On Ivanov’s Trail

A cavernous hush settled over Anna’s underground garage in the aftermath of Lucy’s convulsions. Everyone seemed to be speaking in subdued whispers, as though any sudden noise might trigger another of Lucy’s crises. The promise of a new plan—a direct strike against Ivanov—hung in the stale air, yet tension crackled beneath each breath. No one wanted another failure, especially one that could cost Lucy her life.

At the far end of the garage, Lucy sat wrapped in a threadbare blanket on a sagging cot, her head resting against Elias’s shoulder. Though she was only ten in real years, she appeared to be around eighteen physically—an unsettling mismatch that left her drained and perpetually disoriented. Sofia knelt beside them, checking Lucy’s pulse and temperature with gentle but urgent efficiency.

Anna, standing nearby, studied them with an uneasy mixture of sympathy and impatience. Behind her, a few rebels tinkered with outdated firearms or pored over scattered papers detailing Chronos’s security protocols. Outside, the faint rumble of passing patrol drones made the walls vibrate.

Elias cupped Lucy’s cheek. “Are you feeling any better?” he asked in a low voice.

She gave a weak nod, her lips trembling. “My muscles ache, but… it’s not as bad as before.”

Sofia exhaled in relief. “We have to keep you stable,” she said softly, checking the intravenous line they had improvised. “No more sudden stress for a few hours, at least.”

Anna cleared her throat, drawing the group’s attention. “We need to talk,” she said, her voice echoing in the shadowy space. “But first—Sofia, you told us you had some insight about how Ivanov might be moving. Something you remember from your time in Chronos.”

Sofia lifted her gaze, expression grim. “Yes… but I want you to understand why I know what I know.”

A flicker of guilt crossed her features. She had hinted before that she’d once been deeply entangled in Chronos’s inner workings—far more than most ex-collaborators. Now, with Lucy’s condition deteriorating and the clock ticking, it was time to lay everything bare.

A few minutes later, Anna dimmed the makeshift floodlights, and the rebels drew closer in a tense semicircle. Sofia sat on a low crate, running a hand through her short, graying hair. Elias, Lucy, and Anna formed a small audience.

Sofia’s voice wavered as she began. “I joined Project Chronos about fifteen years ago. Back then, I was young, idealistic. My colleagues and I believed we were on the verge of a breakthrough in controlled relativity—time manipulation to accelerate healing, to explore new frontiers… We had no idea how the military would twist our work.”

A bitter laugh escaped her lips. “General Ivanov came later, once the preliminary results showed promise. He brought more funding, more resources—and more pressure. He wasn’t interested in saving lives. He wanted weapons.”

She closed her eyes, as though the memory physically hurt. “Dr. Ishida, my closest colleague, was just as brilliant. But unlike me, he was never naive about the system. He’d say, ‘We serve national security first, science second.’ He was loyal to Ivanov—or at least loyal to his own survival. I—”

Her voice caught. “I had a sister, Natalia. She was… only eighteen, so full of life. When I tried to expose the inhumane tests Chronos was running, Ivanov used her as leverage to keep me in line.” Sofia’s gaze dropped to the concrete floor. “He imprisoned her. Threatened her safety if I dared to leave or speak out. And then, one day, Natalia… disappeared.”

A hush fell. Even Anna’s usual hard-edged impatience softened.

Sofia swallowed hard. “I found out too late that Ivanov had forced her into one of the early time bubble prototypes—an unstable one. The data logs showed that the bubble’s field collapsed. She… aged decades in seconds. By the time I reached her, Natalia was gone.” Her fists tightened on her knees. “The official record claimed an accident, but I knew it was punishment—for me.”

Lucy let out a quiet gasp, tears shining in her eyes as if she could sense the parallels to her own tragedy. Elias placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

Sofia pressed on, voice thick. “That day, I fled. I destroyed some of the lab data on my way out, but not enough—Ivanov’s operation was too vast. And Dr. Ishida stayed, whether out of fear or ambition, I still don’t know. He kept forging ahead with Ivanov’s next generation of time bubbles. My sister’s death was covered up.”

