Location: ONYX CORE Extraction Van – En Route to Drop Point
Time: 8:02 a.m.
The extraction van tore down a rural service road outside Baton Rouge, tires screaming as they skidded around a bend flanked by pines and swamp. Inside, silence reigned—but it was the kind of silence packed with nerves, coffee breath, and people trying not to panic in front of small children.
Ryan Bruce's hands gripped the back of the driver's seat as he peered into the rearview mirror. Flashing lights.
Another patrol unit.
"Fifth one in twenty minutes," he muttered.
Emily, seated beside him with her boots braced on a first aid kit, checked her ammo clip. "We still in ONYX CORE's blind spot?"
Bella, hunched over a hacked tablet at the back of the van, shook her head grimly. "We're not in anyone's blind spot anymore. Someone leaked Phoenix Protocol footage—heavily edited. It looks like you, Ryan, triggered the meltdown."
Ryan blinked. "But I didn't. Version Zero sacrificed—"
"Doesn't matter," Bella snapped. "They cut the footage to show you activating the core and walking away like some Bond villain on casual Friday."
The girls sat cross-legged on the floor between duffel bags. Faith was calmly coloring in a picture of a smiling mech. Holly was rereading a spy manual she'd written herself in crayon: Operation Dad: Cool, Weird, Possibly Dangerous.
"Are we... the bad guys now?" Holly asked softly.
"No," Ryan said immediately. "Bad guys don't eat breakfast with their kids and fight people who want to blow up cities. We're the framed guys."
Faith blinked. "Framed like... pictures?"
Bella sighed. "Exactly. You're the art, kid."
Suddenly the van's comms crackled to life.
"All units, converge on Sector Delta. Fugitive family en route. Subjects considered armed, dangerous, and charming."
Emily narrowed her eyes. "Who gave that description?"
The comms shifted. A new voice emerged—slick, measured, with the kind of tone that belonged to campaign ads and poison.
"This is Senator Lorenzo D'Amico. Today we begin restoring public trust. The Phoenix traitors must be brought to justice. Bruce is no hero—he's the enemy hiding behind a family smile."
The van went dead silent.
Bella stared at the comms. "You know him?"
Ryan exhaled. "Yeah. I know him."
FLASHBACK – Location: Washington D.C., 7 Years Ago
Time: Classified
Ryan stood in a tux, balancing a martini, at a fundraiser swarming with politicians, lobbyists, and one very punchable man in a sapphire suit: Lorenzo D'Amico.
At the time, he was just a rising political star with a dazzling grin and too much cologne.
Ryan remembered the handshake.
"I admire your work, Mr. Bruce," Lorenzo had said. "You keep the monsters at bay. I make sure the world never knows they exist. We make a good team."
Ryan had replied, "Funny. I thought I was cleaning up your messes."
They never spoke again.
Until now.
Location: Extraction Van – Present
Time: 8:15 a.m.
Emily stared at Ryan. "You think he's behind the footage?"
"He's behind everything. Don Castini was just the beginning. Lorenzo wants full control—of ONYX, of AI, of everything. He's just using me as the scarecrow."
The van jerked as Bella swerved off the road and down a dirt path. "We're ditching this ride. They've got drones overhead. I know a backdoor safehouse. Kind of moldy. Might be haunted. But it's off-grid."
Ryan turned to the girls. "Time for Fire Drill Protocol Seven."
Faith perked up. "Is that the one with the grappling hook and marshmallow armor?"
"No, sweetie," Holly whispered. "That's Nine. This one is 'Get to the Batcave and stay quiet.'"
They grabbed go-bags, scrambled out into the woods, and bolted—Ryan carrying Faith on his back, Emily flanking left, Bella clearing digital trails in real time.
Behind them, the van exploded in a controlled detonation. Glitter mines went off for flair.
Location: Safehouse 9 – Unknown Swampland
Time: 9:37 a.m.
The place smelled like expired bug spray and secrets, but it was dry, shielded, and protected by several layers of analog tech and sarcasm. Ryan tossed his bag down and took a breath.
Bella threw a sheet over a cracked monitor. "Okay. We have four problems."
"Only four?" Emily asked.
"One: Lorenzo is running for President under the banner of 'Reclaim the Republic.' Two: He's weaponized the Phoenix Protocol footage. Three: ONYX CORE has been officially dissolved. And four: They just issued international warrants for all of us."
Faith raised a hand. "Can I be five?"
Ryan smiled. "You're six, sweet pea. That's better than five."
Bella sat on the counter. "We have one advantage. Lorenzo doesn't know we have the original Phoenix Protocol data. Version Zero copied the core before he sacrificed himself. We can prove what really happened."
Ryan nodded slowly. "So we clear our names, take down a politician, and uncover the real power behind this."
Emily crossed her arms. "How?"
Ryan grabbed a new earpiece, loaded his last burner phone, and turned to the team.
"We go back to school."
Everyone blinked.
"Lorenzo's first public appearance since the footage is at a high school commencement in New Orleans," Ryan continued. "Live broadcast. National attention. Open security. If we're going to crash the narrative... we crash it big."
Bella grinned. "Spy dad's going full high school drama?"
Ryan put on his ONYX coat, now stitched with patches from every mission.
He looked at his family. "Let's show the world what kind of villain a family man really makes."
(TO BE CONTINUED...)