The Feared One

The black site loomed ahead, a fortress of steel, concrete and death. Its perimeter was lined with razor-wire fences, automated turrets and high-tech security drones scanning the area. Armed guards patrolled in synchronized formations.

From a nearby ridge, Kane's team watched through thermal scopes.

Jonas exhaled. "Snipers on the towers. Thermal drones sweeping the perimeter. This isn't a facility but it's a damn warzone."

Bishop, crouched over his laptop, typed furiously. "I'm in their system. Cutting security feeds now… You've got two minutes before they realize something's wrong."

Kane chambered a round into his suppressed pistol, then turned to Volkov. "West entrance is yours. Jonas, take the sniper tower. Bishop, stay on comms and guide us."

Volkov grinned, cracking his knuckles. "Let's burn it down." Kane smirked. "Fast and clean. Move." They moved like ghosts, slipping into the shadows.

Jonas climbed the watchtower, eliminating the rooftop sniper with a suppressed shot. Volkov ambushed a security team, silencing them with his combat knife before they could radio for help. Kane breached the main corridor, executing two guards before they could react.

They advanced toward the command center and then Kane felt it. A shift in the air. A presence behind him. Then, the cold press of a gun barrel against the back of his head.

Kane froze. Jonas and Volkov spun around, weapons raised. And found Bishop, standing behind them… gun aimed at Kane. Silence. Kane's voice was calm and controlled. "Lower your weapon, Bishop."

Bishop's hand trembled, but he didn't lower the gun. "I can't, Kane." Jonas frowned. "What the hell is this?" Bishop exhaled shakily. "They got to me."

Kane's jaw tightened. "How long?" Bishop hesitated. "Months." Volkov's grip on his knife tightened. "You sold us out?"

Bishop's face was pale, his voice barely above a whisper. "I didn't have a choice. They have my family. You would've done the same."

Kane's expression didn't change. "You should've come to me." Bishop clenched his jaw. "It was too late." Then, he pulled the trigger. Click.

Kane moved first. In a blur, he spun and twisted Bishop's wrist forcing him to drop the gun. Then, a brutal elbow to Bishop's ribs.

Bishop stumbled back, gasping, before lunging at Kane, knife in hand. Kane dodged left, caught Bishop's wrist and twisted until the blade clattered to the floor.

Bishop countered, slamming a fist into Kane's jaw and knocking him backward. Kane recovered instantly, tackling Bishop into a steel locker.

Jonas and Volkov stood still, watching. This wasn't their fight. This was Kane's. Bishop drove a knee into Kane's stomach, breaking free. "You don't understand, Kane. They're bigger than us."

Kane wiped the blood from his lip, smirking. "And yet they're scared of me." Then, he struck. A savage right hook to Bishop's jaw. Bishop hit the ground hard, coughing blood.

Jonas kicked the fallen gun away, raising his rifle. "Give me one reason not to put a bullet in your head." Bishop coughed. "Because I know where The Order's real headquarters is." Silence. Kane's gaze sharpened. "You're bluffing."

Bishop shook his head. "You wanted the top? I can take you there." Kane studied him for a long moment. Then, he smiled. "Then you just bought yourself some time."

With Bishop restrained, Kane and Volkov pushed toward the command center. Jonas covered their retreat, sniping reinforcements. They reached the server room, The Order's digital brain for Europe. Kane pulled out C4 explosives. "Set the charges."

Volkov worked fast, placing detonators on the mainframe. Then, the alarms blared. A voice echoed through the facility's speakers.

"KANE. YOU THINK THIS WILL STOP US?"

It was The Order's director. Kane smirked. "No. But it'll hurt you." He pressed the detonator. BOOM!

The explosion ripped through the server room, sending fire and debris through the compound.

They raced toward the extraction point, bullets flying past them. Jonas covered their exit, sniping enemies from the control tower.

Kane and Volkov fought through the last wave of guards, breaking through to the waiting transport.

The moment Kane and his team burst through the black site's outer gates, the sky lit up with red warning lights. The entire compound was going into lockdown and The Order's elite forces were already closing in.

Gunfire erupted from multiple angles, forcing Kane and Volkov to take cover behind an overturned security vehicle.

Jonas' voice crackled in Kane's earpiece. "We've got heat coming in fast! ETA thirty seconds before they box us in!" Kane peeked around the corner and spotted four armored transport vehicles speeding toward them, their mounted turrets spitting bullets at full force.

"Move now!" Kane barked, pushing Bishop forward. BOOM!

