Chapter 11: Political Orders from Above (Part One)
959 Words
Chapter Eleven:
Political Orders from Above (Part One)
The failed attempt at the Founder's Passage changed everything.
By dawn, Black Fortress Zero no longer resembled the disciplined fortress Elias Kane had entered days earlier. Armed patrols doubled. Surveillance drones filled every corridor. Every prisoner's movements were scrutinised with relentless precision.
Yet one thing puzzled Elias.
No one questioned him.
No interrogation.
No punishment.
No solitary confinement.
It was as though someone wanted him to remain exactly where he was.
That thought unsettled him more than any prison cell ever could.
---
Nearly a thousand metres above the deepest prison levels, inside the heavily fortified Strategic Command Chamber, Director Adrian Voss stood before a circular table surrounded by enormous holographic displays.
The room was unlike any other part of Black Fortress Zero.
It contained no prison officers.
Instead, twelve secure communication terminals projected encrypted holograms of world leaders, intelligence directors, military commanders, and powerful political figures whose identities were hidden behind digital masks.
No names were spoken.
Only titles.
"The Council is now in session," an artificial voice announced.
One holographic figure leaned forward.
"Director Voss."
"We have received your emergency report."
Voss nodded respectfully.
"Protocol Black has been compromised."
Another masked figure spoke.
"Is the prisoner designated A-7319 responsible?"
"He is involved."
A long silence followed.
Then a female voice emerged from another terminal.
"The engineer must not leave the island."
Voss answered calmly.
"He has made no direct escape attempt since the Founder's Passage."
"He will."
The reply came without hesitation.
"Then stop him."
Another member of the Council interrupted.
"No."
Every holographic figure turned.
"We need him alive."
The chamber fell silent.
Voss understood immediately.
The politicians were divided.
Some wanted Elias eliminated.
Others wanted him protected.
That could mean only one thing.
Elias possessed knowledge far more valuable than anyone had admitted.
---
Thousands of kilometres away, inside a classified government archive, Interpol investigator Isabella Cruz continued examining files connected to missing prisoners.
Officially, the prisoners had been transferred to maximum-security facilities around the world.
Unofficially...
they had disappeared.
Every investigation ended with sealed records.
Missing documents.
Redacted reports.
Witnesses who suddenly changed their testimony.
One file, however, refused to disappear.
It contained a single photograph.
Elias Kane.
Beneath it were handwritten words that chilled her.
DO NOT ALLOW SUBJECT TO REACH LEVEL 148.
She frowned.
Level 148?
No prison in the world publicly acknowledged that many underground levels.
Someone was hiding an entire facility from the world.
She quietly closed the file.
"I know you're out there," she whispered.
"And I'm coming."
---
Back inside Black Fortress Zero, Malik gathered the Pack in the hidden chamber.
"The prison has changed."
Ghost nodded.
"So have the guards."
Sophia Armand placed several stolen security reports on the table.
"They're moving personnel away from the upper levels."
Volkov studied the documents.
"They're reinforcing the lower sectors."
Elias immediately understood.
"They're expecting someone to go deeper."
Ghost looked at him.
"Or they're preparing to bring something up."
No one liked that possibility.
---
That afternoon, CERBERUS interrupted every workstation in the Innovation Division.
Every monitor displayed the same message.
SPECIAL ASSIGNMENT
One by one, selected prisoners were escorted away.
Not by robots.
By heavily armed human commandos.
Elias noticed the names being called.
Engineers.
Scientists.
Cryptographers.
Medical researchers.
None of them were ordinary criminals.
Sophia's expression darkened.
"It's happening again."
"What is?" Elias asked.
"The Selection."
Volkov lowered his voice.
"They choose the brightest minds."
"They're never seen again."
"Where do they go?"
Neither Sophia nor Volkov answered.
Their silence was answer enough.
---
Late that evening, Elias returned to his cell.
Waiting on the desk was something that had not been there before.
A chess piece.
A black king.
No note.
No explanation.
He examined it carefully.
The base unscrewed.
Inside was a tiny strip of paper.
Only four words were written.
Trust no government.
Beneath the warning was a symbol identical to the one engraved beneath his bed.
Someone inside Black Fortress Zero was still helping him.
But who?
---
At the same moment, Director Adrian Voss entered a heavily secured lift that required three biometric confirmations before it descended.
There were no floor numbers.
Only one illuminated word.
ORIGIN
As the lift descended into the depths, his expression hardened.
The doors finally opened onto a vast circular chamber filled with ancient machinery that hummed with quiet power.
In the centre stood a massive reinforced vault.
Its surface was covered with symbols older than the prison itself.
Waiting beside the vault was a lone figure dressed in a dark ceremonial uniform.
The man's face remained hidden beneath a silver mask.
"You've delayed this long enough," the masked figure said.
Voss remained calm.
"The engineer has found the first key."
"The second?"
"He will find it."
"And if he refuses?"
For the first time, uncertainty crossed Voss's face.
"He won't."
The masked figure stepped closer.
"You still believe destiny can be controlled."
Voss looked at the ancient vault.
"No."
"I believe people can."
Without another word, the masked figure placed his hand on the vault.
Deep within the steel structure, a faint pulse echoed like the slow beat of a giant heart.
Across the chamber, a concealed monitor suddenly illuminated.
SECOND ACCESS SEQUENCE INITIALISING.
Back in his cell, unaware that powerful leaders across the world were already deciding his fate, Elias stared at the tiny chess piece resting in his hand.
He had entered Black Fortress Zero believing it was a prison.
Now he realised it was something far more dangerous.
It was the centre of a global conspiracy stretching far beyond the island itself.
And somewhere within that conspiracy...
his name had become the most valuable piece on the board.
End of Chapter Eleven – Part One
- Writer
