The Hidden Weapon
Sterling Vance lunged forward, his face twisted with rage and desperation. The object in his hand wasn't a gun; it was a small, high-density **taser**, designed to deliver a paralyzing shock. His target was Maya. He realized that if he took out Adrian's "asset," he could cripple the entire operation and expose Adrian's weakness.
Adrian's corporate instincts shifted instantly to a primal need to protect. He acted without hesitation.
"Down, Maya!" he shouted, spinning around and pushing Maya hard behind the massive conference table.
This movement saved her life. Vance's two bodyguards—who were not Adrian's security but Vance's own hired muscle trying to protect him from legal trouble—were quickly neutralized by Adrian's actual security detail, who rushed in from the hallway.
But Vance was still on the loose. As Maya scrambled for cover, Adrian threw his full weight into Vance, pushing him against the wall with the strength of a battering ram. The taser fell harmlessly onto the carpet.
"The files!" Adrian demanded, his voice low and rough, pinning the smaller CEO with an elbow against his throat. "Where did your mother hide them, Vance?"
Vance spat blood, his eyes filled with wild hatred. "She didn't hide them! She destroyed them! The *only* copies were in the Geneva archive, and you'll never get in—"
Adrian tightened his grip. Maya, breathing heavily, crawled out from behind the table. She spotted the taser and kicked it under a chair. Her mind was racing, taking stock of the situation: a physical breach, an assassination attempt, and a confession about a decades-old cover-up.
"Sterling, you have been publicly deposed," Maya interjected firmly as she stepped forward. "You are being detained for assault. Anything you say next can be used against you in court."
Vance's gaze shifted to her, his moment of fury momentarily disrupted by her calmness. "You think you're clever, little girl? You think King cares about you? He just needs your face to get past the firewall!"
Adrian narrowed his eyes, but before he could reply, Maya took her chance. "Your mother," she pressed, ignoring Vance's taunt and Adrian's rising tension. "Did she disappear because of the environmental files, or was there something else?"
Vance let out a wild, gasping laugh. "She tried to blackmail us! She found out about the Scylla Unit**! They wanted to study it, not mine for gold!"
"The Scylla Unit?" Adrian echoed, loosening his grip on Vance's throat. This name was entirely new to him.
Vance, sensing a glimpse of freedom, gasped, "It's not in the Geneva archive! It's in the old station logbooks**! On San Cristobal Island! They moved them twenty years ago!"
Before Adrian could ask for more details, Vance's head snapped back. He fainted, collapsing limply in Adrian's grasp, the stress and adrenaline from the public confrontation finally overwhelming him.
The Scylla Unit
Adrian's security team quickly secured Vance and called for medical help, all while working efficiently. Adrian didn't watch. He was already turning to Maya, his eyes filled with a chilling new intensity.
"San Cristobal Island," he repeated, picking up Vance's discarded taser with a handkerchief and placing it in an evidence bag. "That's one of the main islands in the Galapagos. An old Aethel research station was established there."
Maya, surprisingly calm despite the near-assault, grabbed a notepad. "Vance gave us two key pieces of information. First, he confirmed the cover-up, which is crucial for proving the 'bad faith' claim was a lie. Second, the main evidence—the 'Scylla Unit' logs—isn't in the Geneva archive. It's in physical logbooks on San Cristobal."
Adrian rubbed his face, feeling the weight of the situation. "This changes everything. The Geneva plan is still necessary to access *financial* data to ruin the stock, but the real key is the physical location. Vance deceived us. He leaked the 'bad faith' claim to distract us, giving him time to clean out the Geneva archive before we arrived."
"And the 'Scylla Unit'?" Maya asked.
"My mother was a marine biologist," Adrian murmured, walking to the computer and quickly accessing the 'E. K. - Galapagos Unit' research file. "In Greek mythology, Scylla was a sea monster. It suggests something hidden, dangerous, and biological. Vance said they wanted to *study* it, not mine for gold."
He found an old, internal memo his mother had written, buried deep in the archives. It contained a single line of concern: the anomaly detected at 300 meters is not geological. Recommend immediate cessation of all dredging activities.
