Interrogations came in cycles.Morning. Night. Sometimes both.Jasper was moved from his cell to the same gray room again and again. Same table. Same chair bolted to the floor. Same camera in the corner that never blinked. Different faces across from him, but the questions were always the same.“Where did you get the weapon?”“I didn’t.”“How did you leave the transport van?”“I didn’t.”“Explain the bodies.”“I can’t explain what I wasn’t part of.”The man across from him leaned back in his chair. He was older than the others. Less impatient. That made him worse.“You expect us to believe that?”Jasper shrugged slightly, the cuffs on his wrists clinking. “You don’t have to believe me.”The man narrowed his eyes. “That’s not how this works.”Jasper looked at him. Calm. Steady. “Then ask better questions.”The room went quiet.Another voice cut in from behind the glass. “End the session.”The older man stood slowly. “You think this is over?”Jasper didn’t answer.They escorted him back

The leader didn’t bother dressing it up.“We can take you out,” he said. “Tonight.”Jasper sat on the narrow bench, hands resting on his knees. He didn’t move. He was wondering why he was called to the office again, when he had rejected them earlier.The man continued anyway, as if silence was permission.“The walls won’t matter. The doors won’t matter. We’ve already handled the people who need handling. Routes are clear. Transport is waiting outside the perimeter.”Another man stepped in. “No court. No trial dates. No delays.”A third added, “You walk out with us, and that’s it. You’re gone.”They waited for a reaction.Jasper kept his eyes forward.The leader frowned. “You understand what we’re offering.”“I heard you,” Jasper said.“Then say something.”Jasper shook his head once. “No.”The word landed flat.The room went quiet.“What?” one of them asked.The leader stared at him. “You don’t get many chances like this.”“I’m not interested.”A short laugh came from the corner. “You

The moment the androids tightened their formation around the transport van, Jasper felt the familiar pressure behind his eyes.A system alert appeared without warning.Mission Issued.Objective: Eliminate all hostile mechanical units.Conditions: Zero civilian casualties. Zero officer fatalities.Restrictions: None.Exposure: Permitted.Jasper read it once.Then again.His jaw tightened slightly. The wording was different this time. There was no suggestion. No negotiation. It wasn’t asking him to assist or interfere quietly.It was a direct order.Annihilate.Outside, the first shots rang out.Gunfire cracked through the air as officers opened fire on instinct. Bullets slammed into the androids’ bodies and ricocheted away, sparks jumping off reinforced frames. The sound was wrong—too sharp, too metallic. The machines didn’t flinch. They didn’t slow down.“Shots ineffective!” one officer shouted.“Fall back!” another yelled. “Get behind the vehicles!”Too late.One of the androids rais

Adrian Snow’s office looked nothing like it usually did.Glass crunched under his shoes as he paced. A table lay on its side. One of the wall screens flickered, frozen on a frame of static and sparks. Another replayed the same ten seconds over and over. Androids advancing. Gunfire. Then Jasper moving. Then silence.Adrian stopped in front of the screen and slammed his palm against it.“Again,” he said.The technician on the other end hesitated. “Sir, that’s the last usable—”“I said again.”The footage restarted.The android at the front collapsed first. Then another. Then another. Each fell faster than the last. No hesitation. No panic. Just efficiency.Adrian’s jaw tightened.“That wasn’t supposed to happen,” he said. “He wasn’t supposed to be able to do that.”No one answered him.His hands shook as he reached for the desk, fingers digging into the edge. He could feel his pulse in his temples. This wasn’t just a failed operation. This was exposure. Resources had been deployed. Chai

The clatter of metal echoed faintly as Jasper’s cell door slid open. The usual routine—the grating hinge, the muffled curses of bored guards, the dismissive nods—was absent. Instead, a stillness pressed against him, sharp and deliberate. Guards moved with measured steps, hands close to their weapons, eyes flicking to him briefly before darting away. Even the officers who usually radiated arrogance seemed smaller, cautious.Jasper didn’t speak. He never did unless necessary. But he could feel the shift immediately. Something had changed. He could sense it without explanation, without notice, just in the weight of the room and the crispness in the officers’ movements.“Step forward,” one of the guards said, voice clipped. There was no mockery, no hesitation—just instruction.Jasper rose slowly from the cot, adjusting the cuffs at his wrists with practiced ease. His eyes scanned the room as he stepped toward the door, noting every movement, every twitch of muscle, every hand resting on a