They gave the rookie nurse the deaf Navy SEAL because they wanted to watch her fail.

The basement of the old Boston Port Authority building was cold, damp, and smelled heavily of ozone and old batteries. Lily ran down the concrete stairs, her heart hammering against her ribs, her breath coming in ragged, painful gasps. The silver security card felt cold and heavy in her hand.

She reached the bottom of the stairs, finding herself in a long, dimly lit corridor lined with thick, rusted pipes and heavy electrical conduits. At the very end of the hallway stood a reinforced steel door with a high-security digital terminal.

Lily rushed to the door, her fingers trembling as she slid Dr. Vance’s silver card through the reader. The terminal beeped, the screen glowing a pale blue as it displayed a message:

ACCESS INITIATED. MEDICAL AUTHORITY DETECTED: NURSE LILY PARKER. REQUESTING CO-AUTHORIZATION KEY.

"Come on, Caleb, come on," Lily whispered, her eyes darting back toward the stairs. She could hear the distant, muffled sounds of gunfire and shouting from the warehouse above. Caleb was fighting them alone, holding the line so she could reach this door.

Suddenly, a heavy footstep echoed from the top of the stairs.

Lily froze, her body locking up with a primal terror. She pressed her back against the cold brick wall, pulling herself into the deepest shadow she could find.

A man stepped down into the corridor. He wasn't wearing the tactical gear of the mercenaries; he wore a sharp, expensive dark gray suit that looked completely out of place in the damp basement. His face was cold, handsome, and entirely devoid of human emotion.

"Lily Parker," the man said, his voice smooth, echoing off the concrete walls. "My name is Director Hayes. I am the head of acquisition for Apex Solutions. You’ve caused my organization a great deal of trouble."

Lily didn't answer, her hand instinctively tightening around the wooden sparrow in her pocket.

"You think you’re saving him, Lily," Hayes said, taking a slow, measured step down the hallway. "But Caleb Ror is a weapon. A highly sophisticated military asset that belongs to the state. He was built with public funds, and his digital footprint is property of Apex Solutions. By keeping him hidden, you are committing treason."

"He is a human being!" Lily shouted, her voice ringing with a fierce, unbreakable strength as she stepped out of the shadows. "He is a man who served his country, who bled for it, and who almost lost his mind because of what people like you did to him! He is not your property!"

Hayes smiled, a cold, mocking expression. "A touching sentiment, Nurse Parker. But in our world, sentiment is a liability. Now, give me the security card, and perhaps I will let you walk out of here alive."

"She’s not giving you anything," a deep, gravelly voice whispered from the stairs.

Hayes spun around, but he was too late.

Caleb emerged from the darkness, his clothes torn, his face smeared with grease and blood from a shallow cut on his temple. He looked feral, dangerous, and completely unstoppable. With a fluid, lethal motion, he lunged forward, tackling Hayes to the concrete floor.

The two men crashed into the wall, a violent struggle erupting in the narrow corridor. Hayes, despite his expensive suit, was a trained combatant. He blocked Caleb’s first punch, throwing a sharp elbow into Caleb’s injured ribs.

Caleb grunted, his breath hitching, but he refused to back down. He grabbed Hayes’s lapels, slamming him into a heavy steam pipe, the impact sending a shower of hot condensation raining down upon them.

"Lily! Open the door!" Caleb signed with a desperate, rapid flick of his left hand as he pinned Hayes’s arms.

Lily ran to the terminal, her fingers flying across the keypad. "I need your key, Caleb! I need the chip!"

Caleb forced Hayes’s head against the pipe, holding him down with one arm. He backed his left shoulder up against the biometric scanner mounted next to the terminal.