NIGHTFALL OVER NEW ATLANTIS
Thunder rumbles far beyond the city, not close enough for rain — just a warning.
INN headquarters looms like a fortress of glass and steel, lights burning through several floors… except one.
The Shadow Division Research Wing.
Only one light is on.
Madison Connor's.
INN HQ – SHADOW DIVISION RESEARCH LAB – 11:47 PM
The lab is quiet.
Sterile.
Rows of holoscreens float above the disassembled remains of Cyborg-X.
Madison stands alone, hair tied back, sleeves rolled, eyes sharp with focused rage and cold intellect.
She hasn't slept properly in over 48 hours.
She picks up a neural component from the cyborg's spine — it's half-melted, half-erased.
[Madison Connor] (thinking): "No serial architecture. No manufacturer imprint. This isn't black-market tech.
It's ghost-tech."
She places the component under a multi-lens scanner.
The holoscreens flicker — chaotic code streams, corrupted but still pulsing faint signatures.
Madison frowns.
This code feels familiar.
A soft knock.
Senior Analyst Dr. Iris Kade enters — nervous.
[Dr. Iris Kade] : Director Connor… you're still here?
Madison doesn't look up.
[Madison Connor]:If I leave, this thing stays a mystery.
We don't do mysteries here.
Iris exhales and approaches.
[Dr. Iris kade]:You should take a break. Especially with Agent Steel out of the building.
Madison finally looks at her.
Measured. Controlled.
[Madison Connor]:Jaxon's leave is approved. His mental stability matters to this agency.
But the threat remains.Cyborg-X didn't come for us.
She looks at the burning hologram.
[Madison Connor] (cold):It came for him.
Iris swallows, worried.
DATA BREAKTHROUGH
Madison activates a manual override, pushing her system beyond safety protocols.
The code stabilizes — partially.
A symbol appears in the corner of the decrypted packet:
A Black Serpent twisting into a double-helix.
Madison freezes.
[Madison Connor]:No… impossible.
Iris leans closer.
[Dr. Iris Kade]:You recognize it?
Madison's voice turns low, almost dangerous.
[Madison Connor]: I've seen it once.
When I was still field-ops, twelve years ago.
In an operation we were ordered to erase from existence.
Irisblinks.
[Dr. Iris Kade]:Shadow-sealed?
Madison nods.
[Madison Connor]:We called them
"Ghost Serpent"
A paramilitary biotech syndicate that shouldn't exist anymore.
She enlarges the symbol.
[MadisonConnor]: If they're back…
Steel is just the beginning
----
INN HQ – MADISON'S OFFICE — LATER
Madison sits at her desk surrounded by old files, sealed reports, and encrypted archives.
She flips through:
Black Crew casualties
Illicit neural augmentation tests
Missing agents
Biotech smugglers never caught
Redacted war crimes
Her hand stops at a profile.
A woman.
In a lab coat.
Face partially blurred by redaction.
Madison slowly pulls the file closer.
She reads the name.
Then her eyes narrow.
Not in suspicion.
Not in anger.
In memory.
[Madison Connor] (whisper): "I know you…"
A pause
She locks the file instantly — not anger, not doubt — just protecting an asset.
Whatever past these records suggest…
Madison chooses to hold her judgment.
---
SHADOW DIVISION – DARK CORRIDOR
Madison walks alone with a datapad.
Lights flicker overhead.
Her pace is firm — but her expression carries weight:
Responsibility.
Fear for her agent.
A secret she can't share yet.
She stops in front of a secure door.
Enters a code.
The door slides open to a pitch-black vault filled with old classified crates.
She sets one down:
"GHOST SERPENT – PROJECT VELIS – TERMINATED"
Madison unlocks it.
Inside:
neural chips identical to Cyborg-X
nanofiber muscles
erased serial tags
a decade-old holo recording
She plays it.
Static clears.
A scientist speaks into a camera, shaking.
[HOLO-SCIENTIST ]: "If they continue this line of augmentation, we won't be creating soldiers…
We'll be creating something that thinks it's alive."
Madison stops the recording.
Her jaw clenches.
[Madison Connor]:This isn't about Steel.
It's about whoever wants him.
---
OUTSIDE NEW ATLANTIS – QUIET STREET – SAME TIME
Steel and Susan walk together, laughing lightly.
Steel looks at her with a soft warmth he hasn't shown anyone else.
Just two people learning to trust each other.
---
BACK TO MADISON
SHADOW DIVISION VAULT
Madison closes the crate.
Locks it.
Then she whispers:
[Madison Connor]:"Jaxon… you deserve a life outside all this."
(a moment of silence)
"But I need to know who's coming for you."
She steps into the corridor.
Lights follow her as she walks.
A commander preparing for a war no one else can see yet.
Madison sends a secure encrypted message to INN Executive Command:
> PRIORITY ONE:
Ghost Serpent activity confirmed.
Recommend silent counter-intelligence activation.
Do not alert field agents.
Not yet.
She hits SEND.
The message disappears into the encrypted network.
She leans back in her chair for the first time in days — eyes tired, but determined.
TO BE CONTINUED...