Jack gently loosened Ellie’s hand from his, kissed her forehead.
«Daddy will be right back, sweetheart.»
He followed Diana to a high-security conference room within the facility.
Dr. Black was already seated, along with several data analysts.
«We’ve accessed some classified files related to Project K-21,» Diana began, her eyes fixed on the large screen. «Using the leads you gave, yes, especially the Biogen Research Solutions logo, we’ve uncovered something far more disturbing than we anticipated.»
The screen displayed a long list of files and documents. Jack recognized several familiar keywords.
«Project K-21,» Diana explained, «was originally a military medical research project studying specialized antibodies in the human body, antibodies that could fight genetically modified organisms.
«But the project’s lead scientist, Dr. Harold Knox, took it too far. He crossed serious ethical boundaries. He believed children made ideal test subjects because their immune systems were still developing, and they were less likely to cause trouble.»
«Children?» Jack felt his stomach twist.
«Yes.» Diana scrolled through the files.
«We found Ellie Harper’s profile in the Project K-21 database.»
Ellie’s personal file appeared on the screen.
«She’s been on their potential candidate list for a long time,» Diana pointed to a line of text, «since before her biological mother passed away.»
Jack froze. Sarah’s death. It had been a car accident on the way home.
He had always believed it was just that an accident. But now, those words haunted him.
«Since before her biological mother passed away.
«Are you saying Ellie’s mother’s death wasn’t an accident?» Jack asked, his voice rough. He couldn’t bring himself to consider that possibility.
Diana looked at him, her eyes full of sympathy.
«We’re conducting a deeper investigation into that matter.»
At the same time, in another interrogation room, Vanessa was sitting across from two federal agents.
«Ms. Vanessa Harper,» Agent Davis said, his voice firm and unyielding.
«We know you were a research fellow on Project K-21. We have evidence that you’ve been in contact with Doctor Harold Knox.»
Vanessa remained silent, her head lowered.
«We also have video footage showing you tampering with Ellie that night and several vials of red liquid labeled with her name,» Agent Evans added, placing a file on the table. «It’s time to tell the truth. Who’s behind all this? What exactly did you do to Ellie?»
Vanessa broke down in tears, her shoulders trembled uncontrollably.
«I… I was forced…» her voice cracked, heavy with emotion. «Knox… Knox approached me after I was dismissed from the project. He knew how desperate I was to return to research.
«He promised me money, a new research position, and all the resources I needed in exchange for Ellie.»
Watching through the monitor, Jack felt a wave of nausea rise in his chest, in exchange for Ellie, a child, his child.
«He said Ellie was the perfect candidate for red fluid F3, that she had a rare immunity.
«He made me sign an agreement, said if I didn’t cooperate, he’d find another way, and I’d lose everything.» Vanessa confessed, her voice drenched in despair. «I… I had no choice.
«I did what he told me to. I biologically altered stimulants and extracted the red fluid from her. Those insects… they were his too.»
Suddenly, the monitor in Jack’s briefing room switched to a new video clip an internal recording leaked from Project K-21, recovered by Diana’s team from encrypted files.
On the screen was Dr. Harold Knox, a gaunt middle-aged man with cold eyes behind wire-rim glasses. He stood in a dimly lit room, addressing a group of people.
«Children are the ideal subjects,» Knox’s voice echoed through the room chilling and clinical.
Jack stared at Knox’s face, his anger reaching its boiling point.
«Red fluid, not a victim.»
Those words pierced straight through Jack’s heart. His Ellie, his daughter, had been reduced to a lab sample.
«Knox is still active, there are other children, still being experimented on,» Diana said, her voice resolute.
«We’re tracking his location, now it’s time to act.»
Jack rose to his feet, fists clenched, his face hardened, eyes burning with resolve.
No more doubts, no more second-guessing.
There was only one mission left. Find Knox, save the others, and end this nightmare once and for all.
Darkness blanketed the city.
Beneath the crescent moon, a black van sped toward the outskirts. Inside, Jack sat beside Captain Meyer, his old comrade-in-arms.
Meyer pointed at a map on his tablet.
«This is Knox’s main location, an abandoned pediatric clinic from the 90s, disguised as a research facility.»
«What about the children?» Jack asked.
«The rescue team’s in position.
«Our job is to confirm, gather evidence, and bring Knox in.»
This was a Black Ops mission. Meyer had assembled an elite tactical team, operating outside the sluggish legal system.
The van stopped in an alleyway, a few hundred yards from the target. Jack and the unit fully geared slipped out, silently.
The cold moonlight cast a pale glow over the old clinic, its torn signage a perfect cover for a nightmare.
They entered through the back. The steel door lock was breached in seconds. The air inside was thick with the stench of chemicals.
In silence, they moved deeper into the building, heading toward the basement.
«Knox is downstairs,» Meyer signaled.
In the basement, a faint light spilled out from a large room.
Jack split the team, three would search for the children, while he and Meyer would handle Knox.
They pushed the door open. Before them stood a vast laboratory, filled with equipment and glass enclosures housing strange, unnatural creatures, the same kind Jack once found under Ellie’s pillow.
At the center of the room, Harold Knox was directing his subordinates to clean up.
Jack stepped forward.
«Good evening, Dr. Knox.»
Knox turned, startled.
«Who are you?»
«We know about Project K-21. The game’s over,» Meyer said calmly.
Knox let out a laugh, then lunged toward the computer.
«Science doesn’t end.»
«Stop him,» Jack shouted.
One of the henchmen lunged forward, and Jack took him down in an instant.
Knox was inches away from hitting the data wipe button when Jack grabbed his arm struggling hard. Meyer rushed in to help.
That’s when Jack saw it. The hard drive. The one that held everything.
He yanked it free with all his strength. Knox hit the ground hard.
At that exact moment, Vanessa appeared in the doorway.
She looked worn down, injured.
«Jack, please forgive me.»
Jack looked at her.
His face gave nothing away. She had been part of this nightmare. She had betrayed his trust, and worse, she had hurt Ellie.
He didn’t say a word. He just looked at her, and turned his back, walking away without hesitation.
From somewhere inside, a voice called out.
«We found the kids.»
Jack ran in. Three children huddled together in a small room thin, frightened, with terrifying red marks on their skin.
He dropped to his knees, softened his voice.
«It’s okay now. A kind doctor is here.»
One child looked up, barely whispering,
«a kind doctor.
«Yes, they’re going to take you home.»
He picked up one of the children, feeling how light the small body was, light as air.
At the same moment, the official rescue team stormed in.
Lights flooded the hallway. Sirens wailed. Cameras recorded everything, Knox being detained, the evidence secured, and the children rescued.
Jack held the child close and looked around at the small, trembling faces, now beginning to show the first flickers of hope.
He had pulled them out of the darkness, and now, it was time to begin healing.
The rescue was over, but the journey toward healing would take time, time, love, and patience.
For Ellie, and for every single one of these children.
One month later, a gentle ocean breeze drifted in, carrying the salty scent and the rhythmic sound of waves lapping the shore.
Jack stood on the balcony of a small seaside cottage, a safe house arranged by the government after everything that had happened.
Far from all the pain, he was finally learning how to breathe in peace again.
Behind him, a burst of clear, childlike laughter rang out.
Ellie stepped outside, hugging a giant teddy bear, her cheeks rosy and eyes bright.