That evening, under the cover of darkness, Shadow struck again — this time on his own terms. Kabelo, Khumalo, and Colonel Mabaso crouched in the scrub overlooking the isolated SynGen Industries research facility. The compound lay tucked between rolling hills just across the Limpopo River border, a collection of modern low-slung buildings and warehouses surrounded by high fences and floodlights.
Hours earlier, using forged travel documents and no small amount of stealth, the trio had slipped across the border. Mabaso's contacts had provided a stolen pickup truck and a cache of equipment: dark fatigues, suppressed firearms, a couple of fragmentation charges, and a rugged laptop for hacking. It wasn't much, but it would have to do.
Now, around 2 AM, they lay prone in the tall grass 300 meters from the facility's rear fence. The night was moonless and hot, clouds blanketing the stars — a perfect cloak for their approach.
Khumalo, still one-armed and aching, insisted on coming despite his injuries. "I'm not sitting on the sidelines for this," he had said, brooking no argument from Kabelo or Mabaso. He was positioned further back as overwatch, sniper rifle braced on a termite mound. Mabaso, though bruised from the morning's ambush, had tactical experience and would accompany Kabelo inside as support.
Through night-vision binoculars, Kabelo scanned the perimeter. He counted two guards patrolling inside the fence on this side, both with dogs. Cameras perched atop the fence at intervals, presumably with infrared. A main gate on the far side had a guard post and likely more personnel.
Mabaso's whisper crackled in Kabelo's earpiece. "Motion sensors along the fence, most likely. We need a way in without tripping their perimeter."
Kabelo lowered the binoculars and flexed his gloved hands. "I have an idea," he whispered back. This was exactly the sort of scenario his uncanny portal ability could bypass.
They retreated a few meters into deeper shadow. Kabelo concentrated on a spot he had observed just beyond the fence — a blind corner behind a maintenance shed where the patrol rarely passed. In an instant, a portal shimmered to life against the fence line, large enough for a person.
Mabaso gave Kabelo a firm nod. The older man had seen Kabelo's powers in action now, and though it plainly awed him, he remained focused. "I'll be right behind you," he murmured.
Kabelo checked that his suppressed pistol was secured and the small SMG from Mabaso's stash was ready. Then he slipped through the portal.
He emerged silently inside the fence by the shed. The air smelled of oil and ozone. A transformer hummed nearby. He held his breath, listening. No alarm. A moment later, Mabaso stepped through the portal and tapped Kabelo's shoulder to signal he was in.
Kabelo closed the swirling gateway, plunging them into darkness broken only by the distant glow of floodlights at the main grounds. Keeping low, they moved from shadow to shadow, avoiding the cones of the CCTV cameras which Mabaso pointed out with hand signals.
From their brief recon, they identified one building likely to hold the intel they needed — a lab structure with heavy security near the center. According to Mabaso, any data on Project Prometheus would be on an isolated server, possibly offline from the net, requiring a physical breach.
Kabelo spoke softly into the throat mic, "Ghosts moving. Khumalo, how copy?"
Khumalo's voice came in their ears, strained but steady. "Copy, Shadow. All quiet out here. I see you near Building C. Two tangos on patrol route might cross your path in 5 minutes. Be quick."
Kabelo and Mabaso hugged the side of a warehouse, then dashed across an open alley to the lab building's rear service door. A security keypad glowed red by the door handle.
Mabaso knelt by an access panel. From his pack he produced a small device — a gift from his intelligence friends — and clamped it onto the keypad. After a few seconds, the red light blinked to green with a faint click.
They slipped inside the building. The interior corridor was lit by dim emergency lights. It smelled of antiseptic and cooled air. They moved swiftly but cautiously, handguns drawn.
According to a stolen map of the facility, the main server room was on the second floor, east wing. Also, a laboratory labeled "Biochemical Testing" could hold physical samples or records. Their plan was to download whatever data they could and sabotage any physical stores of the serum.
A stairwell was just ahead. They started up the steps.
Suddenly, voices echoed from a hallway above. Kabelo froze, raising a fist for Mabaso to halt. Through the gap to the second floor landing, a pair of researchers in lab coats strolled past, deep in conversation.
"...tomorrow's demonstration is critical. The investors are expecting results," one said in an urgent tone.
"I know," replied the other. "But after what happened with subject 17, I'm worried. The stability—"
Their voices faded as they entered another room and shut a door. Kabelo and Mabaso exchanged looks. "Demonstration?" Mabaso mouthed. Kabelo's jaw tightened. It sounded like Project Prometheus was far from over — perhaps a new trial was imminent.
