The Red File Book Two : Code Obsidian

Race to Azure

The war room wasn't really a war room—it was a janitor's closet with fiber-optic reroutes and a blacked-out laptop running off stolen power. But inside, strategy was happening.

Emma stood over a crude map, her fingers tracing a red-marked corridor: the final hallway leading to the Emerald Society's server core. Still guarded. Still dangerous.

But not their real objective.

"We've got twelve hours, maybe less," said Jace—the scarred survivor who'd met them in the vending machine hall. He'd shed the merc look for a patched-up field jacket and a voice that sounded like he chewed nails for breakfast. "Crimson won't wait. They've been circling Azure for weeks."

Emma crossed her arms. "You're sure it's real? The Azure Facility?"

Jace nodded. "Confirmed two days ago. Underground. Arctic perimeter. Buried in snow and deniability. It's where they built the first carbon copies. Where they keep the backups. If Crimson gets there first, they'll either wipe it or take control."

"Same difference," Emma muttered.

A younger survivor—a woman named Rey—pulled up grainy satellite images on the laptop. "We can't fly in. Airspace is locked down. There's an old access tunnel under the ridge. Cold, unstable, but passable."

"We'll take it," Emma said.

Noah was in the corner, quiet, watching. He wasn't shaking anymore, but his eyes had the haunted look of someone remembering too much. He finally spoke.

"What if there are more of us there?"

Silence.

Emma looked at him. "Then we don't leave without them."

Jace handed her a black drive. "Blueprints, camera access, override codes. Everything we could pull. But the facility isn't just data storage. It's live. Whatever's down there—it's still running."

Noah stood. "Then we shut it down."

Rey glanced at him. "You sure you're ready?"

He didn't blink. "No. But I'm going anyway."