security checkpoint.
“Identification,” the man grunted.
Sophia stepped forward first, sliding the access card across the reader. A green light blinked. The guard barely glanced at her as he motioned for Hawke to do the same.
Hawke followed suit, keeping his face neutral.
The scanner hesitated for a fraction of a second—then flashed green.
“Clear,” the guard muttered, waving them through.
They entered the main corridor, keeping their pace steady. Every step brought them closer to the sub-level, where the intelligence hub controlling Project Scythe was located.
Hawke’s instincts screamed at him. Too easy.
He glanced at Sophia. She had noticed it too. The silence. The lack of resistance.
They weren’t slipping in unnoticed. They were being let in.
Sub-Level 3 – The Command Center
The elevator doors slid open, revealing a dimly lit hallway leading to a reinforced steel door.
“Wren,” Hawke murmured, activating his comm. “We’re in. What’s on the other side?”
Static crackled. Then Wren’s voice came through. “That door leads straight into the command center. You’re about to walk into the belly of the beast.”
Sophia pulled a small tablet from her coat, tapping rapidly. “I can override the security, but once I do, we’ll have to move fast.”
Hawke drew his silenced pistol. “Do it.”
Sophia input the final sequence. A soft beep sounded, and the heavy door unlocked.
Hawke pushed it open.
Inside, a vast surveillance room sprawled before them—rows of monitors displaying real-time feeds from across the world.
But at the center of the room, standing calmly behind a curved desk, was Director Langley.
He turned slowly, his expression unreadable. “Jasper.”
Hawke leveled his weapon. “Tell me why.”
Langley didn’t flinch. “Because you’re in the way.”
Sophia’s fingers curled into fists. “You built an AI to kill your own agents?”
Langley smiled, but it never reached his eyes. “Scythe doesn’t kill. It ensures order. It’s the next evolution of intelligence gathering—identifying risks before they become problems.”
Hawke took a step forward. “That’s not intelligence. That’s execution.”
Langley sighed. “You were one of my best, Hawke. But you don’t see the bigger picture. The world isn’t black and white. It’s chaos. The only way to stay ahead is to remove threats before they surface.”
Hawke tightened his grip on his gun. This wasn’t a conversation. It was a stall.
Footsteps echoed behind them.
Guards. Armed. Moving fast.
Langley’s expression remained calm. “Put the gun down, Jasper. Walk away.”
Hawke smirked. “Not my style.”
In a flash, he spun—two shots, two guards down.
Sophia dove behind a console as bullets tore through the air. The room erupted in chaos.
Langley disappeared through a side exit. Running.
Hawke and Sophia exchanged a glance.
“Go,” she said. “I’ll cover you.”
Hawke hesitated. Then he nodded.
He sprinted after Langley, weaving through corridors as alarms blared.
This wasn’t just about survival anymore.
This was about ending Project Scythe.
And Jasper Hawke never left a mission unfinished.
