VENOM

5 PHASE 2

The darkness lasted only three seconds.

But to C.Y., it felt like an hour.

Gunfire echoed through the abandoned station.

Concrete shattered around him.

Agents shouted.

Maya was crouched beside him, breathing hard.

"C.Y.!"

"I'm here."

"Where did Kane go?"

"I don't know."

Another burst of gunfire ripped through the darkness.

C.Y. leaned around the concrete barrier.

Three figures moved across the upper platform.

He raised his weapon.

Then stopped.

Something was wrong.

"They aren't Kane's men."

Maya looked at him.

"How do you know?"

"They're wearing Directorate equipment."

Her eyes widened.

"What?"

C.Y. pointed.

The figures were dressed in black tactical armor.

The same armor worn by the agents who had entered the station with them.

Except these soldiers weren't protecting them.

They were hunting them.

A voice suddenly came through the communication system.

"All units, eliminate the rogue operative."

C.Y. froze.

Maya looked at him.

"Rogue operative?"

The voice continued.

"Primary target: Cyril Victor."

C.Y.'s eyes narrowed.

"Me."

Maya shook her head.

"That's impossible."

The first bullet struck the concrete beside her head.

C.Y. pulled her lower.

"Apparently not."

Another voice came through.

"Secondary target: Maya Reynolds."

Maya's expression changed.

"Me too."

C.Y. looked at her.

"Stay behind me."

She shook her head.

"I'm not letting you do this alone."

"That wasn't a suggestion."

"C.Y."

He looked at her.

She was scared.

But she wasn't running.

C.Y. smiled faintly.

"Fine."

He checked his weapon.

"Stay close."

---

They moved through the station.

C.Y. had no idea why the Directorate had turned against them.

But his instincts told him one thing.

They had been betrayed.

The question was why.

He reached the end of the platform and looked down.

Six armed operatives were moving through the station.

All wearing Directorate insignia.

C.Y. whispered:

"Six."

Maya looked over the edge.

"Can we get around them?"

"No."

"Then?"

C.Y. looked at her.

"We go through."

Maya sighed.

"I was afraid you'd say that."

C.Y. jumped.

He landed behind one of the operatives.

Before the man could turn, C.Y. disarmed him.

Maya moved behind another.

She struck the man's arm and forced him away.

The station erupted into another fight.

C.Y. moved through the group like he had been born for it.

He didn't fight like the man who had entered the Directorate six months earlier.

He was faster.

More precise.

Every movement had purpose.

One attacker swung.

C.Y. stepped aside.

Another came from behind.

C.Y. ducked.

He grabbed the man's arm and redirected him into another operative.

Maya moved beside him.

"Left!"

C.Y. turned.

A soldier rushed toward him.

C.Y. blocked.

The impact forced him backward.

The soldier was stronger than the others.

Much stronger.

C.Y. looked at him.

The soldier looked back.

Neither moved.

Then the soldier smiled.

"Finally."

C.Y.'s eyes narrowed.

"What?"

"You."

The soldier attacked.

C.Y. barely blocked the first strike.

The second nearly knocked him down.

The third sent him crashing against a metal pillar.

Maya shouted:

"C.Y.!"

He pushed himself upright.

The soldier charged.

C.Y. waited.

At the last moment, he moved.

The soldier's attack missed.

C.Y. struck.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

The soldier stumbled.

C.Y. grabbed his tactical vest and threw him onto the ground.

The man didn't move.

C.Y. stared at him.

"Who are you?"

The soldier smiled weakly.

"Ask Mr. Confidence."

Then he lost consciousness.

C.Y. stood still.

Maya approached.

"What did he mean?"

"I don't know."

But C.Y. knew that was a lie.

Every answer seemed to lead back to the same man.

Mr. Confidence.

---

They escaped through an emergency tunnel.

The tunnel was narrow and almost completely dark.

Maya followed behind C.Y.

"How far?"

"Don't know."

"That's comforting."

"I try."

They continued walking.

After several minutes, Maya stopped.

"C.Y."

He turned.

"What?"

She looked at his shoulder.

He was bleeding.

"You're hurt."

"It's nothing."

"You've said that before."

"I'm starting to think you don't believe me."

"I don't."

She pulled out a small medical kit.

"Sit."

"We don't have time."

"Sit."

C.Y. sighed.

He sat against the wall.

Maya carefully treated the wound.

C.Y. watched her.

She noticed.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"You're staring."

