Now, here he was. Voluntarily.
The lights died completely. A cold wind—impossible in a windowless room—brushed Eva’s cheek. And from the darkness, a voice that was neither Viktor’s nor hers spoke a single word:
A shadow moved beyond the doorway.
When the emergency lights hummed to life, Viktor was still there—but the key was gone. In its place on the table lay a single bullet, casing engraved with three words:
He tapped the photo. “Forty-eight hours ago, the Nightingale Floor went silent. Inside? A dozen scientists. And one of them—one of them—is Asset Zero. A ghost even I don’t know. If they wake up, they won’t steal secrets. They’ll end cities.” deadly interrogation 3
He stood up, cracked his neck, and for the first time, genuine fear flickered behind his eyes.
“No,” Viktor replied. “I want you to interrogate me one last time. But this time, the question isn’t ‘Where is the list?’” Now, here he was
“This one, Eva, you’re not the interrogator.”
“You’re the asset.”
“The question is,” Viktor whispered, “how do we kill someone who doesn’t know they’re already dead?”
Viktor leaned forward. The scars on his wrists—from the last interrogation—caught the light. “Because someone else found the list. Someone worse than your agency. And they’ve already activated the first sleeper.” In its place on the table lay a