Dr. Ethan Vance always knew he was too smart for his own good. It was a blessing and a curse, mostly the latter. Right now it felt like a death sentence.
He stood in a dimly lit conference room, his fingers tapping anxiously on the arm of a sleek, glass table. Across from him sat Victor Kain, a man whose name alone could silence entire rooms. Kain wasn't the kind of person you worked with – you survived him.
As he stood in the dim glow of Victor Kain's private conference room, the weight of his biggest mistake pressed down on him. The multiplier sat before him, or at least the latest prototype. A sleek, metallic cylinder, no bigger than a microwave, lined with Nano fiber conduits and an intricate web of micro- reactors. The core pulsed faintly with blue energy, humming in perfect rhythm.
At first glance it looked harmless.
But Ethan knew better.
With the right input, the Multiplier could amplify energy exponentially. What started as a small electric charge could be multiplied into a city-wide power surge or a weaponized energy wave strong enough to reduce entire blocks to ash.
Ethan hadn't designed it as a weapon. It was supposed to be a clean energy breakthrough – a way to generate limitless power from minimal input.
But then Victor Kain had entered the picture.
Kain had claimed to be a visionary, a man willing to fund the next era of energy. At first, it had seemed like a dream come true. With unlimited resources and state – of – the – art labs, Ethan had been able to push the Multiplier's development beyond theoretical limits.
Then came the modifications.
Minor changes at first – different heat tolerances, stronger containment fields. But as the months went by, Kain's team requested things that didn't make sense for an energy project:
Satellite uplinks
Remote detonation protocols
Military grade encryption
That was when Ethan had started digging.
And now as he looked over the final schematics, his stomach turned.
This wasn't a power generator.
This was a weapon
"You look troubled, Dr. Vance."
Ethan looked up.
Victor Kain sat at the far end of the long glass table, the faint city skyline glowing behind him. He was a man who had mastered control – from his steel – gray suit to his unreadable expression, everything about him was designed to project power.
"Something on your mind?" Kain asked tapping a gold pen against the table.
Ethan forced a smile. "Just thinking through the final calculations".
Kain's sharp eyes studied him for a moment.
Ethan knew better than to break eye contact.
Kain didn't like weakness. He surrounded himself with the best – mercenaries, scientists, politicians, on his payroll – Ethan had no doubt that if he became a liability, and he would disappear overnight.
Kain leaned back in his chair, "You've done remarkable work, Ethan. Once the final prototype is operational the world will change forever."
That was what he was afraid of.
"Tell me," Kain continued, his voice casual, "if we activated the multiplier in a controlled scenario – say an urban test environment – what would be the projected output?"
Ethan kept his face neutral, but his mind was screaming. Urban test environment? He could see it now. A 'test' on some small city Kain deemed disposable. A proof of concept, a demonstrating of power.
His gut twisted.
"I wouldn't recommend that," Ethan said carefully. "The system is still volatile. Without a precise containment, the energy surge could cascade uncontrollably."
Kain nodded as if considering his words. Then he smiled.
Ethan felt cold. Kain already knew. He had a plan.
Ethan swallowed hard. He had to get out. Now.
"Perhaps we should run one final security check," Ethan, keeping his tone light. "I'll need access to the core systems to-". Kain raised a hand, cutting him off.
"That won't be necessary," he said smoothly. "Our team has already locked the final building. The Multiplier is ready."
Ethan's stomach dropped. They had already sealed the system. He had no way to sabotage it from within.
Kain stood, buttoning his jacket. "I expect a final presentation for my investors in seventy – two hours."
Ethan barely nodded. "Of course."
Kain smiled. "Good. We'll be in touch." Ethan turned and walked out of the room, his mind racing.
By the time he reached his private lab, his hands were shaking.
Felix, his research assistant, looked up from his workstation. "Dude, you look like you just saw grim reaper." Ethan exhaled, running a hand through his hair. "I think I did." He paced, his mind moving at a hundred miles per hour.
There was one option left, to wipe out the schematics, destroy every trace of the Multiplier and disappear forever.
Felix frowned. "Ethan, what in the world is going on?"
Ethan pulled up the Multiplier's final blueprints on his holo – display. "Kain isn't building a power source. He's building a weapon – a city killer."
Felix went pale. "What!"
"We need to erase everything," Ethan said "Tonight."
Felix hesitated. "You know there are security monitors and everything. The second they notice a data purge, Kain will –"
"I know"
Felix studied him. "And after that?"
Ethan's jaw tightened. "I leave."
Felix blinked "And Elara?"
Ethan froze. His six year old daughter. The one person who mattered than anything. Four years of watching from afar. Anonymous deposits to her mother. Letters he never sent.
He had thought she would be safe as long as he stayed away.
Now, he wasn't sure.
He exhaled slowly. "If I go to her, I lead Kain straight to her.
Felix looked unconvinced but didn't argue. "What do you need me to do?"
Ethan plugged a flash drive into the system. "Run this worm through the servers. It'll fry every copy of the blueprints.
Felix sighed. "This is insane."
Ethan gave him a tight smile. "I know."
An hour later the system purge was in motion. Ethan grabbed a filled with cash, fake passports, and an encrypted drive with only one piece of data: the address of a safe house halfway across the city.
Then he heard the voice behind him.
"Going somewhere, Doctor?"
Ethan turned slowly. Victor Kain stood at the exit, flanked by two armed guards. He smiled, cold and knowing. "You didn't really think I wasn't watching, did you?"
Ethan's pulse skyrocketed. No more time. No more options. His hand slipped into his pocket, gripping the flash grenade.
If he was going to escape, it was now or never.