Chapter 77: Regrouping

The next morning, the air at the temporary command center outside Zurich was cold and still. The sun began rising over the snow-covered mountains, casting a pale golden light over the landscape. Inside the base, Ava sat at a large conference table, reviewing the reports from the mission with Jess and Callum. The exhaustion from the previous day’s events clung to them all, but there was no time to rest. Meridian was still out there. Jess scrolled through a series of encrypted messages on her tablet, her brow furrowed in concentration. “We’ve intercepted some chatter from Meridian’s remaining network,” she said, her voice low. “They’re regrouping, but it will take time for them to reorganize. They’ve lost a lot of resources with Project Eclipse.” Ava nodded, though her mind was racing. The fact that Meridian was down, even temporarily, was a small victory. But she knew it wouldn’t last. Meridian’s power extended far beyond a single project. They had allies in high places, hidden assets