Chapter 55 - The Voice of the Architect
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"Very impressive, Audrey," the smooth, digitized voice of the Architect echoed through the server room. "Your resilience is... admirable. But ultimately, futile."
I pushed myself off the floor, clutching my bruised ribs, and stumbled over to the central console. The timer on the crystal drive in my pack read: 02:15:00.
"It's over," I yelled toward the security camera in the corner. "Your lieutenant is dead, and I have enough C4 in this room to blow your entire network to the bottom of the ocean."
"Are you entirely sure about that?" the Architect replied calmly.
The main monitor above the console flickered to life. The feed wasn't of the rig. It was a grainy, black-and-white security feed of a rusted, underground bunker.
My heart completely stopped. It was the bunker in Nevada.
The camera showed the heavy steel blast doors glowing cherry-red. Sparks were flying as a massive thermal cutting torch slowly sliced through the locking mechanism from the outside.
"No..." I whispered, touching the screen.
"Did you really think a decommissioned Vanguard black site would stop me?" the Architect mocked. "I own the satellites, Audrey. I tracked the thermal footprint of your father's vehicle straight to the desert. My men will breach that door in exactly four minutes."
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The feed switched to a camera inside the bunker. Marcus was standing in front of the door, holding his revolver, his face sweating profusely in the heat of the cutting torch. Chloe was hiding behind him, terrified.
"You have a choice to make, Ms. Hayes," the Architect said smoothly. "Insert the crystal drive into the terminal and initiate the Aegis protocol. Surrender the world to me. If you do, I will call off my men, and your daughter lives. If you refuse, or if you detonate that C4... you can watch her die right now on this screen."