She forced herself to look around at the group, her eyes brimming with both sorrow and resolve. “That’s how I know Ivanov’s mindset. He’ll sacrifice anyone, manipulate anything, if it furthers his objective. And that includes mass deployment of advanced time bubbles. He’s unstoppable unless we strike at the very heart of his operation.”

Elias gently cleared his throat. “And that heart is… where?”

Sofia drew a shaky breath. “A large military complex north of the city, near the old base once used for ballistic testing. It’s heavily fortified. But if we want a fully functioning stabilizer for Lucy—and any chance of shutting down Chronos’s expansions—that’s where we have to go.”

Anna nodded grimly. “We suspected as much. Our intel suggests Ivanov’s visiting that same complex in about two days for a crucial handoff of advanced stabilizers. We were planning to intercept the convoy. But maybe a direct infiltration at the source is our best bet after all.”

Anna led everyone to a makeshift table strewn with old maps, scribbled notes, and half-burnt documents. Lucy, tired but determined to listen, remained at Elias’s side, leaning on him for support as they all clustered around.

“Let’s clarify our plan,” Anna said, tapping a battered blueprint of the military facility. “Ivanov’s presence means security will be tight. We need to know exactly how we’ll get in and out—otherwise we risk a bloodbath.”

Sofia pointed to an older blueprint. “Here—this sector was used for munitions storage. It was practically a bunker within a bunker. If Ivanov’s storing the new stabilizers on-site, they’ll be here or in the adjacent labs.”

Elias’s gaze flicked over the diagrams, trying to piece everything together. “Do we have any reason to believe Dr. Ishida is still working under Ivanov there?”

Sofia chewed her lip. “Almost certainly. Ishida is one of the few researchers who knows the bubble technology inside and out. If these new stabilizers are stable enough for large-scale use, Ishida’s behind it.”

Lucy shifted uncomfortably, pressing a hand to her temple as though recalling her own ordeal in an experimental bubble. She eyed the thick lines on the blueprint that indicated layered security checkpoints. “Dad, how… how do we get past all that without being caught?”

“We’ll find a way,” Elias answered, voice firm but with a shaky undercurrent. He turned to Anna. “We need to minimize the risk to Lucy. No more direct distractions like the last time.”

Anna raised an eyebrow but inclined her head. “I hear you. I won’t push her into another decoy role. But we can’t just stroll in the front gate. We’ll have to create diversions somewhere—explosions, sabotage, false infiltration. Something that draws the guards away so a smaller team can slip into the labs.”

“You can count on me for that,” came a voice from the far side of the garage.

It was Garza, a young rebel with close-cropped hair and a bandaged arm—one of Anna’s most dedicated followers. Beneath his lean frame and steady gaze lay a deep well of grief he rarely spoke of; Chronos had taken his sister some months before. Despite his quiet demeanor, he worked tirelessly on behalf of the group. More recently, he had been quietly keeping Lucy company when Elias was otherwise occupied, exchanging a few hushed words or offering a moment’s distraction. Sometimes, Lucy would let him hold her old plush turtle while she rested, and he would hand it back to her with a sad, gentle smile—perhaps remembering the sister he’d lost.

“I still owe Chronos payback for my sister’s death,” Garza added softly.

Anna gave him a curt nod. Then she turned back to the group. “We’ll coordinate multiple angles. But first, we need more intel on Ivanov’s schedule and the exact route he’ll take inside that base.”

Sofia rubbed her forehead. “I might be able to track that down. There are some old backdoor systems that might still be operational. If Ishida never changed the encryption, we could eavesdrop on secure channels.”

A flicker of hope crossed Elias’s face. “Then we do it. We can’t afford to go in blind. The slightest mistake could…” His voice trailed as his gaze settled on Lucy, who gave him an encouraging, albeit weary, nod.

“Time is running out,” Anna reminded everyone, her voice steely. “We have two days, maximum. If we fail, Lucy’s condition worsens, and Chronos gains unstoppable ground.”

