Accra – 2:02 a.m.
Tessa sat on the cold floor.
Flash drive plugged.
Monitor glowing.
Her hands shaking.
PROJECT RAVENCHILD – Casefile 008: Tessa Nyame
Her real name wasn't Tessa.
It was Nyame-Rae Ebele.
The file revealed it all.
Her father — not just a whistleblower…
But a former D-Chain intelligence architect tasked with developing psychological operatives from traumatized children.
They weren't adopted.
They were chosen.
"Pattern-trackers. Emotion-mappers. Natural silencers."
Code-named: Ravenchildren.
There were nine.
Eight died in "The Sweep."
Only one survived:
008 – Tessa.
Designation: Observer-Class. Weapon Grade Potential Unknown.
Tessa's breath hitched.
"They built me…"
She whispered.
And now she knew why Dave never looked surprised by how sharp she was.
He always knew.
Elsewhere – Lagos Mainland.
Razor sat on a broken stool in a church nobody visited.
One eye swollen. Voice hoarse.
He wasn't praying.
He was plotting.
But he didn't have power anymore.
He had a drive.
One file.
Smuggled out of an old police archive.
Title:
Operation Dust Reign
Status: Buried
Classification: Blackout Level
And on the first page?
A photo of a teenage Dave standing next to three men in suits.
Below it:
Asset Reign (D. Nwadiei)
Deployed under false identity. Mother unrelated. Father — terminated.
Razor smiled through broken teeth.
"So you were never poor… just planted."
"Let's see how your girl takes that."
Accra – Same time.
Dave sat with Thin Ice and the Framework crew in a quiet private tunnel under the warehouse.
Maps. Flash drives.
Smoke from a dying cigarette floating upward.
He looked tired. Not weak — just like a lion too aware of the traps around him.
"What do you know about Project Ravenchild?" he asked.
Everyone froze.
Even Thin Ice paused mid-scroll.
"You weren't supposed to say that name."
"I didn't. She did."
Thin Ice leaned in.
"Then Buchi made his first cut. Quiet. Personal."
Dave nodded.
"And he's just getting started."
Back in Abuja – Buchi's Safe Compound.
Buchi stood over a blackboard covered in red yarn and pinned photos.
The middle?
A single image:
Dave's face.
Next to it:
Tessa's file.
Then beside that:
"The Asset and The Weapon."
"He doesn't just love her," Buchi whispered.
"He was designed to be her leash."
He picked up a lighter.
Burned one photo:
Dave's mother.
"She never existed. Just a lie to shape him. No one told him the truth. Not even her."
He turned to his tech assistant.
"Leak the full origin files."
"To her."
Accra – That Evening.
Tessa sat alone.
Dave had left hours ago, saying only:
"I'll fix it before it breaks."
She wasn't sure what he meant —
but she had a new flash drive.
It came in an envelope slid under her door.
No name.
Just one line on it:
"You deserve to know what he never did."
She hesitated…
Then plugged it into her laptop.
FILE: R-009-DEEP.PROFILE
Video opened.
Military timestamp.
CIA watermark faded into the bottom corner.
A familiar man appeared.
Not Dave.
Not her father.
Someone else… a white-haired agent with sunken eyes.
"Subject 009: David Nwadiei. Codename: REIGN."
"Born into a false identity. Mother: actress under gov contract. Father: unknown."
"Implanted into Lagos Slums. Program objective: street-embed asset. Monitor pre-criminal behavior. Report upward."
"Target's memory adjusted to believe hardship was authentic."
Tessa's hands trembled.
"He… he was planted…"
Then the agent said it.
"Primary mission: observe and bond with Subject 008 (Ravenchild). Build emotional bridge. Deliver her safely when she activates."
She gasped.
That meant…
"She was the mission."
Same time – Framework Warehouse, Accra.
Dave stood before his core team.
Faces tense.
Jamzy included — sober, but haunted.
Dave tapped the table twice. Calm.
"There's a bounty on me now."
They stared at him.
"Black Market protocol. 7 million. Clean transfer. Dead or alive."
No one spoke.
"You take it… you're free. I won't come after you. No hard feelings. I understand survival."
Still no movement.
Except one.
Kilo.
Their silent tech guy. Barely talks. Always in the shadows.
He stood up.
Eyes cold. Bag in hand.
"Respectfully, sir… I choose freedom."
He walked out.
Nobody stopped him.
Back at Tessa's.
Tears rolled down her cheeks.
Everything — every conversation, every stare —
was now a maybe. A lie.
Was he ever genuine?
Was it ever love?
She replayed the file again.
Then reached for her phone.
Typed two words:
"We need to talk."
Later – Unknown Location.
Buchi watched a live satellite feed of Kilo walking through a small airport.
"So the cracks have started…"
He turned to his assistant.