They continued up and crept onto the second floor corridor. It was mostly empty at this hour. A cleaning trolley sat parked by an open office door, but no cleaner in sight.
Following the signage, they reached the secured door for the server room. Another keypad. Kabelo attached the hacking device and within moments the door clicked open.
Inside, rows of server racks blinked with status lights. It was pleasantly cool. Mabaso closed the door behind them while Kabelo pulled the laptop from his pack. He located the main terminal station at the room's center and jacked in the laptop with a network cable.
As expected, this internal network was isolated from outside lines. There were layers of encryption and firewalls. Fortunately, Mabaso had procured some likely credentials from his intel sources — snippets of code, default passwords rumored for SynGen systems. Kabelo tapped furiously, navigating directories.
"Download everything relevant," Mabaso whispered, standing guard at the door with pistol in hand.
"Working on it," Kabelo muttered. He found a directory labeled PROMETHEUS. His heart skipped. He accessed it, and a trove of files appeared — research logs, serum composition data, test subject reports.
He inserted a portable drive and began copying the entire folder. A progress bar crawled across the screen.
Just then, a soft beep sounded and the screen flashed: Remote Access Detected - Security Alert.
"Damn," Kabelo swore under his breath. Perhaps an automated system flagged the data transfer.
Mabaso glanced back. "What's wrong?"
"System might have raised an alarm. We need a few more seconds," Kabelo said.
As if on cue, an alarm began to wail through the facility — an obnoxious klaxon accompanied by red flashing lights. The element of surprise was gone.
"Shadow, status?" Khumalo's urgent voice buzzed in their ears. "Alarms just went off. Guards are scrambling."
"Compromised but got what we need," Kabelo answered, eyes on the progress bar: 90%... 95%...
Boots thundered in the hallway outside. "Server room!" someone shouted.
Mabaso fired two shots through the door, wood chips flying, to make the approaching security hesitate. Kabelo prayed the thin door would hold for a few more seconds.
100%. The file transfer completed. Kabelo yanked the drive out, shoved the laptop back in his pack. "Got it! Let's move!"
Mabaso tossed a tear gas canister into the hall and slammed open the door. Acrid white fumes filled the corridor, the guards shouting in surprise and choking. Through the haze, Kabelo could see three figures doubled over, wiping at their eyes — private security in tactical gear.
They barreled through, Kabelo leading with a raised elbow into the nearest guard, knocking him aside. Mabaso delivered a precise shot to the second guard's leg, dropping him. The third blindly sprayed bullets down the hall, but the tear gas had him off-balance; his shots went high.
Kabelo and Mabaso sprinted back toward the stairwell, but new figures loomed at the other end of the corridor — two more armed guards and, alarmingly, a man in a white coat holding what looked like a glass grenade.
"Get down!" Kabelo yelled as the man hurled the device in their direction. It smashed on the floor halfway between them, releasing a billowing cloud of vapor.
Mabaso gasped, "Gas!"
Kabelo didn't need further urging; he yanked Mabaso by the collar and shoved him onward. They dived into the stairwell as the vapor spread. Even one whiff made Kabelo's eyes water and throat burn. This was no mere tear gas — some kind of chemical agent.
They tumbled down the stairs, coughing. Kabelo slammed the stairwell door behind them and shot the electronic lock panel. "Khumalo, we're on ground floor, eastern side. Advise."
Gunfire echoed outside now; the base was on full alert. Khumalo responded, voice strained: "Guards all over. I took one down by the south gate, but they're on high alert. Recommend you exfil ASAP."
Mabaso was recovering from the gas exposure, blinking tears away. He pointed to a side exit door across the hall. "That leads to the loading bay outside."
More boots stomping from the direction they'd originally come. No time to double back to their portal entry point.
Kabelo nodded. "We make for the fence, portal out."
They burst through the side exit into the loading dock area behind the labs. A forklift and some pallets provided partial cover. Over the wail of alarms, Kabelo heard shouts from around the corner.
They dashed behind the forklift as two guards came running into the bay. In near unison, Kabelo and Mabaso opened fire, precise double-taps. Both guards dropped before they knew what hit them.
"Shadow, I'm at your 2 o'clock, outside the fence," came Khumalo's voice. Kabelo peeked around the forklift and spotted a familiar silhouette in the bushes beyond the fence to the right.
The fence was about 30 meters away. Too far to run without being seen by the numerous responding security. But perfect for a portal jump.