"It's biological, Maya," Adrian confirmed, his voice barely above a whisper. "Whatever this Scylla Unit is, it's alive. Aethel's original mission wasn't mining; it was biological weapons research disguised as mining exploration."
The conspiracy had deepened into something much more sinister than corporate cover-ups.
Operation Island Hopper
"We have to shift our focus," Maya announced, snapping her notebook shut. "The board meeting is in two hours. We use the 15% offer and Vance's public collapse to force the acquisition through that remains the legal priority. But we can't wait for the paperwork to clear to go to San Cristobal."
"Exactly," Adrian agreed. "I need you to go to Geneva, no matter what. You need to finalize the board meeting, secure the merger, and make sure those lawyers don't overlook a single clause. This is the A-M schedule at its most critical, Maya. You handle the corporate closure; I'll handle the operational risk."
"No," Maya countered instantly, stepping in front of him. "The intelligence asset goes where the intelligence is. Vance confirmed the Geneva key is now a red herring for the Scylla logs. I am the camouflage. I'm trained to blend in. You, Adrian, are the CEO who just called a no-confidence vote on the target company. If you show up on San Cristobal, Aethel's remaining executives will know exactly what you are looking for."
She placed her hands flat against his chest, firming her stance. "You have to stay here. Maintain the pressure, close the deal, and coordinate the extraction. *I* will go to San Cristobal. I have the perfect excuse a low-level 'auditor' doing last-minute checks on equipment logs."
Adrian stared at her, the conflict raging in his eyes. Sending her into the field was the biggest risk of his life, but her logic was flawless. She was the one who could be invisible.
He pulled her into a strong embrace, his mouth moving against her hair. "You will be escorted by two of my top security personnel, deep cover," he instructed, his voice rough. "You will wear the cuff, and you will activate the EMP if you are compromised. You find those logbooks, Maya. And you send them to me. Then you run."
"Agreed," she whispered, pulling back. "But I need one thing from you right now, before I walk into that board meeting."
"Anything," Adrian breathed.
"I need access to the most obscure, least-used bank account you have," she explained. "When I get those logbooks, I can't risk your secured network. I need an anonymous drop point."
Adrian managed a strained smile the smile of a man realizing his control was given entirely to his partner. He quickly typed a series of codes into his phone, linking a small, untraceable account to her silver cuff.
"It's done. Now go, Maya. Finish the merger, and then save my life."
Divergence and Shadow
Hours later, the emergency board meeting was a brutal, televised spectacle. With Adrian's inflated offer and Vance's recent explosion and collapse, the Aethel board quickly voted to accept the takeover and dismiss Vance. The merger was now a certainty.
Maya, running on fumes and adrenaline, finalized the last paperwork. By midnight, she was on a King Industries transport jet headed toward the Galapagos, but this time, her destination was San Cristobal Island, the site of the old research station.
She sat alone, reviewing satellite images of the abandoned facility. It was remote, overgrown, and right by the sea a perfect place for secrets.
Her flight was scheduled to land at 0600. Her instructions were simple: meet her two 'deep cover' security assets, find the logbooks, and get out.
Suddenly, the encrypted screen on her silver cuff flashed. A message from Adrian, routed through three separate private satellites, appeared:
AD: You're dangerously close to the operational zone. Be aware. I just confirmed a rumor. Sterling Vance's two bodyguards, the ones who rushed the room, didn't work for him. They were Aethel internal security, specifically reporting to the former head of the Scylla Unit.*
A second message followed immediately:
AD: Vance faked his collapse. He vanished from the hospital transport 30 minutes after you left. He knows exactly where you're going. **He is on San Cristobal, waiting for you.** Find the logbooks, Maya. And watch your shadow. You are walking into a trap.*
How will Maya navigate the dangerous terrain of San Cristobal Island, knowing Vance is waiting, and what will the contents of the 'Scylla Unit' logbooks reveal about Adrian's mother and the biological secret Aethel is hiding?