"You always this bossy?"

"Only with people who don't listen."

C.Y. smiled.

Maya wrapped the wound.

"There."

"Thanks."

She didn't move away immediately.

For a moment, they simply looked at each other.

The tunnel was quiet.

No gunfire.

No alarms.

No orders.

Just them.

Maya lowered her voice.

"Are you scared?"

C.Y. thought about it.

"Yeah."

She looked surprised.

"You admitted it."

"I'm scared for you."

Maya's expression softened.

"C.Y..."

He looked away.

"I don't know what's happening."

"Neither do I."

"They know where my family lives."

Maya's face changed.

"Have you checked on them?"

C.Y. immediately stood.

"No."

Maya grabbed his arm.

"Then we go now."

---

The tunnel opened several blocks away.

They stole a vehicle from an abandoned parking lot and drove toward C.Y.'s neighborhood.

Neither spoke much.

C.Y. kept calling his mother.

No answer.

Again.

Nothing.

Again.

Voicemail.

His grip tightened around the phone.

"Come on."

Maya watched him.

"She might just be asleep."

"My mother doesn't sleep without calling me."

"Maybe she—"

C.Y.'s phone rang.

He answered immediately.

"Mom?"

Silence.

Then a man's voice.

"Hello, Cyril."

C.Y. froze.

Maya looked at him.

"Who is this?"

The man laughed.

"Still asking questions."

C.Y. recognized the voice.

It was Daniel.

"Where's my family?"

"Safe."

"Put my mother on."

"No."

C.Y.'s voice became colder.

"Put her on."

"You're becoming emotional."

"Where are they?"

Daniel sighed.

"You were never supposed to find the files."

C.Y. stared ahead.

"What did you do?"

"We gave you everything."

"You lied to me."

"We gave you purpose."

"You used me."

"Yes."

C.Y. went silent.

Daniel continued.

"And now you've become a problem."

Maya leaned closer.

"Put it on speaker."

C.Y. did.

Daniel's voice filled the vehicle.

"You should have followed your orders."

C.Y. said nothing.

"You should have killed Marcus."

"Where is he?"

"Dead."

C.Y.'s jaw tightened.

"You killed him."

"He knew too much."

"And my family?"

"Alive."

C.Y. exhaled.

"Let them go."

Daniel laughed.

"You still think you're negotiating."

"What do you want?"

"Come back."

"No."

"Then they suffer."

Maya immediately reached for C.Y.'s arm.

C.Y. looked at her.

Daniel continued.

"Your family was always your weakness."

C.Y. closed his eyes.

"Where are they?"

"Come back to the Directorate."

"Why?"

"Because Mr. Confidence wants to see what Phase Two looks like."

The call ended.

C.Y. stared at the phone.

Maya spoke quietly.

"We're going back."

C.Y. looked at her.

"No."

"What?"

"They'll be expecting us."

"Exactly."

"We need a plan."

"We have one."

C.Y. frowned.

"What?"

Maya looked at him.

"We find your family."

---

They reached C.Y.'s apartment.

The door was open.

C.Y. immediately drew his weapon.

Maya followed.

The apartment was empty.

Furniture overturned.

Pictures smashed.

The kitchen had been searched.

C.Y. rushed into his mother's bedroom.

Empty.

His sister's room.

Empty.

He stood there.

Silent.

Then he noticed something on the floor.

A photograph.

A family picture.

His mother.

His sister.

C.Y.

He picked it up.

On the back was a message.

YOU SHOULD HAVE OBEYED.

C.Y. crushed the photograph in his hand.

Maya touched his shoulder.

"I'm sorry."

He turned toward her.

"They're alive."

"How do you know?"

"Because if they wanted them dead..."

He stopped.

Maya understood.

"They're leverage."

C.Y. nodded.

His expression changed.

The fear disappeared.

Something colder replaced it.

Maya noticed.

"C.Y."

He looked at her.

"I'm going back."

"No."

"I have to."

"That's what they want."

"I know."

"Then don't give them what they want."

C.Y. looked at the photograph.

"They have my family."

Maya stepped closer.

"Then we'll get them back."

C.Y. stared at her.

"You don't have to."

"I know."

She paused.

"I'm choosing to."

C.Y. didn't know what to say.

Maya smiled faintly.

"You're not alone anymore."

---

Two hours later, C.Y. walked into the Directorate through the front entrance.

No disguise.

No hesitation.

Maya walked beside him.

