In Havana, Cuba – La Fortaleza del Silencio
The salty Caribbean breeze couldn't mask the tension crackling through Havana's old quarter. Nora adjusted her sunglasses as she and Damien stepped out of the blacked-out SUV onto cobbled streets lined with colonial facades. Every sound felt amplified—the echo of footsteps, the distant rumble of an engine, the murmured laughter of a child playing with a soccer ball. But beneath it all... a trap was coiling.
"Intel says the Remnant contact is hiding beneath the old fortress," Damien said, scanning their surroundings. "But Vale's already here."
"Lucien?" Nora frowned. "I thought he died during the Zurich Summit breach."
Damien's jaw clenched. "We all thought wrong. If Archer turned him... this could get personal."
They moved quickly. The entrance was disguised as a cigar wholesaler, but a retinal scanner behind the humidor cabinet confirmed the hidden tunnel. As they descended the stairwell, Nora whispered, "My mother's map ended here. If we find the last file, we can unlock Project Seraphim."
Damien gave her a side glance. "You really think it's not just a myth?"
She pulled up the encoded message on her device. "I think it's a nuclear-level truth bomb. One that could either end Archer's game—or blow up everything."
---
Location; Below La Fortaleza
Old tunnels crumbled with age and history. The air smelled of earth and secrets. When they reached the sanctum, a figure stood waiting.
An elderly man with silver hair and sharp eyes: Mateo Salazar. One of the Remnant founders.
"I wondered how long it would take you," he said in Spanish. "You look just like your mother."
Nora stepped forward. "You were there when the Accord began."
"I was there when it should've ended." Mateo pulled a small crystal drive from a hidden panel in the wall. "This is the second key. The third... is with Kiyomi, under Mount Fuji. But getting to her will cost more than you're willing to pay."
Suddenly—gas hissing.
Nora spun.
The tunnel darkened as Lucien Vale stepped from the shadows, flanked by two agents with customized plasma blades.
"Well, cousin," Lucien drawled. "Miss me?"
---
Flashback: Damien's Childhood – Tavara, 15 Years Ago
Lucien Vale was always the darker shadow of Damien's brilliance—equally gifted, but unstable, driven by resentment. When Damien was chosen to lead the Tavara corporate bloc, Lucien was left with crumbs and bruised pride.
He disappeared after a betrayal that cost lives—and nearly brought down the Syndicate's Tavaran wing.
---
Location: Present – Underground Tunnels, Havana
"I should've buried you in Zurich," Damien said coldly.
Lucien smirked. "You should've. But Archer gave me a second chance—and a mission. You, cousin, are the biggest threat to his order. And Nora? She's the key he wants to break."
Nora moved first—blade flashing. Lucien blocked, twisting her arm and sending her rolling. Damien charged next, fury behind every punch.
The confined space turned the fight brutal—elbows, knees, blades scraping walls.
Mateo Salazar ducked behind crates, clutching the crystal key. "You need to get out!" he yelled. "He's not alone!"
Explosives detonated above—the tunnel began collapsing.
Lucien vanished in the smoke, leaving chaos in his wake.
---
Location: Tavara – Hours Later
Back at their mountain base, Nora sat in silence, bruised but alive. Damien entered with the drive retrieved from Mateo.
"We have it," he said. "Key two."
"But Lucien has our scent now," Nora replied. "He'll follow us to Mount Fuji."
Damien nodded. "Let him. If he wants to see what betrayal really looks like... I'll show him."