The Palace of the Sun at three in the morning was an inhospitable place. The grand marble corridors, now illuminated only by sparse, dim sconce lights, formed isolated islands of luminance in a sea of shadow.

  Mateo's footsteps echoed, a solitary sound that accentuated the profound, almost unnatural silence.

  He walked slowly, observing.

  A palace designed to house a thousand servants, hundreds of aides, and a battalion of guards now felt like a ghostly estate.

  He passed the vast meeting hall; empty chairs stood in neat rows along the twenty-meter mahogany table, as if awaiting a council of phantoms.

  In the kitchens, the stoves were cold and silent. Even the air felt stagnant, undisturbed by the breath of life that should have filled such a place.

  Ten guards for the entire east wing. Five servants for the whole main floor. It wasn't frugality; it was insanity. An open invitation for disaster.

  Mateo stopped in the center of the main hall, beneath a mural depicting the sun rising over mountains. The painting was full of gold and hope. The reality beneath it felt hollow and fragile.

  He had ignored this for two months. No longer.

  Ordinary loyalty wasn't enough, he thought, his eyes sweeping the vacant space. Loyalty could be overwhelmed by numbers. Or by a knife in the dark. Or by a phone call threatening one's family. This was an illusion of security. And in politics, illusions were the first step toward the grave.

  He turned, his steps now quicker, more purposeful, heading toward his private study—a room hidden behind a bookcase, far from the opulent pretenses.

  Here, there was no gold or marble. Only steel-reinforced walls, hard wood furniture, and a large desk strewn with maps, reports, and contract documents.

  He locked the door. The solid click was the only guard he truly trusted at this moment.

  Sitting in his chair, Mateo closed his eyes. The outside world—the palace's silence, Vargas's shadow, Uncle Roberto's hopeful gaze, Felix's weary face—all faded. In the darkness of his mind, he activated the projector of another life's memories.

  The First Life. A different world, with different conflicts, but the principles were the same.

  There, he remembered clearly two elite units he had led and developed. Not by the same names, but their functions were etched in pure logic: the Dagger and the Shield.

  The silent, lethal Dagger. The immovable, unyielding Shield. Both were necessary, both vital, and they must distrust each other.

  His eyes opened. The cold light from the desk lamp illuminated the first strokes on a blank sheet of paper. This was no longer about politics. This was about creation.

  ***

  TITLE: PROJECT DUALIS

  I. NEEDS ANALYSIS

  Current Situation: Extreme vulnerability. The outer perimeter is too vast to be secured by ordinary men without creating a fortress that breeds fear.

  Threats are multi-vector: physical infiltration (Vargas/Mendez loyalists), sabotage, covert assassination, enemy intelligence gathering, and threats against the family (kidnapping, coercion).

  Purely conventional human solutions are inadequate… terms of numbers, capability, and vulnerability to corruption/coercion.

  A force multiplier is required—one of absolute loyalty, untiring, capable of operating in both human domains and… beyond ordinary human limits.

  II. UNIT CONCEPT

  A. UNIT SOMBRA

  Quantity: 1,000.

  Oath: "Mission success above all else."

  Primary Focus:

  1. Infiltration: Penetrating security layers, organizations, or target residences without a trace. Gathering intelligence from within the enemy's heart.

  2. Sabotage: Disrupting enemy logistics, communications, or critical infrastructure. Not large explosions, but precise, crippling damage.

  3. Targeted Elimination: Clean, traceless assassination. Not public execution, but deaths that appear as accidents or illness.

  4. Covert & Night Operations: Mastering darkness. Intelligence gathering, device placement, or extraction in zero-light conditions.

  They are problem-solvers using the most direct and hidden methods. Their weapon is invisibility and surprise.

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  B. UNIT BLINDAJE

  Quantity: 1,000.

  Oath: "Protect the Guerrero family, no matter the cost."

  Primary Focus:

  1. Physical & VVIP Security: 360-degree protection of targets (President, Family, High-Level Guests). Includes advance teams, perimeter security, and close protection.

  2. Security Protocol & Intelligence: Understanding threat patterns, designing secure travel routes, vetting staff and guests. Defensive intelligence.

  3. Extreme Threat Scenarios: Handling hostage situations, armed assaults, chemical attacks.

  4. Counter-Infiltration: Detecting and neutralizing infiltrators. Maintaining the integrity of the inner perimeter.

  They are the barrier, the unwavering wall of loyalty.

  III. COMMAND DOCTRINE & COORDINATION

  This is the most critical part. Two sharp blades in one sheath can wound each other.

  1. Supreme Command: Only one. Mateo Guerrero. All active orders, mission activation, and top-level authorization come from him alone. This is the key to absolute control.

  2. Operational Command:

  Sombra is led by a Sombra Commander (codename: San Muerte - Saint Death).

  Blindaje is led by a Blindaje Commander (codename: Los Leales - The Loyal Ones).

  San Muerte and Los Leales will know each other's identities and roles. They must be able to coordinate when necessary.

  3. Absolute 'Need-to-Know' Principle:

  Sombra will know Blindaje's operational principles (patrol patterns, restricted zones). They will not know individual Blindaje identities, their precise positions when not visible, or detailed internal protocols.

