Location; Brazil – Near Manaus, Jungle Periphery
The thick canopy of the Amazon jungle seemed to breathe with menace, every rustle of leaves a whisper of danger. Cicadas buzzed overhead, their droning hum barely masking the rhythmic thump of rotor blades overhead. The private Sinclair extraction chopper hovered for a moment before descending just beyond the tree line.
Nora jumped down first, followed by Damien. Both wore tactical vests over breathable black gear, their comms synced and weapons loaded. The air was humid and heavy, pressing against their skin like a second layer.
"Ground team Alpha is two clicks north," Damien murmured into his earpiece. "Keep the perimeter sealed. Do not engage unless fired upon. Our priority is the package."
"Copy," came Mateo's gruff voice. "But we've got eyes in the bush. Something's moving. Not ours."
Nora's jaw clenched. "Revenant?"
"Can't confirm," Mateo replied. "But it moves like a predator. Doesn't leave tracks. Doesn't break twigs."
Nora and Damien exchanged a glance. "He's here," Damien muttered.
They moved quickly, silent among the vines and roots. The jungle pulsed with life, but both of them had learned to hear the difference between natural danger and manufactured death. After twenty minutes, they reached a camouflaged cabin, shielded by brush and vines. One guard nodded, unlocking the reinforced door.
Leona Voss stood in the middle of the room, pale and confused. She was beautiful in a quiet, academic way—her sharp brown eyes scanned them as though trying to solve a puzzle.
"Nora?" Her voice trembled. "What's going on?"
"No time to explain," Nora said, moving quickly to her side. "You're in danger. We have to move now."
"I've already been attacked once. I thought—"
"You were the target," Damien said, his tone firm but not unkind. "And someone far worse is on his way. We can explain everything once you're safe."
Leona hesitated but nodded. She trusted Nora—Nora had once helped her navigate the bitter betrayal of a failed foundation grant scandal. That bond was enough.
They barely made it outside before a low hum began to rise—like a swarm of locusts or a machine breathing. Damien's hand shot out, stopping Nora mid-step.
"Down," he hissed.
The whirring escalated. A drone, small and silent, zipped through the canopy and exploded nearby. The shockwave threw them backward. The cabin caught fire instantly, flames curling into the trees.
"Move!" Damien shouted, pulling Leona up as gunfire cracked through the trees.
Mateo's voice barked in the comms. "Contact! Contact! North perimeter breached!"
"Split!" Damien shouted. "Nora, take Leona east. I'll flank west and draw fire. We'll meet at rendezvous delta in twenty."
"No," Nora growled, already grabbing Leona's hand. "We're not leaving you—"
"This is how we survive, Nora!" he snapped. "Go!"
She hesitated, then turned and vanished into the foliage with Leona behind her. Damien fired a few precise shots to pin down their attackers before diving into the underbrush.
Leona gasped as they ran, branches clawing at her arms. "Who are these people?! What did I do?!"
"Nothing," Nora said breathlessly. "But your father—he left a trail. And someone powerful wants it buried."
The jungle thickened. Every step was slower now. Mud, roots, fallen trunks—it was as though the earth itself wanted to slow them down.
Then, a voice echoed through the trees.
"Run, little heiress. It won't help."
Nora froze.
Revenant.
The voice was smooth, unhurried, and almost charming in its menace. She spun, gun raised.
Nothing.
Just the wind in the trees.
Leona was shaking. "Who… who is that?"
"A ghost," Nora muttered. "And he only appears when it's already too late."
Suddenly, a shadow darted past. Nora turned and fired. Nothing hit.
"Keep moving!" she snapped, dragging Leona forward.
They crashed through a tangle of vines before sliding down an embankment, landing near a shallow river. Nora looked up.
Standing on the ridge above them was Revenant.
Clad in matte black, his face obscured by a hood and tech-tinted visor, he exuded stillness—like a panther preparing to pounce.
"Hello, Sinclair," he said.
Without hesitation, Nora raised her gun and fired three times. Revenant ducked and vanished behind the trees, but Nora knew it was just the beginning.
Leona clutched her arm. "Why me? I never knew what my father was involved in!"
"That's what makes you valuable," Nora whispered. "You don't know what you're holding."
Just then, a flare shot into the sky from the northeast—Damien's signal.
He had reached the rendezvous.
Nora turned to Leona. "We run on three. No matter what happens, don't stop."
Leona nodded, fear hardening into determination.
"One…"
A shadow moved behind the trees.
"Two…"
Revenant's visor caught the light.
"Three!"
They bolted, river water splashing around them as they raced toward the signal—toward safety—or what was left of it.