The COMA war room was dim except for the blue glow of the main holoscreen. Alpha and Bravo stood side-by-side, still in their field gear, boots leaving damp marks on the steel floor.
At the head of the table, Elda Korugane stared at them — one part concern, one part steel. “Report. All of it.”
Luce didn’t speak first. Sayaka did. “We entered the shipping terminal per ARGUS’s route. Found Valgrave-sealed crates, all encrypted beyond even luce’s clearance.”95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLcf5YNIZ17
Damien gave a dry snort. “Which is already suspicious as hell.”
Avni slid a datachip across the table. “This is what we pulled. Manifests tie to Rokuro’s front companies. But there’s something else.”
Her gaze shifted to Luce. The room followed.
Elda: “Go on.”95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnw26ilRXhm
Damien: “We made contact… with something. Humanoid. About two meters tall, gold hair, eyes like molten metal. ARGUS confirmed — ninety-two percent match to Luciano Moretti’s face.”95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbulgNGd3dh
Isolde stiffened. “A clone?”95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAm9zgifU5l
ARGUS: “Insufficient data for genetic conclusion. Physical and behavioral discrepancies noted.”
Raiden crossed his arms. “It didn’t attack. Just… looked at him. Like it knew him.”95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbpOEKdpBgc
Erik added, “And it vanished on its own. That’s the part that bothers me.”
Elda’s fingers tapped once on the table, then stopped. “This fits.”95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVQBCGTTnP2
Veer tilted his head. “Fits… what?”95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5W7VnyI2oE
Elda brought up a hologram — a grainy still of the golden-haired figure from Alpha’s helmet cams.
Elda: “Codename — Sleeping Gate. One of Rokuro’s pet projects. Biohuman, lab-grown. Hunger for human cardiac tissue. It’s killed before.”
A chill slid down the room.
Saira’s voice was low. “So that thing will… eat hearts.”95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkyt0idy1RJ
Elda nodded once. “Piercing kills, extraction after. It’s efficient. And cruel.”
Lev looked between the teams. “And you’re saying this thing looks like Luce by accident?”95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBeI2OJXL2I
Elda didn’t answer directly. “Accidents are rare in bioengineering.”
Damien leaned forward. “If Sleeping Gate’s here, we have a problem. It means the lab’s still active. And if it’s imitating someone…”95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRdZvh2AU5y
Ishaan finished for him. “…then it’s been told to.”
Sayaka’s gaze slid toward Luce — who still hadn’t said a word since they came in. His eyes were fixed on the frozen image of that golden-haired face.
Elda: “This is now priority one. Both Alpha and Bravo operate as a unified strike group until further notice. You will track Sleeping Gate, and you will find the connection to the three heads’ murders. If it’s tied to Elior, Kaia, and the Valgrave professor, I want proof.”
ARGUS: “Mission parameters updated. Full cross-access granted to all members. Lethal force authorized if Sleeping Gate engages.”
Elda’s tone softened just for a breath as her gaze moved to Luce. “This isn’t just another job. It’s survival.”
The meeting broke into low murmurs as the teams reviewed ARGUS’s overlays and the dock schematics.
Veer, half-joking: “So basically, we’re chasing a psycho Luce doppelgänger with a heart fetish.”95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNYssNx0EIz
Ishaan smirked. “Could be worse. Could be two of them.”95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvcunjpjJUQ
Sayaka didn’t laugh. “One’s already too many.”
Raiden’s eyes stayed on the screen. “If it’s killed before… it’ll kill again. We find it first.”95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVfmN7saHHo
Erik leaned in. “And if we can’t?”95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLq5KEudd2H
Raiden’s voice was flat. “Then we make sure it never leaves the shadows.”
Across the table, Elda watched them all — but her gaze kept coming back to Luce. She knew the day was coming when his truth would hit like a blade. And when it did… nothing in COMA would be the same.
ns216.73.216.33da2
and then Add to home screen.