For the next hour, the hideout buzzed with hushed activity. Sofia huddled with a couple of Anna’s rebel techs, trying to rig a communications scanner from salvaged parts. Anna plotted infiltration routes with her lieutenants, while Elias stayed with Lucy on her cot. He handed her sips of water, worried about her pallor and how she seemed to shrink into herself after every wave of pain.

Occasionally, Garza would drift over to check on Lucy, offering a half-smile or a whispered question about her comfort. He never lingered long, but each time, Lucy would look momentarily relieved—reassured by the presence of someone who carried a similar ache in his heart.

They were so focused on their own tasks that few noticed one of Anna’s scouts sprint into the garage, panting and wild-eyed.
“Anna!” he called urgently. “We got bigger problems. Word on the street is that Ivanov’s not just shipping stabilizers—he’s planning something huge. A… a mega-bubble.”

Anna, who had been bent over a stack of coded files, straightened abruptly. “A what?”

“A mega-bubble,” the scout repeated, swallowing hard. “Bigger than anything they’ve tested before. Rumor says it could encompass an entire district, maybe the whole region if they calibrate it right.”

Silence slammed down like a hammer. Elias’s blood went cold. He thought of the swirl of lights that had once swallowed Lucy, of how she’d emerged older by years. Now imagine entire blocks of the city, entire neighborhoods…

“That’s insane,” Sofia breathed, her face losing color. “Even the top-level prototypes we designed could only isolate a few hundred meters at most. This would be… catastrophic.”

The scout nodded, sweat beading on his forehead. “Local smugglers swear they’ve seen shipments of exotic materials moving toward that base. Something about mass temporal displacement.”

Lucy’s eyes flicked open as the conversation’s volume rose, confusion etched on her features. “A… mega-bubble? What does that even mean?”

Elias’s voice trembled with shock and dread. “It could mean entire city blocks being frozen or accelerated, Lucy. Thousands of innocent people, maybe more, trapped in a bubble that warps their entire reality.” He clenched his fists. “Ivanov must be out of his mind.”

Sofia pressed a hand to her mouth, recalling the smaller anomalies that had ended so many lives. “If it’s truly on the scale you describe, it’s not just about hurting a few hundred. It could shift the balance of power globally—and kill or age entire populations in the process.”

Anna’s eyes narrowed, anger giving her a fierce edge.
“Then we have no choice. We have to strike before Ivanov finalizes any mega-bubble deployment.”

“How?” Elias demanded, voice taut. “We’re already stretched thin just trying to get Lucy’s stabilizer. Now there’s a city-wide weapon to worry about?”

“We adapt,” Anna snapped, her frustration flaring. “We can’t just let him wreak havoc. Once that mega-bubble is operational, we’re done for—and Lucy’s fate will be sealed with everyone else’s.”

Sofia inhaled a steadying breath, forcing calm into her tone. “Ivanov’s unveiling this mega-bubble technology at the military complex. That means we must intercept him there. Our infiltration to get Lucy’s stabilizer might be the only chance we have to sabotage the device.”

Everyone erupted into urgent chatter, suggestions and worries tumbling over one another in an indecipherable wave. The atmosphere felt suffocating. Even Anna—usually so composed—betrayed a crack in her confidence, biting her lip as she contemplated the scale of the threat.

Lucy sat up straighter, a hint of determination in her weary eyes. “Dad…” she whispered, voice trembling. “I don’t want anyone else to go through what I did. If that mega-bubble forms… more kids could end up—like me, or worse.”

Elias’s throat tightened. Lucy’s life was already hanging by a thread, but she was thinking of others. He squeezed her hand.
“We’ll do everything we can,” he promised, though the weight of responsibility felt like lead in his chest.

Anna finally raised her voice over the clamor.
“Quiet!” she barked, slamming a hand on the table. A hush fell. Her gaze swept across the group.
“We have less than two days before Ivanov’s rumored arrival. Step one, we confirm the mega-bubble intel. Step two, we refine our infiltration plan to sabotage it and secure Lucy’s stabilizer. Anyone not on board can leave right now.”

No one moved. Fear was etched on every face, but so was grim resolve. For Lucy, for their loved ones, for the entire city—they had to act.

