Location: Hidden Estate, Northern Tavara – 9:46 AM
The frost still clung to the earth in northern Tavara, but the estate at the edge of the forest was alive with movement. Inside, Damien sat in a sun-drenched room that smelled faintly of cedar and old books, flanked by Nora and Elijah.
Across from them was General Marlowe, a retired but still sharp-eyed commander who had once led a covert division within Tavara's border security. Now, he leaned forward with a thick dossier in his hands.
"You're telling me Cassian Wolfe is building an underground network using biotech firms, splinter military groups, and ex-diplomats?" he asked, disbelief furrowing his brow.
Damien nodded. "They're not just rogue elements. They're coordinated, and worse, they've got access to weaponized data systems."
Nora placed a chip onto the table. "This was intercepted two days ago from a downed courier drone. It's not just about military takeover. They're trying to infiltrate economic control grids, especially systems linked to international trade across East Tavara."
General Marlowe exhaled slowly. "Then he's playing the long game. Bleed Tavara from the inside."
"That's why we need your old list," Damien said. "The contacts. The ones still loyal to the republic, not the politics."
The General considered for a moment, then stood. "I burned bridges after the 6th Border Revolt. You're asking me to light them back up."
Damien's voice was low. "I wouldn't ask if we weren't already in the fire."
The General turned to a cabinet and unlocked a hidden compartment. Inside was a thin, leather-bound journal. He slid it across the table. "Names. Places. But you'll need to be discreet. Some of them went dark for a reason."
Nora looked up sharply. "Do we have time for discretion?"
Elijah's phone buzzed. A message from one of the Midnight Net operatives had just come in: Asset compromised. Containment failed. Cassian knows.
Damien's jaw tightened. "We're already exposed."
The room fell silent.
Then Nora stood. "Then we move faster. We split up. I'll take west Tavara—check on our families' loyal branches and vault sites."
"I'll handle the corporate blocks," Elijah added. "Check who's been bribed or blackmailed."
Damien turned to the window, the mountains looming in the distance. "I'll go to Hollow Creek."
General Marlowe stiffened. "That's suicide. It's Cassian's backyard now."
Damien's eyes darkened. "Then it's where I need to be."