Every guard raised their weapon.

C.Y. stopped.

"I came alone."

A voice came through the speakers.

"Not quite."

C.Y. looked at Maya.

She stepped forward.

"Where are they?"

The voice belonged to Mr. Confidence.

"Welcome back."

C.Y. stared at the cameras.

"You took my family."

"We protected them."

"From what?"

"From you."

C.Y.'s fists tightened.

"Bring them out."

Mr. Confidence laughed softly.

"You still don't understand."

"Then explain."

"Project Venom isn't about creating an assassin."

C.Y. waited.

"It's about creating something that cannot be controlled."

Maya looked at C.Y.

Mr. Confidence continued.

"Your instincts. Your adaptability. Your ability to learn under pressure."

The screens around them activated.

C.Y.'s training footage appeared.

Every fight.

Every mission.

Every test.

"You weren't being trained."

C.Y. stared.

"You were being measured."

The screens changed.

PHASE ONE: SELECTION — COMPLETE

PHASE TWO: CONDITIONING — COMPLETE

C.Y.'s expression hardened.

Then another message appeared.

PHASE THREE: ACTIVATION

Maya whispered:

"C.Y..."

He stared at the screen.

Mr. Confidence spoke.

"Every mission you've completed changed you."

C.Y. said nothing.

"Every injury."

Another screen.

"Every victory."

Another.

"Every loss."

Another.

"Every person you've trusted."

The final screen showed Maya.

C.Y.'s face changed.

Mr. Confidence continued.

"All of it was part of the process."

Maya stepped forward.

"You monster."

Mr. Confidence laughed.

"Don't be dramatic."

C.Y. looked at the cameras.

"Where's my family?"

A door opened behind them.

Two armed guards appeared.

Between them stood C.Y.'s mother and sister.

Alive.

Terrified.

C.Y. immediately moved forward.

The guards raised their weapons.

He stopped.

His mother looked at him.

"C.Y."

His sister's eyes filled with tears.

"Please."

C.Y. looked at Mr. Confidence's camera.

"What do you want?"

"One final test."

"What test?"

"You."

The lights suddenly went out.

A steel door slammed shut behind C.Y.

Maya was separated from him.

His family disappeared from view.

C.Y. turned.

"MAYA!"

No answer.

A single red light came on.

Then another.

And another.

Doors opened around the chamber.

Figures stepped into the light.

Five.

Then ten.

Then twenty.

All wearing black combat armor.

C.Y. recognized some of them.

They were the Directorate's strongest operatives.

Mr. Confidence's voice echoed through the room.

"Let's see what you really are."

C.Y. slowly raised his fists.

The first operative charged.

C.Y. moved.

The fight began.

And somewhere behind the glass, Mr. Confidence smiled.

Because this was the moment he had been waiting for.

Not to see whether C.Y. could survive.

He already knew he could.

He wanted to see what C.Y. would become when survival was no longer enough.

C.Y. struck the first operative down.

Another attacked.

He dodged.

Another.

He blocked.

Another.

He countered.

The room became chaos.

But C.Y. kept moving.

Faster.

Harder.

Sharper.

Something inside him was changing.

The pain.

The anger.

The fear.

The thought of his family.

The thought of Maya.

All of it began blending together.

And for the first time...

C.Y. stopped fighting like a man trying to survive.

He started fighting like a weapon.

Mr. Confidence watched from behind the glass.

His smile slowly disappeared.

Because the readings on his screen were rising.

"Impossible."

A scientist beside him stared at the numbers.

"Sir..."

"What?"

"The subject's neurological response is accelerating."

"How much?"

"Beyond our projected limit."

Mr. Confidence stepped closer to the glass.

C.Y. looked directly toward the observation room.

For one terrifying second, their eyes met through the glass.

Mr. Confidence stopped smiling.

C.Y. couldn't see him clearly.

But he knew someone was watching.

And somewhere deep inside him, a thought appeared.

I will find you.

Then the screen flashed.

PHASE TWO: COMPLETE.

Mr. Confidence stared at the words.

The scientist whispered:

"Sir... what happens now?"

Mr. Confidence didn't answer immediately.

He watched C.Y. stand among the defeated operatives.

Then he finally spoke.

"Now..."

His expression became serious.

"...we find out if Venom can be unleashed."

And behind the steel doors, C.Y. raised his head.

The government had created the monster.

They just hadn't realized yet—

the monster was beginning to wake up.