"Release Phase 2."
"What's Phase 2?"
Buchi smiled.
"Kill his name before you kill the man."
Midnight – Tessa's Apartment, Accra.
The room was dark.
No light. No sound.
Just her silhouette against the window — and the cold steel in her hand.
A pistol. Loaded. Safety off.
There was a knock at the door.
One knock.
Then two more.
Dave.
She didn't answer.
He walked in anyway.
His eyes scanned her posture — stiff, chest tight.
And then he saw it.
The gun.
He didn't flinch.
"You opened the file."
She didn't move.
Didn't blink.
"Everything between us… was that fake?"
Dave exhaled, slow and heavy.
"No."
"But the way it started… yes."
"I didn't know who you were at first. Then I knew. And I stayed."
"Not for the mission."
"For you."
Her hand shook slightly.
"So you lied to me for years… but you stayed?"
"That's supposed to mean something?"
Dave took one step forward.
"It means I chose you — after the mission ended."
"That file doesn't show the day I stopped reporting."
"It doesn't show when I erased my handler… for you."
Tessa's voice cracked.
"And what am I now, Dave?"
He stared.
"You're the only thing left… that makes me human."
Meanwhile – Lagos (Night Market)
Kilo met with a man in a red cap.
He handed over a thumb drive.
"It's all there. IP maps. Comm logs. Shipment names. Bank codes. Everything tied to Dave Reign."
The man nodded.
"You've done well."
"When do I get out?"
The man looked up.
"After the blood starts spilling."
Next Morning – Worldwide Web (Black Channel Leak)
Thousands of burner accounts started uploading documents:
Screenshots of cash routesMessages linked to dead politiciansImages of Dave with ex-SARS officersLeaked voice notes from an anonymous woman crying
Trend begins: #GhostKing #ReignIsRot
Comment chains exploded.
"He's not a genius. He's a fed."
"Tessa was a victim. He used her."
"He's the real virus. Wake up."
In less than 6 hours…
Dave Reign went from ghost to headline.
Framework HQ – Panic.
Phones ringing.
Deals frozen.
All major accounts flagged.
Thin Ice kicked a chair through the wall.
"He's bleeding us, Dave."
Dave didn't respond.
He just stared at the screen.
At #ReignIsRot trending above global news.
"We lose silence… we lose everything."
Back at Tessa's.
She set the gun down.
Dave stood quiet.
"So what now?" he asked.
She looked him in the eyes.
"Now? You show me everything."
"No more secrets."
"Or I'll help bury you myself."
Early Morning – A Town outside Benin City.
An old compound, covered in vines and red dust.
Dave stood at the gate with Tessa.
"This is where it started," he said.
Not in Lagos.
Not in Accra.
Not in the streets.
"This is where they built me."
The compound was once a government-run foster experiment site.
Shut down after reports of child manipulation, illegal tests, and psychological programming.
The sign on the gate had long faded.
But the stench of secrets remained.
Inside, they walked through empty halls lined with broken mirrors and shredded files.
Tessa picked one up.
A faded form with her name on it:
Ravenchild Project: Subject #008 – Cognitive Retention: 93%
"Recommended for deep-bond surveillance ops. Attach to 'Subject Reign' for long-term deployment."
She looked at Dave.
"They didn't pair us because we clicked."
"They paired us because we were tools."
Dave nodded.
"Until we broke the rules."
Same time – Framework Safehouse, Lagos.
Thin Ice received a message.
Encrypted.
From Kilo's burner line.
One word:
"Meet."
Thin Ice grabbed a sidearm.
Thirty minutes later —
He found Kilo dead.
Slumped over a broken bench in Yaba.
Chest hollowed. Phone still recording.
A note taped to his neck:
"TRAITORS GET THEIR PAYMENT IN FULL."
— R
Razor.
Meanwhile – Buchi's Compound, Abuja.
A hacker ran into the room.
"Sir — the Framework just launched a purge. All ports closed. Leaks are drying up."
Buchi didn't even flinch.
"That's not the play anymore."
He pointed at the screen.
A document glowed.
OPERATION ORIGIN FALL
Subject: D-Chain Founders + Ghost Assets
"Now we burn the architects."
He tapped "ENTER."
Within seconds, intelligence names from Nigeria, UK, US, and South Africa started flooding the net.
Agents. Politicians. Journalists. Judges.
All tied to one web:
D-Chain Global Control Network.
The world wasn't ready.
But Buchi didn't care.
"Let the fire eat them all."
Back in the Compound – Benin.
Dave and Tessa sat in what used to be his dorm.
Walls had etch marks — hundreds of them.
"One for every night I wanted to run."
Tessa sat beside him.
"And now?"
He looked at her.
"Now I run toward it."
Her hand found his.
"So what's next?"
"We kill the chain."
"And become the storm."