Building The Strongest Family

A masked figure leaned forward, his voice a low whisper that sliced through the tension in the room.

"Are you really suggesting that our most skilled operative is nothing more than a Campbell plant?"

The Grand Overseer's smile was unsettling, devoid of warmth. "What I'm proposing is a test of her loyalty, one we must initiate immediately."

Raven's heart raced as her cell door hissed open, revealing two armored sentries.

Their faceless helmets scanned her with ominous crimson lasers, heightening the sense of dread in the air.

"Operative Raven," one announced coldly. "You are being deployed."

She remained motionless, defiance etched on her features. "What are the mission parameters?"

"Termination of a high-value target within the Aurelian Federation." The sentry tossed a dossier at her feet with an air of finality.

Raven's cyber-eye flared to life as she scanned the document,and froze in disbelief.

Arthur leaned closer, curiosity piqued. "Who's been assigned to her?"

Evolon magnified the file: TARGET: ALISTAIR CAMPBELL.

"Oh," Arthur breathed, admiration lacing his tone. "That's truly diabolical."

Forcing Raven to assassinate the Campbell patriarch would serve as the ultimate litmus test for her allegiance.

If she succeeded, she would prove her unwavering devotion to the Consortium; if she failed or refused, it would confirm her betrayal.

Her fingers trembled,just once,before she stood and reached for the dossier. "I'll need my equipment."

In an instant, Evolon's feeds accelerated into a blur of action:

Raven was in the armory, strapping monofilament garrotes onto her wrists while sentries observed every calculated movement.

The Grand Overseer watched from a hidden control room, fingers steepled in contemplation.

Meanwhile, Evolon detected an anomaly flickering near the facility's mainframe,highlighted in pulsing gold.

"There!" Arthur pointed sharply. "What's that?"

Evolon isolated the feed: a ventilation grate loosening by mere millimeters every thirty seconds. "Unauthorized access detected. Someone else is inside."

Arthur's grin turned feral with realization. "The Campbells didn't wait for their hit; they've come to claim her first."

Chaos erupted in three simultaneous bursts: Raven spun within the armory, garrote slicing effortlessly through both sentries' throats before their neural implants could emit warnings.

Simultaneously, the hidden vent exploded outward to reveal four Campbell black-ops soldiers whose retinal scanners confirmed Raven's identity. Just then, as if on cue,

The Grand Overseer slammed down the lockdown switch,only for Raven to grab a plasma charge from the wall and hurl it toward the main control hub.

The feeds dissolved into static.

Smoke curled from Evolon's flickering projection, re-establishing a connection with Raven's cyber-eye feed.

She crouched in a derelict subway tunnel, blood streaking her left temple,a stark reminder of the chaos surrounding her.

Suddenly, a crackling voice pierced through the static,it was Kingston Campbell.

"You have one chance, Raven. The Consortium has branded you a traitor. We're offering sanctuary... but only in exchange for the Grand Overseer's head."

Raven steadied her breath, skepticism etched across her face. "Why should I trust you?"

"Because we didn't falsify your sister's medical records."

A heavy pause hung in the air before she demanded, "Where is she?"

Kingston's smile was almost palpable through the transmission. "Alive. For now."

And just like that, the transmission cut off.

Arthur exhaled sharply beside her. "They have your sister."

Evolon chimed in with its analysis: "Campbell forces extracted Lin Rven from Consortium custody two weeks ago. Probability of authenticity: 93.7%."

Arthur shot up from his chair, it screeching against the marble floor as he declared, "We need to move faster! If Raven thinks they have her sister…"

"…she'll butcher the Grand Overseer and hand Kingston a war on a silver platter," Evolon finished grimly.

Arthur slammed his fist onto the desk, determination radiating from him. "Not happening! Trigger Protocol: White Snake."

Evolon's systems hummed to life as encryption layers disengaged. "Confirming. This will burn our deepest Consortium infiltrator."

"Do it."

A new screen bloomed,revealing a live feed from within the Grand Overseer's private sanctum.

He stood before an enormous aquarium filled with genetically enhanced lionfish gliding gracefully behind glass.

Then came an urgent chime from his personal terminal, a file popped open containing two shocking revelations: proof that Raven's sister had never been at the alleged "black site" where Raven thought she was held captive and a real-time feed showing her at a Consortium medical facility in the Sapphire Isles,reading peacefully and blissfully unaware of the war being waged over her fate.

Attached was a single cryptic message:

"The viper you're choking is your only salvation from wolves at your door." - A Friend

The Grand Overseer froze for a moment before reaching for his comm device with urgency.

"Stand down all teams pursuing Operative Xiuying! Now!" he commanded.

Meanwhile, Raven's cyber-eye feed flickered back to life as she received those same files via an encrypted burst transmission.

