Chapter 49 - The Interrogation
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We couldn't take Jax with us. He was bleeding too heavily and would only slow us down. I flagged down a passing utility truck, bribed the driver with a thick stack of emergency cash, and told him to drop Jax off near a private clinic I trusted in San Jose.
Before the truck pulled away, Jax grabbed my arm. "Audrey... if you go to that rig... you are walking into the heart of a machine. You can't shoot a network."
"I can shoot the man who built it," I replied coldly, shutting the door.
We hijacked a rusted sedan from a nearby lot and drove to a secluded motel off the highway. Once we were inside the dingy room, the gravity of the situation finally settled over us.
Marcus sat on the edge of the stained mattress, holding the glowing crystal drive. The timer read: 48:15:02.
"An offshore oil rig in the Pacific," Marcus said, rubbing his tired eyes. "It’s brilliant. No jurisdiction, heavily fortified, and completely off the grid. It’s the perfect place to house a global supercomputer."
"We can't bring Chloe there," Elena stated, pacing the small room. "It's a suicide mission. If we fail, the Architect gets the girl and the keys to the kingdom."
I looked at my daughter, who was sitting on the floor watching cartoons on the static-filled television, completely oblivious to the fact that her DNA was the most dangerous weapon on earth.
"We split up," I decided, the words tasting like ash in my mouth.
Marcus looked up, sharply. "I am not leaving you, Audrey."
"You have to, Dad," I pleaded, my voice breaking slightly. "There's a decommissioned Cold War bunker in the Nevada desert. The Vanguard used it as a black site. It has three feet of lead-lined concrete walls and an independent air supply. Take Chloe there and lock the blast doors."
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"And what are you going to do?" Elena asked, stopping her pacing.
I looked at my reflection in the cracked mirror above the sink. "I’m going to the Pacific. I’m going to tear the Architect’s empire down before he even gets the chance to turn it on."
