Chapter 74: The Final Countdown

The roar of the helicopter’s engines filled the cabin as it soared over the vast expanse of the North African desert, carrying Ava, Lucas, Callum, and the rest of the team away from Meridian’s secret facility. The sun began to set, casting long shadows over the dunes, but there was no time to rest. Even with the third encryption code, the clock was still ticking. Ava’s mind raced as she sat beside Lucas, the events of the last few hours replaying in her head like a relentless loop. They had secured the third and final code, but now came the hardest part—using those codes to stop Project Eclipse before it went live. “Jess,” Ava said into her comms, her voice tense, “what’s the status on Eclipse? How much time do we have?” Jess’s voice came through, calm but urgent. “Meridian’s accelerating the timeline. Eclipse is set to launch in less than six hours. It'll be too late if you don’t get those codes to the mainframe and shut it down before then.” Ava’s chest tightened. Six hours. That