Whitehall at night was a different creature.

The tourists were gone.
The traffic had thinned.
The government buildings stood like silent sentinels under the glow of the streetlamps.

Jake, Emma, and Mercer moved through the shadows along Horse Guards Road, hoods up, heads down. Rain misted the air, soft enough to hide in but not enough to drown the tension.

Mercer whispered, “Unit 88’s signal is coming from inside the Cabinet Office. Sub‑level two.”

Emma frowned. “That’s restricted even for senior staff.”

Jake’s voice was low. “Which is why we’re going in through the back.”

He led them toward a service entrance tucked between two stone pillars. A single CCTV camera swept the alley in a slow arc.

Emma timed it. “Three‑second blind spot.”

Jake nodded. “On my mark.”

The camera turned away.

“Now.”

They slipped through the blind spot and reached the door. Jake pulled a small device from his pocket — a signal spoofer Mercer had built years ago.

Mercer whispered, “It’ll give us thirty seconds before the system realises the badge is fake.”

Jake pressed the device to the reader.

The light turned green.

The door clicked open.

They slipped inside.

Cabinet Office — Service Corridor

The corridor was narrow, lined with pipes and humming electrical conduits. The air smelled of dust and disinfectant. Jake moved first, Emma covering the rear, Mercer in the middle, clutching his wounded shoulder.

Emma whispered, “Mercer, where’s the signal now?”

Mercer checked his tablet. “Still below us. Sub‑level two. Room C‑27.”

Jake frowned. “What’s in C‑27?”

Mercer hesitated. “Officially? Storage.”

Emma raised an eyebrow. “And unofficially?”

Mercer swallowed. “I don’t know. It’s not on any blueprint.”

Jake’s jaw tightened. “Then that’s where Helix put them.”

They reached a stairwell. Jake checked the corners, then motioned them down.

The deeper they went, the colder the air became.

The lights dimmed.

The hum of the building faded.

Emma whispered, “Jake… this level feels wrong.”

Jake nodded. “Helix wants it that way.”

Sub‑Level Two

The corridor here was different.

Newer.
Cleaner.
Too clean.

The walls were reinforced.
The cameras were modern.
The silence was absolute.

Mercer checked his tablet. “Unit 88 is close. Twenty metres ahead.”

Jake raised his weapon. Emma left. I’ll take point.”

They moved slowly, every footstep deliberate.

They reached Room C‑27.

A steel door.
No window.
No markings.

Jake pressed his ear to it.

Nothing.

Emma whispered, “On your go.”

Jake nodded.

Three.
Two.
One.

He pushed the door open.

Emma swept in behind him.

Mercer followed.

And froze.

Inside Room C‑27

The room was small.
Dimly lit.
Silent.

A single desk sat in the centre.

A single chair.

And sitting in that chair, hands folded neatly in their lap, was—

A woman in her late fifties.
Grey hair.
Calm eyes.
A Cabinet Office ID clipped to her blouse.

She looked up at them.

Smiled politely.

“Good evening, Jake. Emma. Mercer.”

Emma’s blood ran cold. “She knows our names.”

Jake raised his weapon. “Unit 88?”

The woman nodded. “Yes.”

Mercer stepped back. “She’s activated. She shouldn’t be this… lucid.”

The woman tilted her head. “I’m not like the others. I’m a coordinator. A handler.”

Jake’s voice hardened. “Who do you answer to?”

The woman smiled.

“Helix.”

Emma stepped forward. “Then tell us who Helix is.”

The woman folded her hands. “I can’t.”

Jake aimed at her head. “You will.”

The woman didn’t flinch. “If you kill me, another will take my place. If you capture me, Helix will activate a failsafe. If you interrogate me, I will resist.”

Emma’s voice was ice. “Then why are you so calm?”

The woman’s smile widened.

“Because you’re already too late.”

Mercer’s tablet beeped.

He looked down.

His face drained of colour.

“Jake… the Sleeper Grid just activated a new sequence.”

Jake didn’t look away from the woman. “What sequence?”

Mercer whispered, “A citywide one.”

Emma’s breath caught. “What does that mean?”

The woman answered for him.

“It means London is about to go dark.”

Jake lunged forward—

But the woman pressed something under the desk.

A tiny click.

A hiss.

Gas filled the room.

Emma shouted, “Jake—!”

Jake grabbed Mercer and shoved him toward the door.

Emma fired at the ceiling to break the sprinklers.

Water sprayed down, mixing with the gas, slowing it.

They stumbled into the corridor, coughing, eyes burning.

Behind them, the woman’s voice echoed through the gas.

“Helix welcomes you to the new era.”

Jake slammed the door shut.

Emma gasped, “Jake… what did she mean? London going dark?”

Mercer stared at his tablet, horrified.

“She meant exactly what it sounds like.”

Jake steadied himself. “Mercer… what’s happening?”

Mercer turned the screen toward them.

A new map.

Not red dots.

Not black dots.

But the entire city.

Every district.
Every borough.
Every grid.

All turning black.

One by one.

Emma whispered, “Jake… that’s the entire power network.”

Mercer nodded.

“Helix is shutting down London.”

Jake clenched his fists.

“Then we stop them.”

Emma looked at him.

“How?”

Jake stared at the map.

“At the source.”

He turned toward the exit.

“Helix wants a war.”

He chambered a round.

“We give them one.”