05:12 AM – N.P.U. Headquarters, Metro City
The hallway smelled of floor wax and stale coffee. It was the specific scent of bureaucracy at five in the morning cold, clinical, and lifeless.
The buzzing fluorescent lights overhead cast sharp, flickering shadows on the tiled floor, making Adrian's reflection look fractured as he walked.
He adjusted his jacket collar, ignoring the chill. He'd walked these halls a thousand times, and the air never got easier to breathe.
He pushed through the double doors.
Captain Elias Ward was already at his desk. He looked like he hadn't slept in a week. His uniform was crisp, but the dark crescents under his eyes told the truth: Elias was fighting a war he was losing.
"Adrian," Elias said, voice rough. "Thanks for coming in early."
Adrian didn't sit. He stood by the door, hands in his pockets. "Didn't think I had a choice."
"You always have a choice. You just never take it." Elias slid a black folder across the desk.
It hit the wood with a heavy thud.
Stamped across the front in aggressive red ink: [N.P.U. EYES ONLY]
Adrian stared at it. "Is this it?"
"This is it."
Adrian flipped it open. The pages inside were crisp, but the information on them was rotten.
SUBJECT: Worker Disappearances – South Metro Industrial Zone
Irina K. Dovale (29) – MISSING. Last seen: Chemical Disposal.
Marcus H. Leigh (34) – MISSING. Last seen: Transport Sector.
Daniel R. Pierce (41) – MISSING. Last message: "Still hearing screa—[DATA CORRUPTED]"
AUTOPSY NOTE (Subject 004):
Body heavily deteriorated. Abnormal muscular growth. Bone density increased by 40%. Subject died screaming.
SURVIVAL RATE: 0.00%
Adrian's jaw tightened.
"You want me to walk into that," Adrian said, his voice flat.
Elias rubbed his temples. "I wouldn't ask if I had anyone else. Off the record? If I could burn that place to the ground myself, I would. But Command wants answers. And you're the only one I trust to get them and actually come back."
"You're asking me to go back into Nexopharma's shadow."
"I know," Elias said, meeting his gaze. "But we don't get to say no."
He slid a small earpiece across the desk.
"Helicopter's on the roof. Wheels up in twenty minutes."
Adrian pocketed the device. The folder felt heavy in his hand, like he was carrying the weight of the dead already.
He turned to leave.
"Adrian."
He stopped at the door.
"Come back," Elias said softly.
Adrian didn't look back.
"I'll try."
05:45 AM – Rooftop Helipad
The wind on the roof was biting. It smelled of exhaust, rusted metal, and the coming rain.
The city sprawled out below in shades of steel and smoke. The early light was bruised and gray, looking more like a dying bulb than a sunrise.
And there, leaning out of the cockpit of a sleek black transport chopper, was Garrick.
His headset was askew, his black hair whipping in the rotor wash, and a grin plastered across his face that was far too bright for this hour.
"Rise and shine, Sunshine!" Garrick yelled over the engine whine. "Didn't think I'd be your personal alarm clock today."
Adrian climbed into the back, pulling the door shut against the wind.
"An alarm clock has a snooze button. You just make noise."
Garrick laughed a bright sound that cut through the gloom. "Cute. Real cute. Try not to bleed on my upholstery, yeah? I just got it detailed."
"Fly straight and I won't have to."
"Deal." Garrick's hands danced over the controls. "ETA to South Metro: twenty-eight minutes. Try to enjoy the scenic route."
The helicopter lurched, then lifted.
The rooftop fell away. N.P.U. Headquarters shrank into a gray block among hundreds of others.
As they climbed, the city changed.
The gleaming glass towers of North Metro gave way to the rot of the South.
Smokestacks rose like broken teeth. The streets became narrow, twisted scars cut into the earth.
Adrian pressed his forehead against the cold glass.
The folder sat on his lap.
Irina. Marcus. Daniel.
Just names on a page. Until they weren't.
He closed his eyes, trying to find the empty space in his mind. The clinical detachment.
It's just a job.
But behind his eyelids, the darkness shifted.
Smoke.
Thick, black smoke. The smell of burning rubber and melting plastic.
Screams. Not just fear, agony.
The ceiling beam groaning before it snapped
Adrian's eyes flew open. His hand gripped the safety harness until his knuckles turned white.
"You good back there?" Garrick's voice crackled in his ear. "You went quiet. Usually, that means you're brooding."
Adrian forced his grip to loosen. He took a breath. In. Out.
"Just enjoying the view."
"Liar," Garrick said cheerfully.
The helicopter banked. Below them, the South Metro Industrial Zone loomed. A vast sprawl of industrial decay. No green. No color. Just rust and survival.
"Drop point coming up," Garrick announced, tone shifting to something professional. "Warehouse district. I'll be waiting for extraction."
"If I need extraction."
"When," Garrick corrected firmly. "You're not the dying-heroically type, mate. Too much paperwork."
Adrian looked down.
Somewhere in that tangle of shadows was the Nexo facility.
Somewhere in there, people were being turned into monsters.
He checked his sidearm. Loaded. Safety on.
He touched the folder in his pocket.
The city wasn't done with him yet..
And honestly?
He wasn't done with it either.
"Set us down," Adrian said. "Let's go to work."