The city had been dead for years, but it still breathed through smoke and static. colorless sky; glass crunched under every step. Between the ruins, wind carried the smell of metal and rain.
Ronan led the way, His boots splashed in shattered glass and ruins. Elara followed close, her pack of hacked transmitters clinking softly. Liam brought up the rear, guns steady, eyes everywhere.
They'd been moving for hours since the ambush at the railway station. Every few blocks, Liam felt that whisper in the corner of his mind, the System, quiet but aware.
[SYSTEM : Motion sensors detect thermal signatures unknown source — range 400 m]
He stopped. "Incoming," he said.
Ronan froze mid-step. "Direction?"
"Northwest… multiple."
Elara pulled out a small screen from her wrist. "Not civilians. Pattern's too tight. They're triangulating."
Ronan spat into the dust. "Then Hale's dogs are close."
They slid into the hollow of a collapsed storefront. Outside, the street was empty, but Liam's nerves burned with warning. He could feel the rhythm of the pursuit, so professional. This wasn't random patrol; it was a hunt.
A whisper in his skull:
(SYSTEM : Enemy unit ID — REAPER SQUAD / Division 4)
[Members: Five]
Five super soldiers, Hale's elite. They moved like shadows, their visors glowing faint amber through the mist. Each carried heavy weapons and ammunition.
Ronan's breath tightened. "We take them here?"
Liam shook his head. "Not yet. Let them pass. We stay invisible."
Elara was already typing commands. "I can throw false heat signatures two streets over."
"Do it."
The first of the Reapers stepped into view. Sleek black armour. Their helmets swiveled, scanning. A faint hum filled the air as their sensors swept the street.
Elara's decoy flickered to life somewhere far to the east; three helmets turned immediately.
Then one stopped.
He tilted his head, listening to something only he could hear.
Liam cursed under his breath. "They hear heartbeats."
Ronan gripped his rifle tighter. "Then let's give them a louder one."
Before Liam could stop him, Ronan rolled out from cover and opened fire. A hunter jerked backward, armor sparking. Another dropped behind a rusted car and returned fire; bullets sliced through the glass wall behind them.
Liam moved instinctively. He grabbed Elara, dragging her toward the staircase of the ruined store. "Upstairs...go!"
Ronan covered them, his gun barking rhythmically until a pulse grenade detonated beside him. The blast threw him sideways, glass rained down.
"Ronan!" Elara screamed.
He staggered to his knees, smoke curling from his shoulder plate. "Still breathing!"
Liam to the rescue, firing short, efficient bursts to pin the Reapers back. He didn't miss ever. Two soldiers collapsed, their neural lights flickering out.
The System whispered again:
(SYSTEM : Kills confirmed — 2 / 5 targets)
The surviving three advanced, forming angles of fire that left no blind spot. It was beautiful and terrifying exactly what Project Kairon had trained him to be.
"Upstairs," he barked. "Now!"
They burst through a second floor window, landing on a metal fire escape. Rain began again, sharp and cold. Liam climbed fast, the iron rattling under his weight.
At the roof, the city stretched endless and dark. Lightning flashed somewhere far away.
Elara gasped for breath. "We won't outrun them."
Liam scanned the rooftops. "We won't have to."
He pointed to a service metal spanning the gap between buildings. "That line leads to the transit bridge. If we cross, they'll lose visual."
Ronan chuckled dryly. "And if we fall?"
They ran. The metal swayed under the wind, its rusted sound groaning. Halfway across, gunfire erupted behind them, silent flashes, then the metallic ping of impacts.
Elara slipped; Liam caught her arm and pulled her upright without breaking stride.
He spun, fired one clean shot, and a pursuing Reaper crumpled, sliding off the beam into the darkness below.
But another leapt after them, landing heavy. The roof shook.
Ronan turned, shouting, "Go! I'll—"
The Reaper hit him like a thunderbolt, slamming him into the wall. Sparks flew from his rifle as it clattered away. Liam dropped Elara on the far side and charged back.
The Reaper's helmet turned toward him, visor flaring. "Target confirmed: Liam Blackwood."
"Then you already know how this ends," Liam replied.
They collided in a flash. Metal screamed; fists met armor. Every blow echoed through the rooftop. Liam ducked under a swing, struck upward into the joint at the enemy's chest plate, and twisted. The Reaper staggered but didn't fall.