Kabelo concentrated and carved open a glowing doorway directly in the fence's dark corner by Khumalo. "Go!" he urged Mabaso.
Mabaso sprinted for the portal. Just as he reached it, a gunshot rang out. Mabaso jerked, a cry escaping his lips as he fell forward through the portal.
"No!" Kabelo shouted, heart lurching. He spun and saw the man in the lab coat from before standing at the loading dock doorway, a smoking pistol in hand and fury in his eyes. It was Dr. Weiss — Kabelo recognized him at once, the chief scientist who had tortured him in the underground lab. Somehow the man had survived and relocated here, continuing his vile work.
Before Weiss could fire again, Khumalo's sniper rifle cracked from outside. Weiss ducked back with a howl, clutching his ear where Khumalo's bullet had grazed him.
Kabelo wasted no time. He dashed into the portal, grabbing the collapsing Mabaso under the arms and dragging him the rest of the way out to the safe side. Khumalo emerged from cover to help, and together they pulled the colonel into the brush.
Mabaso was alive but bleeding from a bullet wound in his lower back. His face was tight with pain, but he grit out, "I'm... alright. Just a scratch." It was clearly more than a scratch, but the indomitable man waved them on.
Kabelo closed the portal. An instant later, floodlights and flashlights converged on the spot inside the fence. Confused voices rang out — security trying to figure out where their quarry had vanished.
"Let's move!" Khumalo said. He threw Mabaso's arm over his shoulder. Kabelo supported the colonel from the other side. They hurried into the darkness of the bushland, away from the clamoring facility.
By the time SynGen guards mustered the courage to venture outside the fence line, Shadow and his team were long gone — swallowed by the night.
Nearly an hour later, the trio regrouped at a remote dirt road where their stolen pickup was hidden under camo netting. Mabaso's wound had been staunched with a field dressing; he was pale but stable.
Khumalo stood guard a few paces away, scanning for pursuers, but none had followed this far.
Kabelo had the laptop on the truck's tailgate, the portable drive plugged in. Despite the adrenaline still coursing through him, he felt a surge of triumph as he opened the copied files. Rows of data, project briefs, and even video logs filled the screen.
Mabaso managed a tight smile through his pain. "This... this is it, isn't it?"
Kabelo nodded. "This is proof. Everything about Prometheus — budgets, test logs. Look, there's mention of 'Milestone demonstration – Subject 23' for tomorrow, and names — some are redacted, but here's one: General Kagiso Mohlase."
"General Kagiso Mohlase," Khumalo repeated, anger simmering in his voice. "So it was one of our own high-ups."
Mabaso pointed weakly at the screen. "Check for external partners."
Kabelo scrolled. He found a correspondence folder, shielded by encryption but not too dense. Within it, several letters and emails between SynGen's CEO and various shadowy recipients detailing "Phase 2 funding" and "product delivery." One name stuck out: Crimson Shield Ltd. – confirming the mercenary company's contract. Another was an acronym: CHT_Coalition – not immediately recognizable.
Then, buried in a report, Kabelo spotted the phrase: "Prometheus Serum prototype provided by Helios Defense Labs, initial research derived from recovered ARTEMIS project materials."
"Helios... that's another corporation," Mabaso said. "It seems multiple companies and officials are in bed on this."
Kabelo closed the laptop, brimming with anger and satisfaction. "We have them. With this data, we can expose the whole operation — upload it to every news outlet, leak it online."
Khumalo gave a grim nod. "And then they can't hunt us as traitors anymore. We'll be vindicated."
Mabaso placed a hand on Kabelo's arm. "Careful. These people will do anything to protect their secrets. We need to disseminate this safely."
Kabelo understood. They needed to be smart. Perhaps contact a well-respected international journalist or a whistleblower network to ensure the data went public without being intercepted.
He looked between his two comrades — his brothers-in-arms in this fight. They were bloodied, exhausted, and in Mabaso's case, wounded. But they were alive, and they finally had the upper hand.
"Let's get out of here first," Kabelo said. "We'll head to that safe site in Botswana and transmit the data from there using Mabaso's secure satellite link."
Khumalo grinned tiredly. "Never thought I'd see the day: Shadow, bringing dark conspiracies into the light."
Kabelo managed a small smile. "It's a new world."
With that, they loaded up the pickup and rolled out along the dirt path, leaving SynGen and its burning secrets behind. The Prometheus Serum, born of myth and nightmare, was about to be dragged into the light of day, and Kabelo intended to be the one to strike the match.