NOVEL WEB Chapter 21: The Eye of the Storm
Chapter 21: The Eye of the Storm
The global crisis seemed to be subsiding as the antidote worked its way into infected cities. Mira, Victor, Raul, Lila, and Amir sat in the debriefing room, faces etched with exhaustion. They had faced death, destroyed the Collective’s labs, and retrieved the antidote, but the weight of uncertainty hung over them.
“We’ve stopped their major attack,” Amir said, looking at the global map displaying diminishing infection zones. “For now.”
Lila shook her head. “This isn’t over. They’re regrouping, I can feel it.”
Victor leaned back, wincing from the pain of his injuries. “They’ve lost a lot of ground. But Kintz was right about one thing—there’s more. There always is.”
Mira stayed silent, her eyes fixed on a classified document she had just received. “Lila’s right. There’s been chatter about a final project. Something called Project Nova. It’s bigger than the virus.”
Everyone in the room froze.
“Bigger?” Raul asked, his voice laced with disbelief. “What could be worse than a global virus?”
Mira tapped her tablet, bringing up encrypted messages intercepted by the Coalition’s cyber division. “It’s not clear yet, but it’s a weapons program. Something they’ve been working on in the shadows, even before the virus was released.”
Victor’s face darkened. “And we don’t know where it is?”
“No,” Mira said. “But we’ve found a lead.”
She pressed another button on her tablet, and a grainy image of a man appeared on the screen. He was tall, in his late fifties, with cold eyes and a face lined with scars.
“That’s General Cassian Drayton,” Mira said, her voice low. “He’s been working with the Collective for years, hiding behind the scenes. If anyone knows the location of Project Nova, it’s him.”
Lila frowned. “He’s one of the most dangerous men alive. How are we supposed to get to him?”
Mira’s eyes gleamed with determination. “He’s been sighted in Zurich. We’ll take him down.”
Victor shook his head. “We’re not ready for another fight like this.”
Mira met his gaze. “We don’t have a choice. If we wait too long, Project Nova will go online, and whatever it is, it’ll make the virus look like child’s play.”
The room fell silent, each member of the team processing the enormity of what lay ahead. After everything they had been through, they were about to face an even greater challenge. The stakes were higher than ever, and failure was not an option.