An RPG slammed into the perimeter fence behind them, sending metal debris flying as Kane's team sprinted toward their stolen getaway vehicle, a black reinforced SUV parked just outside the blast zone.

Volkov fired a grenade launcher, hitting one of the approaching transport trucks. It flipped onto its side, crashing into a guard post and erupting into flames.

"We're not out yet!" Jonas called out from the ridge, taking out a rooftop sniper with a clean headshot.

Kane shoved Bishop into the SUV and jumped into the passenger seat. Volkov was behind the wheel. "Drive, Volkov!"

Volkov slammed his foot on the gas, and the SUV roared forward, tires kicking up gravel as they sped toward the main highway. "Drones incoming!" Jonas warned through the comms.

Kane looked through the back window and two black military-grade drones with mounted machine guns were locking onto them. "Jonas, get rid of them!" Kane shouted.

Jonas didn't answer. Instead, a second later, a high-powered anti-drone round ripped through the night sky, striking one of the drones. It exploded in midair, debris raining down onto the road behind them.

The second drone fired at the SUV, rounds shredding the rear bumper and back windows. Bishop ducked, screaming. "We're gonna die!"

Kane grabbed an assault rifle from the dashboard, rolled down his window and leaned out mid-speed. He took a deep breath, aimed and unloaded a full clip into the drone's engine.

The bullets ripped through the drone's core, sending it spiraling out of control before smashing into a watchtower and exploding.

Volkov let out a short laugh. "That was beautiful."Don't celebrate yet," Kane growled, reloading.

They reached the highway, speeding through Berlin's outskirts. Jonas' voice came through their comms. "Multiple pursuit vehicles behind you and black SUVs, heavy armor. They're sending everything."

Volkov swerved hard, dodging spike strips that had been deployed up ahead.

Kane turned to Bishop. "You said you were their hacker. Override their damn traffic controls!" Bishop was still breathing heavily, hands shaking. "I… I need a laptop!"

Kane grabbed one from the backseat and threw it into Bishop's lap. "Shut them down, or you die here." Bishop gulped, fingers flying across the keyboard.

Behind them, three black SUVs accelerated, trying to ram them off the road. "Hold on!" Volkov yanked the wheel, drifting through a sharp turn. The pursuing SUVs weren't as lucky as one of them crashed into a barricade, flipping violently onto its roof.

Jonas' voice came back. "You've got more coming from the north. Get off the highway, now!" Kane scanned ahead. A service tunnel entrance leading underground flashed past them.

"Volkov, take the tunnel!" You sure?" DO IT!"

Volkov gritted his teeth and jerked the wheel sending the SUV crashing through the guardrail and straight into the underground tunnel system.

The tunnel was dark, barely lit by a few flickering maintenance lights. Their SUV roared through the underground passageways, tires screeching as Volkov navigated sharp turns at dangerous speeds.

Behind them, two black armored SUVs followed with headlights glowing like predator's eyes in the darkness. Kane reloaded his rifle. "Jonas, where's our exit?" Jonas' voice crackled. "Coming up. You need to take the third tunnel on the left….NOW!"

Volkov reacted instantly, jerking the wheel. The SUV skidded sideways, barely making the turn as bullets ripped through the walls behind them.

One of the pursuers wasn't so lucky. It hit a pile of debris and flipped end-over-end, crashing into the tunnel wall. The remaining SUV gunned its engine, ramming into Kane's vehicle from behind.

The impact threw everyone forward. Kane spun around, grabbed a grenade and pulled the pin. "Catch, assholes!" He tossed it out the shattered rear window.

The grenade bounced once, then detonated beneath the pursuing SUV. The explosion lifted the vehicle off its wheels, flipping it in midair before it smashed into the ground completely destroyed.

Bishop let out a breath. "Jesus…" Kane ignored him. "Jonas, where's our exit?" "One more turn then, up the ramp to a side street."

Volkov accelerated. They hit the ramp at full speed, smashing through a steel gate. And burst out into the cold Berlin streets. They were free. For now.

The SUV roared to a stop outside a discreet, abandoned building on the outskirts of the city. Everyone jumped out. Kane immediately grabbed Bishop, slamming him against the hood. "Start talking. Now."

Bishop groaned. "I told you…I can take you to them." Kane narrowed his eyes. "Where?" Bishop hesitated. Then, he finally spoke: "The Ark." Silence.

Jonas' face darkened. "That's a myth." Bishop shook his head. "No. It's real. And if you want to kill The Order for good… you have to go there."

Kane stared at him for a long moment. Then, he pulled out a cigarette, lit it and crushed it beneath his boot. "Then we're going there."