Nexus and Shadows

CHAPTER 1: The Beginning Of The End

The rain fell hard, like needles piercing through the night. The city was a blur of neon lights and holographic advertisements, casting a haunting glow on the slick streets below. Far above, in the towering corporate building known as Axis One, a body lay cold, lifeless.

Serena stood over the corpse, her breath steady despite the chaos that unfolded. She wasn't shocked anymore-not after everything she'd seen. This was the fourth murder in two weeks. Each victim was tied to Project Nexus, a classified government operation shrouded in secrecy. She'd been assigned to investigate the deaths, but she knew there was more to this than a simple series of murders.

Her eyes scanned the room. The victim's data chip had been forcefully removed, and there were strange burn marks along his neck, as if something had short-circuited. "Another one," she muttered, speaking into the communicator embedded in her wrist. "Same pattern. Someone's hunting down Nexus scientists."

Across the city, in a small apartment far from the upper-class towers, Zade paced back and forth. He had been off the grid for years, living under the radar ever since his name appeared on a list he wasn't supposed to be on-a list of targets. Project Nexus wasn't just about research; it was about control, and he knew too much.

His hand grazed over the edge of a photograph-Serena's face stared back at him. He hadn't seen her in years. They had been partners once, before everything fell apart. Before he walked away from everything he knew, including her. Now, fate was pulling them back together, whether they liked it or not.

As Serena left the crime scene, the city buzzed around her. She thought of Zade, wondered if he was still out there somewhere, hiding. He had disappeared the night the project collapsed, and with it, her heart had shattered. But she wasn't here to think about the past. Not when more lives were at stake.

Back at headquarters, Serena's superior, Commander Blake, was waiting for her, impatience written across his face. "This isn't just some random killings," he growled. "We're dealing with something bigger. The lab reports are in-whoever is doing this is using tech we've never seen before."

Serena clenched her fists. "Then we need to find them before anyone else dies. I'll need access to every file on Project Nexus."

Blake hesitated. "I can give you partial clearance. But the rest is above your pay grade."

She shot him a sharp glance. "If I don't get full access, you'll have more bodies piling up."

He exhaled and nodded. "I'll see what I can do."

As she turned to leave, a message pinged her communicator. It was unsigned, encrypted. But she knew the style. Only one person could send a message like that.

"Zade..." she whispered, her heart racing.

The message read: Meet me at the old docks. Midnight. I know what's going on.

And just like that, her world was thrown into chaos once again.

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