The motorcycle sped through the empty winter streets.
Snow whipped through the air as the city lights faded behind them. The rider didn't slow down until they reached an abandoned industrial area on the edge of town.
Old warehouses stood like giant shadows in the darkness.
Finally the motorcycle stopped in front of a rusted metal building.
The engine turned off.
Silence filled the cold night.
Arin slowly climbed off the bike, his legs shaking.
"Okay," he said, breathing hard. "That was officially the craziest night of my life."
The rider removed his helmet.
He was a tall man with a beard and tired eyes.
"Name's Lucas," he said. "And yeah… nights like this happen more often than you'd think."
Arin stared at him.
"That sentence does not make me feel better."
Maya walked toward the warehouse door and entered a code on a small keypad hidden in the wall.
Arin blinked.
"You know secret codes now too?"
The door slid open with a quiet mechanical sound.
Lights flickered on inside.
Arin stepped in—and immediately froze.
The inside of the warehouse was not abandoned.
Huge computer screens covered the walls.
People wearing black uniforms worked at glowing consoles.
Strange machines hummed quietly.
It looked like something straight out of a secret spy movie.
Arin's jaw dropped.
"What the heck…"
Several agents turned and looked at him.
One of them whispered,
"So that's the kid?"
Arin pointed at himself.
"Kid? I'm literally standing here!"
Lucas parked the motorcycle near the wall.
"Welcome," he said, "to one of the bases of the Northwatch Organization."
Arin stared blankly.
"The… what?"
Maya walked past him.
"The group that protects Santa Claus."
Arin blinked again.
"Right. Of course. Because that's a totally normal sentence."
He looked around the room again.
The machines.
The agents.
The giant screens showing maps of the world.
His brain struggled to keep up.
"Okay," he said slowly. "Let's say—just for a second—that I believe all this crazy stuff."
Lucas leaned against a table.
"Smart choice."
Arin pointed at the screens.
"So you're telling me this entire spy organization exists… just to protect Santa?"
"Not just Santa," Maya said.
"Christmas."
Arin rubbed his face.
"This is insane."
Lucas picked up a tablet and tapped the screen.
A hologram suddenly appeared above the table.
It showed an image of a large red sleigh flying through the sky.
Arin stared at it.
"…Is that supposed to be—"
"Yes," Maya said.
"The real sleigh."
Arin laughed.
"You expect me to believe that thing flies around the world in one night?"
Lucas tapped the tablet again.
The hologram changed.
Now it showed strange glowing energy surrounding the sleigh.
"This," Lucas said, "is called Joy Energy."
Arin raised an eyebrow.
"You guys seriously named it that?"
"It's the energy created by happiness, hope, kindness… everything Christmas represents."
Arin crossed his arms.
"And Santa runs on that?"
"Exactly."
Lucas pointed at the hologram.
"The sleigh doesn't just fly. It bends space using that energy."
Arin stared at him.
"…Okay."
Lucas waited.
Arin shrugged.
"I mean, after tonight, nothing surprises me anymore."
Maya zoomed the hologram out.
The image changed again.
Now it showed a huge facility deep in snow-covered mountains.
"This," she said, "is where Santa was taken."
Arin leaned closer.
"Who took him again?"
Lucas's face darkened.
"A group called Black Frost."
Arin remembered the name from earlier.
"The guy watching me… Kraven Black?"
Maya nodded slowly.
"He leads them."
Arin whistled quietly.
"Sounds like a comic book villain."
Lucas didn't smile.
"He's worse."
The room grew quiet.
Arin noticed something strange on another screen.
His own face was displayed there.
With a file beside it.
He pointed at it.
"Uh… why am I on your computer?"
Maya hesitated.
Lucas sighed.
"Well… here's the part you're really not going to like."
Arin groaned.
"Oh great."
Lucas turned the tablet toward him.
The screen showed an old photo.
A young boy.
Standing beside a tall man wearing a red coat.
The man's face was blurry.
But the red coat was obvious.
Arin squinted.
"…Wait."
His heart skipped.
"That kid looks like me."
Lucas nodded.
"Because it is you."
Arin laughed nervously.
"That's impossible."
Maya spoke quietly.
"You met Santa once."
Arin shook his head.
"No I didn't."
"You were five years old."
"I would remember that!"
Lucas zoomed into the image.
Arin's eyes widened.
The kid in the photo had the same scar on his eyebrow.
The exact same one Arin had gotten when he was little.
Arin felt a chill run down his spine.
"…What the heck."
Lucas spoke carefully.
"That night… Santa did something unusual."
Arin swallowed.
"What?"
"He gave you something."
Arin frowned.
"What do you mean?"
Lucas pointed at Arin's chest.
"Something we still don't fully understand."
Arin looked down at himself.
"My chest?"
Maya nodded.
"We call it the Santa Protocol."
Arin blinked.
"That sounds ridiculous."
Lucas sighed.
"It's the emergency plan."
"In case Santa is ever captured."
Arin slowly looked up.
"You're telling me…"
"…that somehow I'm part of that plan?"
Maya didn't answer right away.
Instead she said something that made the room feel suddenly colder.
"Yes."
Arin stared at her.
"But we don't know why."
Suddenly—
An alarm blared across the entire base.
Red lights flashed everywhere.
Agents jumped to their feet.
One of them shouted,
"INCOMING SIGNAL!"
Lucas rushed to the nearest screen.
"What is it?"
The agent typed quickly.
"Enemy drones approaching!"
Arin groaned.
"Oh come on!"
Maya looked at the radar.
Her eyes widened.
"That's not drones."
Lucas leaned closer.
Then his face went pale.
"…Oh no."
Arin looked between them.
"What?"
Lucas spoke quietly.
"Those are Kraven's elite hunters."
Arin blinked.
"…That sounds bad."
Maya grabbed a weapon from the wall.
"It's worse."
Outside the warehouse…
Massive armored vehicles were already surrounding the building.
And standing in the snow…
A tall figure in a black coat smiled as he watched the base.
Kraven Black raised a small communicator.
"Hello, Northwatch," he said calmly.
"I know the boy is inside."
Inside the base, everyone froze.
Kraven continued speaking.
"So let's make this simple."
He smiled.
"Give him to me."
The soldiers behind him raised their weapons.
Kraven's voice echoed through the speakers one last time.
"Or I burn this entire place to the ground."
Arin looked at Maya.
"…Yeah."
He sighed.
"This night just keeps getting worse."
And the chapter ends as the first missiles launch toward the base.