Sofia pointed to a couple of circuits and cables on the table. “I’ll finish assembling the comm scanner. We need to tap into Chronos’s communications and verify the date and time of Ivanov’s demonstration. If we pick up any mention of the mega-bubble, we’ll know exactly how urgent this is.”

Anna nodded curtly. “Garza and the others will handle external surveillance. We’ll keep watch on the roads leading to that military complex. If a major shipment is heading in, we’ll see it.”

Elias’s gaze drifted to Lucy, worry gnawing at him. “And Lucy… She can’t be in harm’s way again, not like at the depot infiltration. She’s too fragile.”

“I can stay in the background,” Lucy offered weakly, a hint of resolve shining through her exhaustion. “I won’t do anything reckless. But… I can’t just lie here and do nothing.”

Elias shook his head, torn. Anna cut in.
“Let’s focus on staging multiple infiltration teams. Lucy can stay with the safer group—maybe Sofia or me. The rest will cause diversions.”

Elias wavered but nodded. “All right. As soon as we confirm the details on the mega-bubble, we decide on the final plan.”

True to her word, Sofia rigged up a crude communications scanner from old radio parts and a battered laptop. Hours passed in near-silence as she typed commands, scanning frequency after frequency for Chronos encryption signals. The hum of the fans and the hiss of static dominated the hideout. Anna, Elias, and Lucy waited nearby, too anxious to rest.

Finally, near dawn, Sofia froze.
“I’ve got something,” she breathed.

Everyone rushed over. Through bursts of crackling static, a clipped male voice emerged, evidently a Chronos officer.

“—not be delayed. General Ivanov requires the advanced stabilizers on-site by day after tomorrow. Clearance for mass bubble demonstration… Dr. Ishida finalizing data. Security lockdown from zero-seven-hundred hours—”

Then the line crackled and cut out.

Anna looked up, adrenaline sparking in her eyes.
“That’s it. We have a confirmed timeline.”

Sofia’s face was drawn. “Ishida’s definitely there… finalizing data for a mass demonstration. That has to be the mega-bubble. And Ivanov will be there to oversee it.”

Lucy pulled the blanket tighter around herself. “So… that means we have about a day to act, right?”

“Yes,” Sofia said grimly. “And if we don’t succeed, an entire city sector could end up trapped in accelerated or suspended time.”

Elias rubbed his face, the magnitude of the threat sinking in. “This is bigger than any of us anticipated. But Lucy’s life depends on that stabilizer… and everyone’s life depends on stopping that bubble.”

“One and the same mission,” Anna replied, steel in her tone. “We either succeed at both, or we fail at both.”

As dawn’s pale light seeped through the cracked vents in the garage ceiling, the rebels spoke in hushed voices, sifting through maps and scribbled notes. Despite the urgency, they knew this operation had too many moving parts to rush out blindly. They needed a plan they could trust—every detail refined before setting foot on Ivanov’s turf.

Garza quietly approached Lucy once more, handing her a cup of water. He gave her a lopsided smile, and for a moment, she smiled back, fragile but grateful. It was a small, human moment in the midst of chaos—one that spoke volumes about how tragedy could bond strangers.

Sofia pulled Elias aside, her eyes reflecting deep remorse. “I wanted to end Chronos’s evil from the moment Natalia died,” she whispered, voice thick. “Yet I couldn’t stop them from turning Lucy into another casualty.” She blinked back tears. “I’m sorry I failed you, Elias.”

He pressed his palm gently to her shoulder. “We’re here now. We’ll fight back—together. Nothing is set in stone yet.”

She nodded, swallowing her guilt. “This might be our last chance.”

Near the garage entrance, Lucy huddled in a jacket several sizes too large. She was exhausted, but her presence steadied Elias more than any plan could. He approached her.
“I’m sorry,” he murmured. “I promised you a normal life… but I keep dragging you into nightmares.”

She managed a tremulous smile, tears gathering at the corners of her eyes. “Dad, I’m still alive. You’re still fighting for me. That’s… more than a lot of people have.” She squeezed his hand, momentarily looking very much like the ten-year-old she truly was.

