A Dangerous Split

The moment the tires of their vehicle screeched onto the wet pavement, Sienna felt her pulse sync with the sound. Dominic was behind the wheel, eyes narrowed, calculating every turn, every shadow. Kira sat beside her in the backseat, laptop on her lap, tracking the movement of the unmarked cars that had followed them.

“We’ve got three hostiles closing in from the north,” Kira said, fingers flying over the keyboard. “And another from the east. We’re boxed in.”

“We’ll have to split sooner than planned,” Dominic muttered.

Sienna didn’t argue. Every moment they spent together made them an easier target. “Drop me at Nexus Tower,” she said. “That server farm is my assignment. I can handle it.”

Dominic glanced at her in the rearview mirror. “Alone?”

She nodded. “Alone. We don’t have time to hesitate.”

He didn’t like it—she could see it in his jaw, tight and flexing—but he didn’t protest. There was no time.

He swerved left, pulling into a narrow alley that led toward the subway. “This’ll get you underground, close to the tower. You have the drive?”

Sienna reached into her jacket, pulling out the small black USB Kira had given her. “It’s right here.”

Kira handed her a burner phone. “Encrypted. If you hit a wall, call me and I’ll try to override remotely.”

Sienna tucked it into her pocket, then opened the door. Cold rain greeted her instantly, soaking through her hoodie, but she didn’t flinch.

Dominic grabbed her wrist before she stepped out. “Be careful.”

She hesitated. Then leaned in and kissed him—quick, fierce, and desperate. “See you at the core,” she whispered.

And then she was gone, swallowed by shadows and the roar of the subway below.

⸻

Fifteen minutes later, Sienna stood in the lobby of Nexus Tower, her clothes dripping, her heart thundering. The building buzzed with quiet energy—too quiet for a place this critical. Security guards stood idle, faces too smooth, too perfect.

Not human. Echo’s biometric surveillance had already taken over.

She walked straight to the elevator, forcing herself to remain calm. Kira had loaded her ID into the stolen credentials—just enough to get her access before the system caught on.

She slid the card. The light flashed green.

Inside the elevator, she tapped the 27th floor. The control room.

As the doors closed, her reflection stared back at her from polished steel walls—eyes wide, mouth tense. She barely recognized herself. Gone was the timid analyst. In her place stood someone ready to take down a monster.

⸻

Meanwhile, Dominic had dropped Kira three blocks away from her target—a satellite relay station that controlled the west district’s data transmission. It was lightly guarded, but heavily firewalled.

He watched her slip into the shadows, then pulled back onto the main road. His destination: the core. Echo’s neural AI heart.

Only he could reach it. He still had the clearance. Ryan hadn’t revoked his access—yet.

But that wouldn’t last long.

As he drove, memories clawed at him. The day he learned Ryan was alive. The moment he realized Echo wasn’t a security program—it was a weapon. One Ryan planned to use to control not just data, but people.

And the guilt of knowing he once stood beside him.

This was his redemption. His line in the sand.

⸻

Sienna reached the 27th floor. The hallway stretched ahead, lined with tinted glass panels and humming with static. The main control terminal sat at the far end.

She stepped out cautiously, her fingers brushing the wall for balance. Her breath came in slow, shallow pulls.

Suddenly, a voice rang out behind her.

“Well, well. You made it.”

She turned sharply. Ryan stood at the end of the hall, arms folded, suit immaculate. As if he’d been expecting her.

“How did you—?”

He smiled coldly. “You didn’t think I’d let you wander into my systems unnoticed, did you? I’ve been watching you, Sienna. Every move. Every conversation. Even that kiss.”

Her stomach turned.

“You’re too late,” he continued, stepping closer. “The launch is already in motion. Echo is awake. You can’t stop it.”

Sienna’s hand slipped into her jacket, fingers curling around the USB. “Maybe not. But I can slow it down.”

Ryan’s smirk deepened. “You’re brave. I admire that. Like your father. You know, he wanted to shut it down too.”

She froze.

“Yeah. He found out what I was building. Tried to leak it. So I made sure he never spoke again.”

A rush of heat surged through her. Rage. Grief. Resolve.

“You killed him.”

“I ended a threat.”

“You just made a bigger one.”

Before he could react, she threw the USB into the terminal slot beside the control panel. The screen lit up instantly, code flooding the interface.

Ryan lunged toward her, but she’d already hit Enter.

The virus launched.

The system shrieked in protest, sparks shooting from a nearby monitor. Alarms blared.

Ryan shouted something, but it was drowned out by the roar of collapsing systems.

Sienna ran.

Down the stairs, her heart pounding, as lights flickered and sirens screamed. The building was collapsing from the inside—digitally at first, then physically.

She reached the bottom floor just as an explosion shook the eastern wall. Concrete cracked. Smoke poured through the vents.

Her phone buzzed.

Kira: Triggered mine. You?

Sienna: Done. Heading to rendezvous.

There was still one piece left.

Dominic.