Dr. Philip stared down at the humming medical diagnostics panel, taking a long, measured breath as he watched the baseline vitals stabilize.
This man will be awake soon, Philip thought, his eyes narrowing as a cold, calculating resolve settled over him.
I need to prepare for the storm that's about to hit this manor.
Stepping out into the grand hallway of his estate, Philip adjusted the cuffs of his lab coat, a dark, dangerous grin breaking across his face.
"I don't fear DWO," he muttered to the empty corridor, his voice echoing off the marble pillars.
"My only priority was ensuring my sister and children were clear of the war zone. Now that they're safe... it's time for war."
Suddenly, the sharp sound of glass shattering and a heavy metallic crash echoed from the medical bay.
Philip whirled around and sprinted back down the corridor. Pushing through the reinforced doors, he stopped dead in his tracks.
Damian was out of the cryo-bed, lying collapsed on the polished floor, his heavy muscles fighting against months of atrophy.
Damian raised his head slowly, his blurred vision focusing on the figure standing in the doorway. A rasping, dry whisper escaped his throat. "Ethan...?"
Philip rushed forward, hooking his arms under Damian's shoulders to help the towering operative to his feet. He guided him over to a heavy leather sofa near the main console and sat him down. Turning to the side table, Philip poured a tall glass of ice water and handed it over.
Damian drained the glass in seconds, the cold liquid shocking his system back into high gear. His razor-sharp instincts instantly snapped back online. He gripped the empty glass tight, his dark eyes locking onto the scientist.
"Where is Ethan?" Damian demanded, his voice low, gravelly, and laced with immediate threat. "Where is my son?"
"Calm down for a moment," Philip replied, holding up his hands in a placating gesture. "Your body processed a high-potency antidote. You need a minute."
Damian forced himself to lean back into the cushions, though every muscle in his frame remained coiled like a spring. "I need to contact my men. I need a search grid set up for Ethan immediately."
"I'll have my security personnel initiate a perimeter scan right now," Philip said smoothly. He stepped over to the wall comms, issued a series of quiet orders to his outer guard details, and walked back over.
Within minutes, a maid entered the bay carrying a silver tray stacked with warm broth, bread, and fresh meat. She placed it on the table between them and turned to leave.
Before she reached the archway, Philip caught her by the sleeve, pulling her aside out of Damian's line of sight.
"Listen to me carefully," Philip whispered in a low, urgent tone.
"Gather the rest of the domestic staff and leave the estate through the sub-level exit immediately. Your final pay have already hit your accounts. Go, before the dawn."
The maid looked at him with wide, anxious eyes, gave a sharp nod, and hurried out the heavy doors.
Philip walked back over and took a seat across from Damian. Before the scientist could offer a word of explanation, Damian's sharp voice cut through the silence.
"Who are you?"
Philip leaned back, a dry smirk touching his lips. "Well, I'd like to think I'm just a normal Doctor. trying to survive the night. And who might you be?"
Damian studied the scientist's relaxed posture, measuring the man in a split second. "Nice introduction. I'm Damian. I'm from Canada."
"Canada! Really?" Philip chuckled, raising an eyebrow. "I've always wanted to visit Toronto."
Damian didn't smile. "Finding my son Ethan is my only priority right now."
Philip let the silence stretch for a beat, his expression turning serious. "Tell me something, Damian... what brought you here? My men found you buried in the snow."
Damian's eyes darkened as memories flooded back. "Someone messed with my plane. Looks like my enemies knew I was bringing my son."
"Who was behind it?" Philip asked.
Damian shook his head flatly.
"Come now," Philip said, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees. "I think I deserve a bit of transparency. In your bloodstream, I isolated a synthetic neuro-toxin—a rare, plant-derived compound designed to induce an artificial, indefinitely suspended coma. It also weakens your body, you can't lose up to 89% of your true strength and other capabilities."
Damian's chest tightened.
Philip watched him closely. "A compound like that doesn't exist on the standard black market. It originates from a classified, off-the-grid location... a place once recorded as Heronics. Or as some call it, Hero Town."
Heronics...? Damian thought, the word striking a deep, buried nerve. Where have I heard that?
Philip picked up on the subtle twitch in Damian's jaw. "Heronics. Does that the name feels something, to you?"
