Chapter 74
CHAPTER 74 — THE TACTICAL FAULT
The silence inside the limestone vault was thick with the weight of millions of lives. Claire looked from the glowing terminal to Lily’s tear-streaked face, then to Alexander, whose independent pacemaker was beginning to emit a localized static whine once more.
"He's running a simulation, Claire," Anna Carter whispered from the shadows behind them, her hand tightly gripping her tactical knife. "The market data on the monitors... the encryption keys match the old Lane foundation shell profiles. He’s not watching the real world crash; he’s staging a financial hostage situation to force your hand."
Charles’s smile faded, his emerald eyes turning cold as chips of ice. "Anna Carter. The maid’s child who survived the wallpaper. Your father was a good driver, Anna. It’s a shame he didn't know when to keep his mouth shut about the shipping manifests in 1992."
Anna’s jaw clenched, a raw, ancient fury ripping through her composure. "You murdered him. You made it look like a highway accident."
"He was an employee who forgot his station," Charles said indifferently. "Just as you are now."
Before Anna could lunge, Alexander slammed his hand down onto the manual override switch of the server core. "Claire, run!"
The emerald lights of the server towers instantly flared into a blinding, violent white as a massive electrical surge ripped through the liquid-cooling lines. The glass tubes along the walls shattered, spraying pressurized coolant across the marble floor.
Claire dove forward, tackling Iteration Four away from Lily. The clone moved with mechanical speed, her metal-reinforced fingers driving into Claire’s shoulder, tearing through the fabric of her coat. But Claire didn't stop; she jammed the barrel of her compact pistol beneath the clone's jaw and pulled the trigger three times.
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The suppressed gunshots were a dull thwip-thwip-thwip. Iteration Four’s eyes flickered, white synthetic fluid leaking from her mouth as her hydraulic systems collapsed, her body slumping onto the floor.
"Lily, to the lift!" Claire screamed, grabbing her daughter’s hand and sprinting toward the pneumatic platform.
