Echoes Of Deception

Ghosts We Bury

Anna stood just outside the door, shivering in the cold, her coat drenched, her face looked pale but recognized. Nick stared at her, as if he saw a ghost. His breath seized in his throat and memories clung at the limits of his mind, her laugh, the warmth of her hand and the way she used to speak his name. It struck him like an important train. He took a step back and silently invited her inside.

Leah stayed standing, eyes fixed on Anna, stiff with caution. “You said you used to love him. Who are you to him now?” She asked.

Anna glanced between them. “I—I don’t know. I thought he was dead. I thought they killed him. But when I heard whispers and i saw the footage online… I had to come.”

Nick sat on the edge of the bed, still trying to make sense of it all. “We knew each other? Before… everything?” He asked.

Anna sat too, clutching her two hands. “We were engaged, Nick. Before Veratech. You enlisted in a private security job, something temporary. You needed the money for our wedding.” She explained.

Nick blinked. His head throbbed. “I… I don’t remember that.”

“I figured,” she said, voice cracking. “But you changed after your third week with them. You stopped calling. Then you vanished. I went to the police and the army, no one would help. They couldn’t find you. They said you were dead.”

Leah stepped forward, her voice sounded cool. “How did you find us?”

“I tracked down a hacker. Remy,” Anna said. “He posted something on a dark forum—leaked files from Project Echo. I recognized Nick’s face in one of the blurred images.”

Leah’s eyes narrowed. “That was encrypted. No way someone outside Veratech could’ve accessed it unless…”

Anna held her gaze. “Unless I was on the inside. I used to work for Veratech. HR records division. That was how I found Nick’s file. And why I knew he didn’t die. He was moved. Reprogrammed. They called it ‘neutralizing the human asset.’”

Nick’s fists clenched. “So you were part of it.”

“No,” Anna said quickly. “I left the minute I realized what they were doing. But I couldn’t save you, Nick. I tried. They made sure I couldn’t get close. Then they staged a break-in and made me disappear too.”

Leah crossed her arms. “So you expect us to believe this is a happy reunion?” She asked.

“No,” Anna said. “I expect you to believe I still care what happens to him. I didn’t come here to pick up where we left off—I came to warn you.”

Nick’s voice was cold. “Warn us about what?” He asked.

Anna took a shaky breath. “Veratech is not just hunting you. They’ve activated the other units.”

Leah’s jaw dropped. “You mean there are more like him?”

“Twelve total. Nick was Unit 9. Units 1 through 8 were test failures. 10 through 12 were perfected… loyal, obedient, and lethal.”

Nick’s chest tightened. “So they’re sending me after me.”

Anna nodded. “And they’re already close. I tracked Unit 12’s last ping three miles from here.”

Leah paced. “We need to move.” She yelled.

“No,” Nick said. “We need to stay and fight.”

Anna touched his arm. “Nick, you’re not ready.”

He pulled away. “They’re hunting me. They won’t stop. And if they find Leah, they’ll kill her. You said they perfected the later units then maybe I’m their only glitch. Their only threat. That means I’m the only one who can stop them.”

Anna looked away. “There is something else.”

Nick’s voice hardened. “What?”

“They kept a failsafe. A neural kill code.”

Leah’s breath hitched. “A what?”

“A trigger phrase,” Anna explained. “If spoken aloud in his presence, it shuts down Nick’s motor functions permanently. Leaves him alive but paralyzed.”

Nick’s face went blank. “And you knew about this the whole time?”

“I only confirmed it two days ago. I came to tell you. To warn you never to trust anyone who knows your code.”

Leah stepped forward. “Do you know the phrase?”

Anna shook her head. “It’s scrambled and stored in a voiceprint-only archive. Only someone on the inside could retrieve it.”

Nick stared at the motel floor for a long moment. “Then we break into Veratech. Find Dr. Mallory Kern. Destroy whatever backup they’ve got on me. And if we get the chance… burn it all to the ground.”

Silence filled the room. A silent vow between all the three.

Outside, a black SUV rolled to a slow stop a block away, headlights off.

Inside, Nick rose and loaded the magazine into his gun.

The hunted was ready to hunt back.