VENOM

3 FIRST BLOOD

The elevator doors opened without a sound.

C.Y. stepped into the underground garage wearing his new black tactical jacket.

The clothes felt strange.

Too clean.

Too expensive.

Too professional.

Six months ago, he had walked into the Directorate with nothing but a backpack and a pair of battered fighting gloves.

Now he carried government identification, specialized equipment, and a weapon.

He had spent six months being transformed.

His underground fighting style had been stripped apart and rebuilt.

His footwork was faster.

His reactions were sharper.

His breathing was controlled.

He could read movement before most people finished making it.

But despite everything they had taught him, one thing remained unchanged.

C.Y. still didn't think of himself as a killer.

He thought of himself as someone doing a job.

A dangerous job.

But a necessary one.

At least, that's what they had told him.

A black SUV waited at the end of the garage.

Maya stood beside it.

She was wearing a dark tactical uniform with a medical pack attached to her side.

C.Y. stopped when he saw her.

"You coming?"

Maya nodded.

"Medical and communications."

C.Y. opened the passenger door.

"I thought you said I was the idiot."

"You are."

"Then why are you coming?"

"To make sure you don't get yourself killed."

C.Y. smiled.

"Starting to sound like you care."

Maya looked at him.

"Don't get excited."

She climbed into the vehicle.

C.Y. followed.

The driver started the engine.

The garage doors opened.

The SUV disappeared into the night.

---

The target's name was Marcus Hale.

Former military intelligence officer.

Weapons trafficker.

International criminal.

According to the Directorate, he had been supplying weapons to extremist organizations across three countries.

He had killed people.

Kidnapped people.

Sold information.

And now he was supposedly preparing something much bigger.

C.Y. sat in the back seat reading the file.

The more he read, the more serious his expression became.

"How many people has he killed?"

Daniel's voice came through the communication device.

"Unknown."

C.Y. looked at Maya.

"Unknown?"

She was looking at the tablet.

"Most intelligence reports aren't exact."

C.Y. frowned.

"Then how do we know he's responsible?"

There was a pause.

Daniel answered.

"Because we know."

C.Y. didn't like that answer.

"That's not evidence."

"It's enough for the mission."

C.Y. closed the file.

Maya glanced at him.

"Something wrong?"

"No."

She studied him.

"You've been staring at that file for ten minutes."

"I don't like going after someone without knowing what they did."

Maya looked down at her tablet.

"You want the truth?"

"Yeah."

"So do I."

Their eyes met.

For a second, neither spoke.

Then Daniel interrupted.

"Approaching the target."

C.Y. looked through the window.

A large building appeared ahead.

Marcus Hale was believed to be inside.

The driver stopped two streets away.

C.Y. checked his equipment.

Maya checked her medical supplies.

"You ready?"

C.Y. nodded.

"Let's go."

---

The building was abandoned.

At least, that's what it looked like.

Broken windows.

Old signs.

No lights.

No visible security.

C.Y. crouched beside a wall.

"Too quiet."

Maya nodded.

"I was thinking the same thing."

C.Y. looked at her.

"You're getting better."

"I was always better."

"Sure."

They moved forward.

C.Y. reached the entrance.

He placed his hand against the door.

Stopped.

Maya whispered.

"What?"

"Someone's inside."

"How do you know?"

C.Y. looked through a crack.

"Movement."

Maya looked through the same opening.

"I don't see anything."

C.Y. smiled.

"That's because you're looking."

"What am I supposed to do?"

"Listen."

She became quiet.

A few seconds passed.

Then she heard it.

Footsteps.

Maya looked at him.

"Okay."

C.Y. opened the door.

They entered.

The darkness swallowed them.

Their communication devices remained silent.

C.Y. moved carefully.

He reached the first hallway.

Nothing.

Then—

A light switched on.

C.Y. immediately moved Maya behind him.

Several armed men appeared.

"Down!"

C.Y. pulled Maya behind cover.

The room erupted into chaos.

C.Y. moved quickly.

He didn't rush blindly.

He watched.

Waited.

Moved when necessary.

One attacker came around the corner.

C.Y. disarmed him and pushed him aside.

Another rushed from behind.

Maya warned him.

"Behind you!"

C.Y. turned just in time.

He blocked the attack and forced the man away.

Maya moved to cover.

"Left!"

C.Y. moved.

"Two more!"

He ducked behind a pillar.

The attackers advanced.

C.Y. waited.

One stepped into view.