  Blindaje will know Sombra's operational principles (that an infiltration unit exists and may 'test' their security). They will not know individual Sombra identities, their specific missions, or operational methods.

  Members of one unit will only know their own commander and comrades. They are cogs in different machines.

  4. Interlocking (and Potentially Conflicting) Priorities:

  Blindaje: Absolute priority is VVIP safety and neutralizing threats WITHIN THE PERIMETER. If a threat is identified, they are authorized to neutralize it—no exceptions.

  Sombra: Absolute priority is mission completion. If their mission requires infiltrating a Blindaje-secured area, or even exploiting a security gap, they will do so.

  Conflict Resolution Doctrine: In a direct clash between Sombra (on mission) and Blindaje (on protection), Blindaje has shoot-first authority. However, Sombra is designed to avoid detection. A direct conflict is a failure for Sombra. San Muerte and Los Leales must develop covert signals to prevent friendly fire during forced coordination. This tension is intentional; it keeps both sides sharp.

  5. Loyalty Training & Indoctrination:

  This is the foundation. Loyalty is not to the nation, the revolution, or an ideology. Nor is it to the President. Loyalty is to Mateo Guerrero as Supreme Commander, and to the mission of their respective unit.

  Indoctrination will utilize… special methods from his past-life memories. A combination of psychology, conditioning, and deep narrative implantation. They must feel they are part of this system, with no identity or loyalty outside it.

  IV. INTEGRATION WITH EXISTING STRUCTURES

  The 1,000 Blindaje units will be integrated into the Palace of the Sun and family security detail. 500 in the Palace as the backbone of static security and rapid response. The other 500 as 24/7 mobile escort units, divided into shifts, constantly guarding every VVIP movement, seen and unseen.

  Human Servants: Will remain, but their numbers will be gradually increased. They will be trained by the elderly and loyal head maid, Mother Rosa. Focus on protocol, hospitality, and passive vigilance. They are the human layer, additional unsuspecting eyes and ears. They will know nothing of Sombra or Blindaje. They will only see 'new, highly professional guards' and a few 'rarely seen special staff.'

  Sombra will never 'integrate.' They are the beneficial parasites within the palace body. They will use tunnels, interstitial spaces, air ducts, and supply systems as their highways. The palace must have a 'dark heart' known only to them and Mateo.

  ***

  Mateo stopped writing, his hand cramping. The plan on paper looked cold, almost inhuman. But that was the point.

  This wasn't about humanity. It was about survival. About creating an environment where his father could lead without fearing a sniper, where his mother could sleep without nightmares of kidnapping, where Eleanor could laugh in the garden without hidden eyes watching.

  He stared at the simple architectural sketch he'd made: concentric layers.

  Outermost layer: Visible Blindaje, protocol. Second layer: Invisible Blindaje, counter-intelligence. Third layer: Sombra, moving between them like ghosts. And at the center, the Guerrero family.

  And himself? Where was he?

  He was not at the center. He was outside the diagram. He was the draftsman. The mission controller. The one who would direct Sombra to pry into a foreign diplomat's secrets, or perhaps one day, to find a rival's weakness. The one who would ensure Blindaje tightened the protective circle in times of crisis.

  A deep weariness, not physical but existential, suddenly pressed on his shoulders. The fatigue of having to think of everything, plan everything, be the only one who knew the whole picture.

  Sometimes, the thoughts from his first life felt like a curse—the knowledge of how fragile everything was, how easily seemingly solid systems could be destroyed from within.

  He stood and approached the small window in his room. Outside, the sky over Caraccass City was fading from pitch black to a bluish grey. Dawn was approaching. A new day of meetings, negotiations, and political theater.

  But more pressing in his mind was something far simpler, almost childish. A specific thirst. Not for water, wine, or bitter coffee.

  He wanted a soda.

  Not champagne or expensive imported drinks. But an ordinary soda from Earth, from his first life. Icy cold, with sharp carbonation, overly sweet, tasting purely of chemicals.

  The kind that left a light aftertaste and a slight jolt to the head. That drink didn't exist in this world. Its taste, its sensation, was an unreplicable memory.

  Sitting back at his desk, with the plan for a shadow army spread before him, Mateo Guerrero allowed himself, for a very brief moment, to miss something utterly unimportant.

  The shadows he would create would ensure no one could threaten his family.

  But who, or what, would protect him from the loneliness of this knowledge? From the weight of being the sole architect behind the curtain?

  He took a deep breath, rubbing his face. Sentiment was a luxury he couldn't afford. Not now. Perhaps never.

  He neatly folded the Project Dualis document and stored it in the safe hidden behind a wooden panel. Click. That sound again. Sealing it away.

  He would start tomorrow. Meeting with his father, identifying candidates to lead the planned units, sourcing resources, finding a remote facility location, recruitment… the right candidates. It would take time. But every step had to be perfect.

  As he left the room and returned to the still-silent corridors, his footsteps no longer echoed alone in the emptiness.

  Now, in his mind, he was accompanied by two thousand unborn shadows—a thousand daggers and a thousand shields, all awaiting his command.

  The Palace of the Sun might still be quiet, but he no longer felt it was empty.

  Yet somewhere deep within, the man who once drank soda in a lost world still felt a profound thirst.

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