Description
He survived the flicker. Now he's the key to stopping it. Eli-call sign Russet-was always the heart of Task Force 141. Loyal, cheerful, and disarmingly kind, the Russian-born soldier never lost his golden retriever warmth, even in the coldest warzones. But everything changes when an op against a rogue tech syndicate goes sideways. A new neural weapon hijacks the brain like a virus, infecting its host with false realities and forced obedience. And Russet? He's patient zero. Now haunted by distorted visions and chased by whispers he can't trust, Russet becomes both target and weapon. As 141 scrambles to extract the code buried in his mind, Ghost grows desperate to protect him-no matter the cost. But what happens when the light of the team... becomes its biggest threat? There's something red in the code. And it remembers.
Chapter 1 - The Smiling One
