Location; Cairo, Egypt
Under the hazy Cairo moon, the city hummed with layered whispers. Between ancient ruins and steel towers, the old world coexisted with new power plays. In the heart of Zamalek, hidden beneath a luxurious art gallery, Cassandra Thorne sat at a marble table facing a man known only as The Falcon—a shadowy liaison once loyal to Archer Grey, now teetering on the edge of betrayal.
"You're playing a dangerous game," The Falcon said, swirling a glass of mint tea, his voice cold despite the warmth of the room. "Your cousin has already stirred the hornet's nest. You—his blood—are the next target."
Cassandra leaned in. Her crimson veil framed high cheekbones and calculating eyes. "Which is why I'm here, offering you a way out. You've seen what Archer's planning. The neural grid in Lagos? The nanite outbreak simulations in Jakarta? If we don't act, entire cities will be erased in silence."
The Falcon hesitated, then slid a flash drive across the table. "This contains coordinates. Hidden vaults. Names of sleeper agents in Asia and South America. Use it, and you'll either be a hero... or a corpse."
She smiled. "I've been both. Let's aim for something new."
Meanwhile, in Tavara…
Nora sat in her mother's former safehouse, the walls lined with coded journals and surveillance monitors. Her fingers trembled slightly as she played a hidden recording embedded in a 1993 film canister found in Elena's archive.
The screen flickered to life.
A much younger Elena, dressed in military fatigues, stood before a war-torn landscape.
> "If you're seeing this, it means the world is closer to the brink than I ever feared. Damien's bloodline isn't just targeted. It's unique. A gene—hidden deep—connects them to an artifact found in Tibet. Archer wants to manipulate it. But if that gene is activated improperly… it could wipe out half the world."
Nora sat back, stunned.
A gene?
An artifact?
Her thoughts raced. "This… this changes everything."
Her comm buzzed.
Damien's voice, ragged from the Arctic chase, came through. "They've sent your uncle into hiding. And my brother… he's gone off the grid in South Africa. We need to regroup."
"I found something," Nora whispered. "About your DNA. About all of this. We need Cassandra. She's the key."
In Cairo, Cassandra gazed out over the Nile as her phone buzzed. She answered only two words.
"I'm listening."