“The Third Square Protocol,” is a military-espionage thriller centred on Major Richard “Richie” Hayes, callsign ‘Sapper’ and later ‘The Ghost,’ of the Royal Engineers Commando 59 Independent Commando Squadron.

The plot revolves around the “Pyramid Theory of Objective Op Sec,” an ancient Egyptian doctrine used to hide valuable secrets, which a modern global terror network (the ‘Uruk network,’ operating under the cover of a ‘commercial mortgage review’ team) is using as a field manual. Major Hayes is tasked with a clandestine intelligence operation in Giza after Professor El-Saadawi, an archaeologist, disappears, leaving a clue: “Scorpion Cairn.” Analyst Corporal Lena ‘Byte’ Novak discovers the Cairn is a decoy, and the real secret lies at the fourth point of an equilateral triangle formed by nearby mastabas—the true application of the Pyramid Theory.

Against General Finch’s orders, Hayes goes in solo, using a C4 explosion at the decoy site as a **distraction** to flush out hostiles and secure a crystalline artifact—the ‘Asset’—from a hidden sarcophagus. He is nearly sealed in the tomb by the builders’ ancient security mechanisms. Months later, Hayes is monitoring the Uruk network in Oman. They have cloned the Pyramid Theory to create a “Second Square” across the Arabian Peninsula.

Hayes breaks their pattern by using an intercepted Arabic radio phrase (the “sonic key”) as a “Propaganda Tactic” to force the network to reveal its true **Fourth Point**: a minefield dome. Inside, he confronts the ‘Fourth Wall,’ the network’s operator, who reveals that the Pyramid Theory is their field manual and Hayes’ predictable actions are part of their plan. Hayes uses a self-made **Logic Bomb** (Russian RDX and a civilian battery) to generate an EMP, disrupt the geometry, and escape with a key piece of intelligence—the map of the Second Square. Hayes is suspended but sent off-book to the Siberian Arctic—the planned location of the ‘Third Square’—to find the ‘Ledger,’ the secondary instruction set that can reverse-engineer the Uruk network. Hayes finds the Ledger’s location, realizing he was led there by the Fourth Wall, who then steals the Asset. The Ledger reveals that the network’s vulnerability is a five-sided pattern.