He surged forward again, faster. Liam barely avoided a knee strike, he swerved left, grabbed the man's wrist, and used his momentum to drive him into the wall. The helmet cracked, sparks bursting outward. Liam followed with a single decisive punch that sent the Reaper collapsing, motionless.
Ronan groaned on the ground. "Remind me not to spar with you."
"Stay down," Liam said, hauling him up. "We're not done."
Elara led with a flashlight, slicing through mist. "Where does this lead?"
"Industrial quarter," Ronan said. "Tunnels underneath."
Behind them, three drones rose, scanning thoroughly.
Elara started working at her console. "I can jam them for thirty seconds."
"That's all we need," Liam said.
He climbed up, waiting for the drone and as soon as it passed him, he grabbed it, drove his knife into it, the drones lights went dim spiraling down.
Two more came, Ronan shot one out of the sky. The last managed to fire some shots before Elara's jamming signal hit. It froze mid air, then dropped.
Silence returned, except for wind and thunder.
Ronan wiped his brow. "That's three down. How many left?"
Liam's jaw tightened. "Enough."
Far away, in the command vehicle hidden beyond the perimeter, Captain Varic Hale watched the feed flicker. His sharp, scarred face reflected in the monitors.
"Impressive," he murmured. "Even with outdated programming, he adapts faster than the new models."
A junior ranked glanced nervously. "Sir, shall we deploy Falcon - Six?"
"No. Not yet." Hale's voice was calm, almost amused. "He's predictable under pressure. But emotions… emotions make him reckless."
He tapped a screen. The image of Elara appeared, drawn from earlier.
"Engage the trigger," Hale ordered. "Let's remind him what he thinks he's protecting."
Liam, Elara, and Ronan reached the far end of the bridge.
They found shelter in a maintenance chamber beneath the road. Inside, faded maps covered the walls, and broken equipment lay like bones.
Ronan slumped against the door. "We can rest a minute."
Elara nodded, setting down her gear. "I'll reroute our trail. That should buy time."
Liam paced near the entrance, scanning the shadows. The adrenaline had faded, leaving ache in his chest. He could almost feel Hale's eyes on him somewhere beyond sight.
The System flickered again.
(SYSTEM : user heartbeat irregular]
[Warning: external emotional stimulus, source unknown)
He frowned. "Elara, are you running any sky links?"
"No, why?"
Before she could finish, her screen flashed. A new signal forced its way through, overriding her encryption.
A voice followed, Calm, Cold. Familiar.
"Liam Blackwood. You're still predictable."
Liam's blood ran cold. "Hale."
Elara's eyes widened. "He's inside the network.....how?"
Hale's chuckle filled the room. "You really thought you could hide in my city? You're a signal, Blackwood. And every signal can be traced."
Ronan raised his weapon toward the door. "He's stalling."
"No," Hale said. "I'm teaching."
The screens around them flickered again, and suddenly the image of the young girl appeared, the same one from the photo Elara had given Liam. Only now she was older, maybe twenty. Her eyes were terrified, and a collar of cold steel circled her neck.
"Subject V-0 confirmed alive," Hale said. "Move to phase two."
Liam's knees shivered. "What is this?"
Elara stepped closer to the image, pale. "That's..."
"....me," Liam whispered.
The realization struck like thunder. The girl looked like Elara, but the facial pattern… it matched his own genetic code almost perfectly. A mirrored sibling.
Hale's voice grew softer. "You wanted to know who you were, Blackwood. Here's your answer. You were never the first. She was."
Elara stared at the screen, shaking her head. "No… no, that's impossible."
Hale ignored her. "Come home, Liam. Save her. Or keep running until the rest of the city burns."
The feed cut to black.
Silence filled the chamber except for the faint hiss of the rain outside. Ronan looked from Liam to Elara. "It's a trap. You know that."
Liam didn't answer.
Elara grabbed his arm. "He's baiting you. Whatever that is, it's not real."
Liam turned slowly. His eyes, usually calm and unreadable, now burned with something new, rage mixed with guilt.
"If there's even a chance she's alive," he said quietly, "I have to see."
Ronan sighed. "Then we go with you."
Liam shook his head. "No. This is mine."
He stepped toward the door, rifle in hand. The rain outside had turned to a heavy fall drumming on the steel roof. Lightning flashed, carving the city in white and black.
Elara's voice trembled. "Liam.....don't let him control you."
He paused in the doorway, not turning. "He already does."
Then he vanished into the storm. They followed through immediately.