Petrova's lungs were burning. She was taking breaths while sucking in hot air that felt like metal and smelled like ozone. She was running as fast as she could, her mind not thinking clearly, just trying to survive.The tunnel was a mess of pipes and wires all going to the pump station. She jumped over a pipe, which could have given her burns and then she heard Leo's voice behind her. He was not shouting, he was very calm which was scary."You are running around in a circle, Architect " Leo said, his voice loud and clear. "The map is a loop. Every path here ends at containment."Leo was wrong. John Raymond, the man who made this place told her about a flaw in the system. The geothermal pump station had a way in which was not on the maps.Petrova took a turn, her small light cutting through the dark. She used her grappler to swing onto a maintenance vent a hole in the wall. The Sentinels, big and heavy, could not follow her.The first Sentinel hit the pipe making a noise like a big be

The river was like a cut in the earth. The mouth that swallowed Petrova whole with the water was very cold. It hurt her when she went in as she tried to breathe but the water was too high. The current was very strong which happened to pull her down.The river housed the secrets of Petrova. Petrova's leg hurt a lot when she got shot with the electro-dart. The pain was like a scream but she could not make a sound. The important thing was that she needed to breathe. The river bottom was like a mess of concrete and dirt.Petrova curled up into a ball to protect her head and the special device on her arm. The device was still sending her messages. It said, “TRANSFER PROTOCOL INITIATED.” Petrova remembered what Leo said: "The new key is on your arm." She realized that the paradox was not a way to stop the system but a way to distract it. The system was looking for a way to control things. That new way was Petrova.Petrova was not just carrying a key, she was becoming the key. She tried to

The air in the room was thick with the smell of ozone and old machine oil. It was really different from the cold damp alley. Petrova stepped inside as the heavy metal door shut behind her with a loud clang. The light was dim coming from a bulb hanging from the low ceiling. It made the place feel like a submarine engine room that had been turned into a bunker.Fira was a woman that John Raymond had sent Petrova to meet. She was very thin and wiry with hair the color of rust and eyes that looked at Petrova with a cold intense stare. Fira wore dark clothes and had a big tool or maybe a weapon strapped to her back. She did not move from her seat on a workbench covered with electronics."Divergence.” Fira said with her voice, rough. "It is a password for a door. It does not tell me why Leo's chief administrator is coming here with a broken knee."Petrova leaned against the door feeling safe with the solid metal behind her as her knee was hurting a lot. "John Raymond sent me. He said you

The sound of the explosion was really bad. It was like a hungry growl that came from the old structure giving way and stopped almost right away. The only sound left was the water dripping through the ceiling of the tunnel. It was a normal sound but it was also really scary. Petrova just stood there not moving. Her finger was still near the spot where the wall used to be. She could feel an empty feeling inside her like a big computer program had just shut down.She looked at Fira, the younger woman was leaning against the wall trying to catch her breath. Her skin was pale and sweaty. She looked really scared. She was usually very calm and professional. Now she looked like she was falling apart."Three people, " Fira whispered, her voice shaking. "Three Enforcers. They're just gone."Petrova thought about what had happened. She knew that the three men were a threat to them and she had to make a choice. She chose to get rid of them. It was the best choice for their survival.. Now she fe

The ground was shaking really bad as they ran across the roof of the water cleaning place. It was like a metal skeleton up there and the wind was super cold. Gideon was already ahead. He was moving really fast. He. Dodged between the blinking warning lights and the open pipes.Fira was behind him holding her small bag tight. Petrova was at the back. She was moving super fast too. Her fake body was not tired at all. She could see and hear everything really clearly. The city was making a lot of noise. It was like a big mess of thoughts and data all mixed together.Suddenly Gideon shouted, "Leo is not resetting!" He pulled out a wire from his scanner. Put it in his pocket."He is hiding the problem! The connection to the city is closed. He cannot get rid of the mistake. It is too deep! He is separating the area." Fira said.Petrova looked down at the city. She saw that the pattern of lights was broken. Where the lights were blinking together a minute ago now they were blinking all crazy.