<h4>Chapter 823: Chapter 825</h4>


    The rain fell hard, pping the metal roof of the safehouse like impatient fingers drumming out a warning. Inside, the low hum of a single fluorescent light filled the silence. Jude sat on the edge of a dusty old table, his fingers tapping absently against the worn wood as he stared at the cked-out window. Across from him, Darren leaned against the wall, arms crossed, his eyes locked on Jude but saying nothing. Neither of them spoke for a long time. They didn’t need to. The weight of what they had just learned hung heavy in the air, too thick to be broken by casual words.


    "I don’t care what that bastard said," Darren finally muttered, breaking the silence. "We’re not killing anyone."


    Jude didn’t respond right away. His eyes were distant, tracking something unseen through the rain-smeared ss. "If we don’t stop it..."


    "There’s always another way," Darren snapped, pushing off the wall. "There’s always a choice."


    Jude turned his head slowly. "You think I want to do this?"


    "I think you’re scared," Darren said bluntly. "And I think you’re letting that fear drive you somewhere you’ll nevere back from."


    Jude looked away. His jaw was tight, clenched like he was holding back a scream. "What if it’s me?" he said after a beat, voice low.


    Darren blinked. "What?"


    "What if it’s me it’s looking for?"


    The words hung there, sinking into the cracks of the room. Darren stepped forward. "Then we find a way to protect you."


    Jude gave a bitterugh. "By doing what? Hiding? Running? I’ve been running since I was twelve, Darren. Maybe it’s time I stop."


    Darren didn’t say anything. He just watched his friend with tired eyes, the kind of eyes that had seen too much and still hoped to see more. He reached into his coat and pulled out a folded piece of paper. "This came inst night. From the Capitol."


    Jude raised an eyebrow but didn’t move.


    "They’re activating Project Helix."


    Now Jude did move. He stood slowly, eyes narrowing. "They said they shut it down."


    "They lied."


    "Of course they did."


    Jude walked to the center of the room and stared at the concrete floor like it might reveal some hidden answer. Project Helix had been buried five years ago, on paper. But even back then, they’d all known it was just a matter of time before someone dragged it back into the light. It had started as a way to fight against biological threats, but it quickly became something else. Something worse. Not a weapon against disease, but a weapon against people. A weapon against anyone the government couldn’t control.


    "They’re going to use it against me," Jude said quietly.


    Darren nodded. "Or whoever they think ’it’ is looking for."


    Jude ran a hand through his hair. "How many others know?"


    "About Helix?" Darren shrugged. "A few dozen. Maybe less."


    "And how many know who the target might be?"


    Darren hesitated. "Just one."


    Jude’s eyes flicked up.


    "She’s waiting outside."


    Jude didn’t say anything for a long time. The rain continued its relentless drumming. Finally, he nodded once. "Bring her in."


    Darren walked to the door and opened it. A gust of wind swept in, cold and biting, carrying with it the scent of wet earth and danger. A momentter, a woman stepped through. She was tall, dressed in all ck, her hood pulled low over her face. She didn’t speak as she entered. Just pulled back the hood to reveal a pale, angr face framed by jet-ck hair.


    "Elira," Jude said. Not a greeting, just a name.


    "Jude," she returned with a voice like broken ss, smooth, sharp, and dangerous.


    "You’re the one who leaked the Helix files."


    She smiled faintly. "You’re wee."


    Jude didn’t return the smile. "Why?"


    Elira tilted her head. "Because you needed to know. And because I’m tired of pretending any of this makes sense."


    "You work for them."


    "I used to."


    "And now?"


    "I work for myself."


    Darren snorted. "That’sforting."


    Elira’s eyes didn’t leave Jude. "They’re going to deploy the first unit tonight. You’ve got maybe six hours before the tracking satellites go live. After that, it won’t matter where you hide."


    Jude folded his arms. "And you expect me to believe you’re just here to help?"


    "No," she said simply. "But you don’t have a choice."


    Darren stepped forward, cing himself slightly between her and Jude. "If you think we’re just going to follow you, "


    "I don’t care what you do," Elira interrupted. "But if you want to live past sunrise, you’ll need what I know."


    Jude studied her. "Then talk."


    Elira reached into her coat and pulled out a small drive. "This has the location of the Helix control hub. Not the fake one in Sector 3, the real one, buried under ckridge."


    "That ce was dmissioned."


    "So was Helix," she said with a smirk.


    Jude took the drive and slipped it into his pocket. "What’s the catch?"


    "There isn’t one," she said, but there was something in her tone that made Jude look twice.


    "You’re lying."


    "I’m always lying," she said. "But this time, I’m lying for the right reasons."


    Jude sighed. "That’s supposed tofort me?"


    "No," she said. "It’s supposed to motivate you."


    They spent the next hour nning in near-silence, interrupted only by the asional scrape of chairs or scribble of a pen on paper. Eliraid out the ess codes, the backup routes, the emergency failsafes. Darren double-checked everything against his old intel. Jude watched, listened, and absorbed it all like a sponge. There wasn’t time for doubt.


    When they were done, Darren stood and cracked his knuckles. "So what’s the n once we’re inside?"


    Jude looked at him. "We shut it down. Permanently."


    "And if we can’t?"


    Jude met his eyes. "Then we make sure no one can use it again."


    They moved out an hour before midnight, slipping through the city like ghosts. The streets were empty, curfews enforced by drones that patrolled the skies in slow, mechanical circles. They reached the outskirts of ckridge just before two a.m., the ruins of the city rising like broken teeth against the stormy sky. The air was thick with static, and Jude could feel the hum of power buried deep beneath their feet.