Her breath hitched when she saw her sister,alive and unharmed,wearing the jade pendant Raven had gifted her years ago.

Then, out of nowhere, coordinates flashed across the screen, accompanied by a timestamp:

24 HOURS. SAPPHIRE ISLES DOCK 7.

Kingston's voice sliced through the tension like a knife. "Raven? What are you up to?"

But before he could get an answer, the feed abruptly cut off as Raven disabled her comms.

For three heartbeats, silence enveloped them,thick and heavy.

Then she turned away and stepped into the tunnels,not heading toward Campbell extraction or seeking Consortium vengeance,but toward that mysterious third path Arthur had just revealed.

Evolon's voice was unusually subdued as he remarked, "She'll come for answers."

Arthur took a long sip of his now-warm whiskey, a smirk playing on his lips. "Let her."

Outside, lightning cracked across the sky, casting a dramatic glow over Neo-Luminara's skyline,a dazzling chessboard of lights and shadows.

----------

One week later.

The abandoned Iron Serpent nightclub in Neo-Luminara's rundown entertainment district loomed like a forgotten mausoleum. Its neon sign, half-shattered and flickering weakly, struggled to cut through the city's eternal twilight.

Inside, the air was thick with the scent of rust and stale synth-liquor, a ghostly reminder of a place that once thrived on vice and violence.

Arthur stood at the center of the VIP lounge, hands tucked into the pockets of his tailored black coat.

The only illumination came from a holographic display hovering above his wrist, casting eerie blue reflections across his sharp features.

Evolon's voice whispered in his ear:"She's here."

A shadow detached itself from the ruined bar.

Raven emerged like a wraith, her golden cyber-eye glowing faintly in the dimness.

Dressed in nondescript urban camouflage, her monofilament garrote coiled around her wrist like a serpent poised to strike. Her expression was unreadable, but tension radiated from her posture, she was ready for anything.

"'A Friend,'" she said, her voice low and dangerous. "You're the one who sent those files."**

Arthur remained still,"And you're the one who didn't kill Alistair Campbell."

Her fingers twitched slightly,"You set this up, the fake medical records, the Campbells 'rescuing' my sister, that sudden change of heart from the Grand Overseer."

"I revealed the truth," Arthur corrected smoothly,"The Consortium lied to you. The Campbells tried to use you as leverage, I just leveled the playing field."

Raven's cyber-eye whirred as it scanned him, for weapons? For tells? For weakness? "Why?"

Arthur tapped his wrist display again; a hologram bloomed between them, a high-tech medical facility gleaming white and humming with advanced equipment.

In its center sat a young woman with Raven's sharp cheekbones and dark hair on a recovery bed, engrossed in reading from a tablet. She looked… peaceful.

Raven's breath hitched,"Lunar."

"She's safe," Arthur assured her. "For now. The neural degradation is real, but it's treatable; it just took too long for anyone to care."**

Raven's fists clenched tightly at her sides. "Where is this?"

"Somewhere no one will find her," Arthur replied smoothly, an edge creeping into his tone. "Unless I decide otherwise."

A beat of silence hung heavy between them before...

Raven moved.

In less than a second, she had closed the distance between them; her garrote pressed against Arthur's throat, the monofilament wire humming with lethal tension.

Evolon's warning blared in Arthur's ear, but he didn't flinch.

"I could kill you right now," Raven hissed. "Then burn this city down until I find her."

Arthur met her gaze evenly,"You could. But you won't."

"Try me."

"Because," Arthur said calmly, "you're not a mindless weapon. You're a survivor. And survivors know when to make deals."

Her grip didn't loosen, but her eye flickered, just once, toward the hologram of her sister.

Arthur pressed his advantage,"Submit to me. Not as a slave. Not as a tool. As a partner. Help me dismantle the Consortium and the Campbells, and I'll give you more than just Lin's safety."

"What else could you possibly offer?" Raven spat.

Arthur smiled,"Revenge."

The wire trembled against his skin.

Then, slowly, Raven lowered her weapon.

"Prove it," she demanded.

Arthur tapped his display again. A new hologram appeared, a blueprint of the Eastern Consortium's central mainframe, with a single access point highlighted in pulsing red.

"This is the Grand Overseer's private server," Arthur said. "It contains every blackmail file, every assassination order, every dirty secret the Consortium has ever buried. Help me crack it, and you'll have everything you need to burn them all to the ground."

Raven stared at the hologram, then back at Arthur. "And my sister?"

"Already under Osborn protection. You can see her tonight, if you agree."

The silence stretched.

Then Raven did something Arthur didn't expect.

She laughed.

It was a cold, sharp sound, but there was something almost relieved in it.

"You're ruthless," she said."I'll give you that."

Arthur's grin was all teeth. "So do we have a deal?"