6:42 A.M. — Tusheti Mountains, Georgia
The snow had stopped. Only the wind whistled now, brushing against the high ridges of the Waraha hideout.
Charlotte sat alone in the comms room—an underground vault sealed off with two biometric scans. She had barely slept, pacing for hours, checking every heartbeat of encrypted chatter.
Then the screen blinked.
“INTERCEPTED COMM FLAG: OPERATION VULTURE CLAW”
Source: Abandoned Hoorne Defense Grid Protocol
Target Zones: London Metro — High Civilian Risk
Possible Launch: 72 hrs
Encryption: Broken by ETHAN + CHRIS
Her eyes froze.
“AI Weapon System. Satellite Controlled. Status: ONLINE.”
Charlotte's heart pounded, but her face remained calm. She stood still for a moment, her reflection staring back from the screen—a mother, a strategist, a survivor. Then she tapped the emergency comm line.
“Chris. Ethan. Code Black. Wake up.”
Seconds later, both arrived—barefoot, armed, alert.
“What is it?” Chris asked, scanning the flashing data.
Ethan’s jaw tightened. “Davikah’s weapon. It’s real. Satellite-based AI strike. Probably orbital.”
Chris leaned over Charlotte’s shoulder. “We saw whispers of this back in Singapore. We thought it was junk data.”
“It’s not,” Charlotte said. “This was Hoorne’s secret military contract. Decommissioned five years ago. But I remember it. I fought against it on the board.”
Ethan’s voice was low. “He’s going to wipe them out if they come close. Everyone.”
Charlotte stared at the flashing screen and tapped into the Waraha relay.
“To Engfa. Immediate Protocol: Black Echo. Belgrave Estate is a trigger point. He has the weapon.”
She turned to her sons.
“We are not waiting.”
Pailiu entered, pulling on her jacket, armed already.
Charlotte walked past her toward the storage vault—unlocking a steel case filled with encrypted drives, surveillance backups, and a hidden tablet.
“I swore I would never fight again,” Charlotte whispered. “But if he’s willing to burn a city to break us…”
She looked at Ethan, Chris, and Pailiu. Her voice sharpened into the steel of command:
“Then we tear down his satellites first.”
FLASHBACK....
Six Years Ago — Zurich, Switzerland
Hoorne International HQ – Executive Level
The boardroom was silent. Windows stretched from floor to ceiling, overlooking the snow-covered Alps. Inside, Charlotte sat in a fitted black suit, calm and unreadable.
She was still the CEO then. Still wearing the crown. And across from her sat Davikah, younger, smug, with ambition crawling under his skin.
“Line item 47B,” she said, flipping through the digital financials. “Five hundred million in private defense spending routed through a shell in Iceland. Care to explain?”
Davikah leaned back. “Old research. Scrap metal in orbit. Ghost project. It’s nothing.”
Charlotte narrowed her eyes. “You buried it under humanitarian tech R&D. You used my signature. And you know that I am CEO of a multi millionaire business looked up by many showbiz artists.”
YOU ARE READING
BEHIND US
FanficWould they still survive the second hit on their relationship now as husband and wife? Note: Read BEHIND YOU IS ME, then you can follow to read this BOOK II - BEHIND US #1 - Snack #2 - Snack #3 - Snack #6- rainbow #7 - Snack #8 - Snack #10 - Snack...