C.Y. moved.

The confrontation ended quickly.

Maya stared at him.

"You've gotten scary."

C.Y. looked at her.

"I thought you liked keeping me alive."

"I do."

"Then keep up."

She smiled.

"Idiot."

They continued.

---

They found Marcus Hale in the basement.

He was sitting at a table.

No weapons.

No guards.

No attempt to escape.

He simply waited.

C.Y. raised his weapon.

"Marcus Hale?"

The man looked at him.

"You're young."

C.Y. frowned.

"Answer the question."

Marcus smiled.

"You really believe them?"

C.Y. froze.

Maya looked at Marcus.

"What?"

Marcus leaned back.

"You came here because they told you I'm a terrorist."

C.Y. said nothing.

"They told you I'm selling weapons."

Silence.

"They told you I'm responsible for dozens of deaths."

C.Y.'s grip tightened.

Marcus stared directly at him.

"Did they show you evidence?"

C.Y. remembered the file.

Photographs.

Reports.

Statements.

But no direct evidence.

"They showed me enough."

Marcus laughed quietly.

"That's what they always say."

Maya stepped forward.

"Stop talking."

Marcus ignored her.

"What's your name?"

C.Y. didn't answer.

Marcus looked at the scar on C.Y.'s eyebrow.

"Underground fighter?"

C.Y.'s eyes narrowed.

Marcus smiled.

"They recruit from places nobody looks."

C.Y. took another step.

"Get on your knees."

Marcus didn't move.

"You think you're here to save people."

C.Y. said nothing.

"But you're not."

Marcus looked at Maya.

"Ask your friend what happened to the investigators who tried to expose this department."

Maya frowned.

"What are you talking about?"

Marcus laughed.

"You don't know either."

C.Y. looked at Maya.

She looked confused.

That bothered him.

Marcus continued.

"The Directorate doesn't eliminate threats."

He paused.

"They create them."

C.Y. raised his weapon.

"Enough."

Marcus looked at him.

"You don't have to believe me."

He reached slowly into his coat.

Maya immediately raised her weapon.

"Don't!"

Marcus pulled out a small data drive.

He placed it on the table.

"Take this."

C.Y. stared at it.

"What is it?"

"The truth."

C.Y. didn't move.

Marcus looked directly into his eyes.

"Ask yourself why a government organization would hide its existence from the public."

C.Y. remained silent.

Marcus continued.

"Ask yourself why your training was so extreme."

C.Y.'s face hardened.

"Shut up."

"Ask yourself why they chose you."

C.Y. took another step.

Marcus whispered:

"And ask yourself why Mr. Confidence personally approved your recruitment."

C.Y. froze.

Maya looked at him.

"You know Mr. Confidence?"

Marcus smiled.

"Everyone who gets too close to the Directorate knows him eventually."

C.Y. stared at the data drive.

His mind raced.

Then his communication device activated.

Daniel's voice came through.

"C.Y."

He didn't answer.

"C.Y., eliminate the target."

Marcus watched him.

C.Y. lowered his weapon slightly.

Daniel repeated.

"Eliminate the target."

C.Y. looked at Maya.

She looked uncertain.

"C.Y..."

He looked back at Marcus.

"Why would they want you dead?"

Marcus smiled sadly.

"Because I found out what they're building."

C.Y.'s eyes narrowed.

"What?"

Marcus looked toward the ceiling.

"People like you."

C.Y. went silent.

Marcus continued.

"They're recruiting fighters. Soldiers. Criminals. Anyone with exceptional abilities."

"Why?"

"To build an army that doesn't answer to the public."

C.Y. shook his head.

"You're lying."

"I wish I were."

The communication device activated again.

"C.Y. You have your order."

C.Y. looked down.

His hand trembled slightly.

Maya noticed.

"C.Y."

He looked at her.

"Do it."

Marcus smiled.

"That's what they want."

C.Y. looked at the weapon.

Then at Marcus.

Then at Maya.

He had been trained for this moment.

He knew what to do.

The target was dangerous.

The target was a threat.

The mission was authorized.

Everything was simple.

So why didn't it feel right?

C.Y. slowly lowered his weapon.

"Get on the ground."

Marcus obeyed.

C.Y. stepped forward and secured his hands.

Daniel's voice immediately returned.

"What are you doing?"

"Taking him in."

"Negative."

"He's alive."

"That wasn't the mission."

C.Y. stared at Marcus.

"Then change the mission."