Damian nodded slowly, searching his memory. "Years ago, A group of students went missing inside an unmapped zone. Only one came back. Shortly after, he vanished."
Philip tilted his head. "Go on."
"When investigators swept his apartment," Damian continued, his voice dropping into a deep, quiet rumble, "they recovered a note. That note was the first official record referencing 'Heronics'."
Philip gave a slow, knowing nod. "So you've touched the edges of the mystery."
Damian turned his sharp gaze onto the scientist. "Sounds like you know a hell of a lot more about it than an average doctor."
"In my students days, I stumbled across a book about medicine," Philip explained, his eyes drifting toward the ceiling as if reading the old pages. "It talked about a the drug injected in to you and a few other plants. And that it existed in Heronics City, a city from the 1600s— advanced, a centuries ahead of it's time. I didn't think much of it, until today."
Damian listened intently.
"So," Philip concluded, "whoever targeted you managed to source a refined sample of Heronics flora, weaponize it into an odorless toxin, and slip it into your system."
Damian nodded grimly. "Which means my enemy has reach..."
Philip stood up. "Which brings me to my next point. You need to gather your strength and leave this manor as soon as possible."
Damian frowned, his brows knitting together in genuine confusion. "Leave? Why? You saved my life. I don't leave debts unpaid."
Philip let out a long, heavy sigh, running a hand through his hair. "I suppose you have a right to know who is coming."
He turned back to face Damian. "Years ago, I served as a lead bio-weapons designer for an 'organization'. They are currently hunting me and my family."
A bitter, ironic chuckle escaped Damian's throat. "Funny... back home, a shadow 'organization' is also hunting me."
Philip's eyes widened in sudden, jarring realization. He stared at the man sitting on his couch. "Hunting you...?
Damian nodded, "They took several military bases, I couldn't sit still and with my boys. We kicked them out. They are still attempting to attack the country. Now they are after me."
Philip nodded.
"The main reason I crossed the ocean into Siberia," Damian continued, ignoring Philip's rising shock, "was to meet someone."
Damian stopped, noticing the utter disbelief plastered across the scientist's face.
"You're... that Damian?" Philip breathed, his voice dropping to an awe-struck whisper.
Damian frowned.
Philip frantically grabbed a pen and a blank piece of stationary from his desk, stepping forward with wide eyes. "I... I don't believe it. I've read the classified intelligence files on your operations. May I get your signature?"
Damian stared at the pen, then up at Philip, his brow furrowed. "You said you worked for the same organization that's...?"
"Yes," Philip said, pulling back slightly and setting the pen down. "I was one of their primary research directors."
Damian's jaw set hard. He rose from the sofa. His right fist clenched tight at his side, veins bulging under his skin, but he kept his voice steady.
"If you were one of their elite minds... why turn against them?"
Philip met Damian's intense glare without flinching. "Because I became a father. I have a son and a daughter."
The words hit Damian like a physical blow, instantly bringing images of Ethan and Daisy to his mind. The anger in his chest softened into a shared, unspoken understanding.
"In that organization, no one is allowed to resign," Philip continued softly. "I took my data and ran. They've been hunting me for nearly a year because I know a lot."
"And you're choosing to stay here?" Damian asked.
Philip nodded, "I'm done running. My biggest fear was my family catching the crossfire. But earlier today, I successfully extracted my children and sister to Japan. They are under the direct protection of the Yamamoto Clan."
Damian's eyes flickered with approval. The Yamamoto Family... the family that successfully repelled the Organization from setting foot in East Asia. His family couldn't be in safer hands.
"So," Philip said, turning toward the exit doors. "Now, you can leave."
Philip took a step forward, but a hand came down firmly on his shoulder, stopping him in his tracks.
Philip turned around in surprise.
Damian spoke,. "Who said anything about me leaving?"
Philip stared at him. "Damian, this isn't your fight—"
"I have my own score to settle with your former employers," Damian interrupted.
Damian extended a broad, heavily scarred hand toward the scientist.
"Let's burn them to the ground, Doctor. Once and for all—for every life they've destroyed, and for our families."
Philip looked at Damian's outstretched hand, the fear completely evaporating from his chest, replaced by an electric surge of anticipation. Grasping Damian's hand in a tight, iron grip, Philip nodded.
"Let's tear them apart."