Vlad's eyes narrowed as he scrolled through the raw data of his own "Alpha-1" file. He didn't let the shock paralyze him; instead, he looked for the one thing every operative looks for: a location.
Deep within the sub-directory of his biometric sync logs, he found a string of encrypted coordinates. He tapped a command, and the MacBook's screen shifted to a satellite map. The cursor zoomed in rapidly, flying over the Midwest and diving deep into the heart of the South, finally pulsing over Downtown Atlanta, Georgia.
"There," Vlad pointed, his finger steady against the screen.
Vance leaned in, squinting at the map. "Wait... that's the Chase Bank branch on Peachtree Street. Right in the middle of the business district. Why would they put a high-level lab under a bank?"
"Security through obscurity," Vlad muttered, his mind already calculating the tactical approach. "It's a perfect cover. High foot traffic, heavy vault security already in place, and a massive power grid to support the cooling for the pods. The bank isn't just a bank; it's the lid on the coffin."
The file indicated that the Alpha-1 body—Vlad's own superior successor—was being held in a specialized "Deep-Storage" unit four levels below the bank's main vault. At 75% completion, the body was likely undergoing final neural mapping.
"If that thing reaches 100%," Vance said, looking at the glowing red dot on the map, "it won't need you anymore. It'll have your skills, your memories, but none of your... well, let's call it 'human baggage.'"
Vlad stood up, the firelight casting long, jagged shadows against the cabin walls. He looked toward the bedroom door where the real Beatrice was sleeping, then back at the screen. The mission was no longer about a flash drive or the Agency's orders. It was about survival.
"We aren't waiting for Tom to find us," Vlad said, his voice like grinding stone. "We're going to Atlanta. I'm not letting that thing wake up with my face."