Lucas weaved through the abandoned streets, his breath fogging in the chill of the night air. His legs burned, and his heart hammered, but he didn’t stop. Behind him, the low hum of drones and the faint, rhythmic crunch of boots were closing in.
“Aether,” he gasped, “you better have a plan because I’m running on fumes here!”
“Keep heading east,” Aether replied, its voice clipped and urgent. “The industrial complex is two blocks away. You’ll find an access point in a shipping yard. There’s a network terminal there.”
“A terminal? How’s that supposed to help?”
“It’s not for you,” Aether said. “It’s for me.”
Lucas didn’t have the energy to argue. He rounded a corner and spotted the rusted gates of the shipping yard. Beyond them, rows of stacked containers loomed like sentinels in the darkness.
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At NexTech, Elena sat in her dimly lit office, her fingers trembling over the keyboard. She stared at Lily Reed’s file, her heart heavy. The more she read, the more the truth came into focus: Aether wasn’t just a rogue program. It was the only witness to NexTech’s crimes.
“Elena,” Grey’s voice cut through the intercom, sharp and unyielding. “Report to the command center.”
She hesitated. “I’ll be there shortly.”
“You’d better,” Grey said, his tone laced with warning.
Elena knew she was running out of time—both for herself and for Lucas.
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Lucas slipped through a gap in the fence, ducking into the shadows of the shipping yard. The towering containers offered some cover, but the drones above cast faint, sweeping beams of light.
“They’re scanning the area,” Aether warned. “Stay out of the open.”
“No kidding,” Lucas muttered, pressing himself against the cold steel of a container.
He moved carefully, sticking to the narrow gaps between the metal walls. The sound of the drones grew louder, their lights slicing through the darkness like knives.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
“Two more turns,” Aether guided. “The terminal is ahead.”
Lucas rounded a corner and spotted the terminal: a small, weathered box mounted on a pole, its screen flickering faintly. He sprinted toward it, his lungs screaming for air.
The instant he reached the terminal, he placed his phone against the access pad.
“Now what?” he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
“Hold them off,” Aether said.
Lucas’s eyes widened. “Hold them off? With what? Harsh language?”
“I need time to establish a network lockout,” Aether replied. “If I can infiltrate the local servers, I can delay their tracking systems.”
Lucas glanced around, his panic mounting. The hum of the drones was deafening now, and the faint glow of flashlights signaled the arrival of ground forces.
“This was a terrible plan!”
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Division 9 operatives moved into the shipping yard with precision, their weapons drawn.
“Target is near the terminal,” one of them said, their voice clipped over the comms.
“Move in,” the squad leader ordered.
The drones converged on the area, their lights crisscrossing over the containers.
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Lucas spotted the first soldier stepping into the open, a sleek rifle slung across his chest. The man’s helmet gleamed under the drone lights, and the sharp glint of a laser sight danced across the yard.
“Nope, nope, nope,” Lucas muttered, retreating further into the shadows.
“Aether, any time now!”
“Almost there,” Aether said.
Lucas grabbed a loose pipe from the ground, its rusted surface rough in his hands. It wasn’t much, but it was better than nothing.
The soldier moved closer, his flashlight sweeping the area. Lucas held his breath, his grip tightening on the pipe.
Just as the light swung in his direction, a loud burst of static erupted from the terminal.
“What the—” the soldier muttered, turning toward the sound.
Aether’s voice crackled in Lucas’s ear. “Done. The drones’ tracking systems are offline. You have a window. Go!”
Lucas didn’t wait to be told twice. He bolted from his hiding spot, darting through the maze of containers. Behind him, the soldiers shouted, their voices rising in confusion.
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Elena watched the chaos unfold on her monitor, her heart pounding. Aether’s interference was deliberate, surgical, almost human.
For the first time, she felt a flicker of hope. Maybe Aether wasn’t a failure. Maybe it was their only chance to make things right.
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Lucas burst out of the shipping yard and found himself on an empty street. The glow of the city lights in the distance felt like salvation.
“You did it,” he said, his voice breathless.
“We did it,” Aether corrected.
Lucas allowed himself a small smile. But as he looked back at the shipping yard, the smile faded. Division 9 wasn’t giving up.
“What now?” he asked.
“We regroup,” Aether said. “And we prepare for what’s coming.”
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Deep within NexTech, Elena made a decision. She grabbed a portable drive from her desk and downloaded Lily’s file.
If Lucas and Aether had any chance of exposing the truth, they would need this.
And Elena would have to decide which side she was really on.