Shadows of Deception

The hum of the jet engines was a low, constant vibration beneath Ethan’s feet as he stared out into the abyss of the night sky. The private plane cut through the darkness, heading toward a past he had long tried to forget—Cairo.

Izzy sat across from him, studying his face. “You’re quiet.”

Ethan let out a slow breath, fingers tapping absently against his thigh. “I don’t like revisiting old ghosts.”

Sarah, seated near the cockpit, didn’t bother looking up from her tablet. “Well, your ghosts are the only lead we have right now.” She tapped the screen, pulling up classified files. “Everything about Kane’s early experiments points back to Cairo. And you were there.”

Ethan shifted his gaze to the screen. A grainy, black-and-white image showed a facility—one he recognized all too well. “That’s the Helios Research Center.”

Izzy frowned. “That’s the place where the first memory rewrites happened?”

“Not just the first,” Ethan said. “The most dangerous.”

Wells had confirmed it before they left. Kane’s earliest breakthroughs in mind alteration had been tested in a secret Cairo-based facility under the guise of neurological research. Ethan had been sent there years ago on a mission. The only problem? He didn’t remember how it ended.

Sarah leaned back, crossing her arms. “So what do we know? What’s waiting for us in Cairo?”

Ethan clenched his jaw. “If we’re lucky? Just ghosts. If not…” He met her gaze. “The past might still be alive.”

The streets of Cairo were suffocatingly warm despite the late hour. The city was a maze of lights and shadows, ancient alleys hiding modern conspiracies. Ethan led the way, his steps instinctual. He didn’t need a map—his body remembered.

Izzy stayed close behind, scanning the streets. “Are you sure your contact is still here?”

“If he’s smart, he left years ago,” Ethan muttered. “But if he’s still around, he’ll be at The Crimson Oasis.”

Sarah arched a brow. “Sounds like a nice place.”

“It’s not.”

They turned a corner, arriving at a dimly lit alley where neon Arabic script flickered over a worn-out entrance. A bouncer eyed them warily. Ethan stepped forward, locking eyes with the man.

“Tell Aamir that Blackwood is here.”

The bouncer stiffened but didn’t argue. He disappeared inside. A moment later, the heavy doors creaked open.

Inside, The Crimson Oasis was filled with low laughter, the clinking of glasses, and the quiet hum of whispered deals. Smoke curled in the air as men in expensive suits and worn leather jackets exchanged more than just drinks.

A figure sat in the corner, nursing a glass of whiskey. He looked up, and recognition flickered in his dark eyes. “Ethan Blackwood,” he mused. “I was beginning to think you were a myth.”

Ethan sat across from him. “Aamir.”

Aamir Al-Fayed had been one of Ethan’s local assets during his time in Cairo. If anyone still had information on Helios, it was him.

Aamir leaned back, glancing at Sarah and Izzy. “You’ve made interesting friends.”

Sarah didn’t bother with introductions. “We need information.”

Aamir smirked. “Information is expensive.”

Ethan placed a thick envelope on the table. “This should cover it.”

Aamir raised a brow but took the envelope. He opened it, flipping through classified documents they had lifted from Wells’ stolen files. His smirk faded.

“You’re looking for Helios.”

Ethan nodded. “Tell me what you know.”

Aamir sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. “You should have let this stay buried, Blackwood.”

“Too late.”

Aamir studied him for a moment before speaking. “Helios was never shut down.”

Izzy stiffened. “What?”

Aamir leaned in. “The official story was that the facility was dismantled after the project was deemed unethical. But Kane’s men never left. They just moved underground—literally.”

Sarah’s grip on her gun tightened. “Where?”

Aamir hesitated. “There’s an old bunker beneath the ruins of Al-Khalid.”

Ethan’s pulse quickened. “That’s where it happened, isn’t it?”

Aamir nodded. “The last time you were here, you went into that bunker. And when you came out… you weren’t the same.”

Ethan’s breath hitched. The gaps in his memory—the missing pieces—they all led back here.

Aamir slid a keycard across the table. “This will get you inside. But be careful, Blackwood. Some ghosts don’t stay dead.”

The ruins of Al-Khalid were eerily silent. Once a military outpost, it had been abandoned for years. Now, it was just crumbling stone and forgotten history.

Ethan moved ahead, scanning the area. “There should be an entrance nearby.”

Izzy pointed to a rusted hatch, half-buried in debris. “That looks promising.”

Sarah pulled her gun. “I don’t like this.”

Ethan swiped the keycard. The hatch hissed open, revealing a set of stairs leading into darkness.

As they descended, the air grew colder, the walls lined with old wiring and rusted panels. Faint flickering lights illuminated the underground hallway.

Izzy swallowed. “This place is still running.”

Ethan stopped in front of a reinforced door. His fingers hovered over the keypad, muscle memory kicking in. He typed in a code. The door slid open.

Inside, monitors flickered with old data. A single chair sat in the center of the room, restraints still attached. And on the wall, a screen displayed a name.

Ethan Blackwood – Test Subject 17

Izzy gasped. “Oh my God.”

Ethan’s blood ran cold. He staggered forward, hands shaking as fragmented memories surged back.

Pain. Voices. Kane standing over him.

“Let’s see how well he forgets.”

Sarah grabbed his arm. “Ethan, talk to me.”

His head pounded. Images—flashes of a past he wasn’t supposed to remember.

And then, a voice crackled through the speakers.

“Well, well. I was wondering when you’d come home.”

The blood drained from Ethan’s face.

It was Kane.

And he had been waiting for him.