Echoes Of Deception

Into The Core

The relay station loomed like a monolith of glass and steel, sitting in the belly of Sector 12—Veratech’s most fortified zone in Redstone City. Surveillance drones buzzed overhead, patrol units marched with synthetic precision, and the sky never stopped blinking with motion sensors.

Nick stood across the street with Anna and Leah, all three tucked beneath the crumbling facade of an abandoned rail station. He’d shed the worn leather jacket, now dressed in black thermals and gloves. His eyes scanned every angle.

“There are three access points,” Anna whispered, tapping on the schematics she’d pulled from Remy’s server. “The west stairwell has the thinnest security wall. But we’ll need a biometric scan to override the first barrier.”

Nick glanced at her. “Kern’s handprint still in the system?”

“Likely. But we don’t have his hand.”

Leah reached into her bag and pulled out a glass vial. “We don’t need the hand. Just his print. I lifted it from the lab’s control panel before we left.”

Anna blinked, impressed. “You planned for this?” She asked.

“I don’t trust hope. I trust options.”

They waited for the clock to strike 2:00 a.m.—when drone rotations dipped and auto-patrols shifted their circuits. Nick moved first, slinking through alleyways like a shadow. Leah followed, scanning for movement. Anna clutched the signal drive like it was her last heartbeat.

At the door, Nick pressed the silicone sheet Leah made against the biometric pad. The machine beeped.

“Dr. Mallory Kern: access granted.”

They slipped inside.

The interior was too quiet—polished floors, humming lights, the sterile scent of control. Anna pointed toward the service corridor.

“Down three floors, then left. Server room’s behind a reinforced gate.”

As they descended the stairs, Nick’s skin began to crawl. The whispers returned. Not words—just pressure. Like static brushing against his spine.

Unit 9. Sector breach detected. Return to containment.

He clenched his fists.

Leah noticed. “Nick?”

“I’m fine,” he lied.

Anna handed him a transmitter. “Once I’m plugged in, you’ve got two minutes. I’ll upload the counter-signal, override the code… and if it works, the control loop should burn out.”

“And if it doesn’t?” he asked.

Anna didn’t answer.

The server room was a cathedral of wires and pulse-lights. At the center stood the command relay—tall as a man, encased in glass, humming with ancient energy.

Anna darted to the console and connected the drive.

“Signal uploading… 15%… 32%…”

Then the alarms shrieked.

“Unauthorized intrusion detected. Neural unit presence confirmed. Lethal force authorized.”

Steel doors slammed shut. Turrets descended from the ceiling.

“Get behind me!” Nick shouted, stepping in front of the women.

Bullets fired—but he moved faster. His body shifted instinctively, calculating angles. He tore a steel pole from a nearby panel and swung it, deflecting the shots with superhuman precision.

Leah ducked and pulled a small EMP grenade from her belt.

“Three seconds!” she yelled.

Nick lunged forward, threw the pole into the barrel of the closest turret, and rolled back just as Leah tossed the grenade.

It exploded in a fizz of blue sparks.

Silence returned.

Anna’s voice cut through the quiet. “Signal at 94%… almost—wait…”

The console flashed red.

“Remote override engaged,” a robotic voice said. “Dr. Kern authorization: Project Echo failsafe initiated.”

Nick staggered. The pressure in his head turned into knives.

“Anna!” he shouted, gripping the edge of the console. “It’s inside me. He’s—he’s trying to activate the final command.”

Anna’s hands flew. “I need to override the override!” She said.

Leah looked to Nick. “You’re sweating. Your hands—Nick, you’re shaking.”

Obey. Neutralize. Terminate.

The voice inside his skull roared.

Nick gritted his teeth, trying to stay grounded. Leah pressed a comm against his ear.

“Nick. Listen to my voice. You’re not him anymore. You chose this. You chose us.”

The console beeped.

“Upload complete,” Anna whispered. “Firing signal in 3… 2… 1.”

A pulse radiated from the console. A deep hum vibrated the walls.

Nick collapsed to his knees.

And screamed.

Every memory, every locked door in his brain flung open at once. Training rooms. Screaming subjects. His first kill. His last breath before the neural override. The day he became “Unit 9.”

Then came light.

Warmth.

Silence.

Nick opened his eyes.

The room had stopped spinning.

The whisper was gone.

Leah knelt beside him. “You’re back?”

He nodded. “I’m me.”

Anna leaned against the wall, tears in her eyes. “We burned the loop. You’re free.” She said happily.

The overhead speakers crackled one last time.

“Well done,” Kern’s voice said, distant now. “But freedom… is just a longer leash.”

Then the line went dead.

They left the building just before backup units arrived. The city was still asleep, unaware that a weapon had been disarmed in the quiet.

As they walked through the rain again, Leah asked softly, “What now?”

Nick looked at the skyline—still cold, still blinking.

“We find Kern,” he said. “And we end this at the root.”

Anna pulled her coat tighter. “You’re sure?” She asked

Nick smiled grimly. “For the first time in a long time… yes.”