Chapter 943
“The Legacy Key isn’t just code,” Skye realized, studying the faded ink. “It’s a place. A server vault.”
“And the Mastermind — The Administrator — wants the vault to secure his control over the AI,” Julian said. “Dominic wants the vault to bargain for his freedom. And we…” He looked up at Skye, his eyes burning with feverish intensity. “We need the vault to pull the plug.”
“Why the rush?” Skye asked. “We have the files.”
“Because fighting a war costs time we don’t have,” Julian said, a cynical smile touching his pale lips. “Liam’s accounts are being watched. If we want to kill the AI, we need physical access to the mainframe. Untraceable, historic access.”
“And where does this map lead?” Skye asked, tracing a line on the parchment.
“To the past,” Julian said. “Specifically, to the old Thorne estate. Before the Feds raided it, Dominic had a private sector — a sub-level that appears on no blueprint.”
𝗝𝗈𝗂𝘯 t𝗵𝘦 𝘤o𝗺m𝘂ո𝗶𝘁𝘆 а𝘵 𝗴𝘢l𝗻𝗈𝘃еl𝗌.𝖼o𝗺
“We’ve searched the estate,” Skye said.
“Not deep enough.” Julian coughed into a handkerchief. He tried to conceal it, but Skye caught the bloom of red before he folded the linen away. “There is a vault. Inside, you might find the first piece of the puzzle. Or a warning.”
Skye looked from the map fragment to Julian’s bloodied handkerchief. He was hiding something — not just about his health, but about how he knew all of this. She didn’t have the leverage to force the truth from him yet, but she filed it away.
“It’s a race,” she said. “Between us, a prisoner, and a ghost.”
“And Parker is the starting pistol,” Julian nodded. “He must continue to be Maximillian. He must be loud. He must be the bait that makes the Mastermind reckless.”
“And if they kill him?”
“Then we failed,” Julian said simply.
Skye wanted to slap him. Instead, she felt a terrifying clarity settle over her. This was the world she had chosen to return to — a world where morality was a luxury she couldn’t afford.
“Fine,” she said. “But Parker gets body armor. And Alistair doesn’t drive anymore.”
“Agreed.” Julian leaned back and closed his eyes. “Now get out. I need to rest.”
Skye turned to leave, but paused at the door. “Julian,” she said softly. “If I find out you’re playing a game with our lives…”
“We are all pieces on the board, Skye,” he whispered, without opening his eyes. “Even me.”
The basement of the old Thorne estate smelled of dust and forgotten sins — a dry, choking smell that coated the back of Skye’s throat. This was the property seized by the government after Dominic’s arrest, but Alistair still knew the ways in that the Feds had missed.
“I hate this,” Parker whispered. He was wearing a tactical vest beneath his designer suit, making him look puffy and awkward. He swept his flashlight across rows of covered furniture. “This is exactly where the horror movie character says ‘I’ll be right back’ and then gets turned into a lampshade.”
.
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