They embraced, father and daughter clinging to the last vestiges of hope in a world gone mad.

Eventually, Anna called everyone around the makeshift planning table again.
“All right,” she said, tapping a pen against the worn blueprint. “We have the timeline. We know Ivanov’s arrival is imminent, and this mega-bubble demonstration is on the horizon. Before we launch anything, we need to finalize the infiltration routes, sabotage points, and how we’ll secure the stabilizer for Lucy.”

She eyed each person in turn—Garza, Sofia, Elias, Lucy, and the other rebels who loitered at the table’s edge.
“We won’t get a second chance at this. The next step is gathering every piece of intel we can—schedules, guard rotations, potential vulnerabilities.”

“We can’t wait too long,” Elias cautioned. “Lucy’s running out of time.”

Lucy winced, her exhaustion evident, but she forced a small nod of agreement.
“I’ll be ready… for whatever part I have to play.”

Anna looked down at the blueprint, brow creased. “We’ll keep you out of direct fire, Lucy. That’s a promise. But we have to move fast. Everyone should rest up for a few hours if possible, because tonight—” she rapped her knuckles on the map, “—we’ll finalize the plan in detail. At first light tomorrow, we put it into action.”

No one missed the tremor in her voice. The weight of the mission pressed on them all.

“If something goes wrong,” Elias began, voice trailing.

A heavy silence descended. Anna pursed her lips.
“Then we do what we can,” she said, “to contain the damage. And we fight to the bitter end.”

At those words, a chill swept the garage, reminiscent of the cold ruthlessness with which Ivanov operated. No one voiced the unthinkable possibility: that they might all be swallowed by the catastrophic bubble or gunned down by Chronos soldiers.

Lucy clutched her father’s arm, nodding resolutely. “It has to be done,” she murmured. “We can’t let them keep hurting people like this. We have to stop it.”

In the background, Sofia double-checked her makeshift medical kit, her expression resolute. “Ivanov has robbed too many lives already… Natalia, Lucy, countless unnamed victims.” She straightened. “This time, we face him head-on.”

Garza, who had lingered quietly by Lucy, cast a sidelong glance at the group. Though he said nothing, the subtle set of his jaw spoke of his determination—and a silent promise that he would see this through, for Lucy’s sake as much as for his lost sister.

“We’ll gather again in a few hours,” Anna concluded, her voice echoing off the concrete walls. “Everyone take a moment to eat, rest, and prepare. Tonight, we finalize our infiltration plan. Tomorrow morning, we strike.”

No one cheered. No one spoke of victory. There was only the grim acceptance that this operation—this final stand against Chronos—had to succeed or the entire city would face devastation. Lucy’s future, and the fate of countless others, depended on it.

And so, as the rebels dispersed to their corners of the garage, the mood shifted from frantic urgency to a quiet tension. Elias helped Lucy lie down, careful with her intravenous line. Sofia hovered to monitor her condition, while Garza busied himself near a stack of supplies, occasionally glancing over at Lucy with concern. Anna retreated to a back room, flipping through a dossier of intel with laser focus.

In that hush, the weight of what lay ahead felt crushing: a plan to breach one of the most secure military complexes, to stop a device that could forever warp reality for thousands—and to snatch a single stabilizer that might save Lucy’s life. They had only hours to refine every detail.

Elias pressed a light kiss to Lucy’s temple. He thought of simpler times—morning walks, coloring books, her tiny hand in his as they crossed the street. That innocence had been ripped away by Chronos. But he would not fail her again.

He looked around at the makeshift hideout, at Garza’s stoic profile, at Sofia’s guilt-ridden eyes, at Anna hunched over the blueprint. “We’re in this together,” he whispered.

Lucy, half-asleep, murmured, “Yeah. Together…”

The faint drone of distant patrols outside was a stark reminder that Ivanov’s forces would not rest. Tomorrow, they would all plunge into the lion’s den. But for now, a fragile stillness held the garage, as each rebel contemplated the cost of what they were about to do.