Silence.

Maya looked at him.

C.Y. had never challenged an order before.

Daniel's voice became colder.

"C.Y., this is your first mission."

"I know."

"You were instructed to eliminate him."

"And I chose not to."

Another silence.

Then Daniel said:

"Bring him back."

C.Y. nodded.

"Understood."

The communication ended.

Marcus looked at him.

"You just saved your own life."

C.Y. frowned.

"What?"

Marcus smiled.

"You'll understand eventually."

---

They returned to the Directorate before sunrise.

C.Y. expected punishment.

Instead, Daniel was waiting.

He stood at the end of the corridor.

Maya walked beside C.Y.

Marcus was escorted by other agents.

Daniel looked at C.Y.

"Come with me."

C.Y. followed.

They entered an empty room.

The door closed.

Daniel turned.

"You disobeyed a direct order."

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because I wanted him alive."

"That's not your decision."

"Maybe it should be."

Daniel stared at him.

"You think you're a hero?"

"No."

"Good."

Daniel stepped closer.

"Because heroes don't survive here."

C.Y. didn't respond.

Daniel placed a file on the table.

"Your next mission is tomorrow."

C.Y. looked at it.

"What about Marcus?"

"Handled."

"Where is he?"

"That's not your concern."

C.Y. stared at Daniel.

Something had changed.

For the first time, he didn't completely trust the man standing in front of him.

---

Later that morning, C.Y. found Maya in the cafeteria.

She was sitting alone.

He sat across from her.

"You believe him?"

Maya looked at him.

"Who?"

"Marcus."

She didn't answer immediately.

"I don't know."

"Neither do I."

Maya lowered her voice.

"But something was wrong."

"What?"

"The file."

C.Y. frowned.

"What about it?"

"I looked at it again."

She slid her tablet across the table.

C.Y. read the information.

Maya pointed at a section.

"Three years ago, Marcus was listed as dead."

C.Y. stared at the screen.

"What?"

"Officially, Marcus Hale died in an explosion."

"Then how is he alive?"

"That's the question."

C.Y. leaned back.

Maya watched him.

"You okay?"

"Yeah."

"You're lying."

"I'm getting used to that."

She smiled.

C.Y. smiled back.

For a moment, the tension disappeared.

Then Maya reached across the table and touched his hand.

"You don't have to figure everything out today."

C.Y. looked at her hand.

Then at her.

"Why do you care?"

Maya hesitated.

"Because..."

She looked away.

"Because you're my partner."

C.Y. smiled.

"That's all?"

Maya rolled her eyes.

"Don't push it."

C.Y. laughed.

It was the first genuine laugh he'd had since joining the Directorate.

But neither of them noticed the security camera above them.

And somewhere far above the cafeteria, behind a wall of glass, Mr. Confidence watched the footage.

A senior agent stood beside him.

"Should we separate them?"

Mr. Confidence shook his head.

"No."

"Why?"

He looked at C.Y. on the screen.

"Let him trust her."

The agent frowned.

"Why?"

Mr. Confidence smiled.

"Everyone needs something to lose."

---

That night, C.Y. returned to his quarters.

He sat on the edge of the bed.

The room was silent.

He pulled the data drive Marcus had given him from his pocket.

He had hidden it before returning to the Directorate.

He stared at it.

He had no idea what was inside.

But he knew one thing.

Marcus had been afraid.

Not of C.Y.

Not of the Directorate's soldiers.

Of something bigger.

C.Y. connected the drive to his personal terminal.

A single folder appeared.

PROJECT VENOM

C.Y. stared at the screen.

His heartbeat increased.

He clicked it.

A warning appeared.

CLASSIFIED — LEVEL 9

Then another message.

SUBJECT: CYRIL VICTOR

C.Y. stopped breathing for a moment.

He opened the file.

His photograph appeared.

His medical records.

His training results.

His psychological evaluation.

And one final line.

STATUS: PRIMARY CANDIDATE

C.Y. stared at the screen.

Then the door behind him opened.

He spun around.

Nobody was there.

Only darkness.

His eyes narrowed.

Somewhere in the building, an alarm quietly activated.

And deep beneath the Directorate, another screen came to life.

PROJECT VENOM — PHASE ONE COMPLETE.

C.Y. looked back at the computer.

For the first time, he understood something.

He hadn't been recruited because the government needed an assassin.

He had been recruited because they had already decided what they wanted him to become.

And the name of that project was—

VENOM.