Chapter 12 - Facing the Shadow
Victoria stepped over the threshold into the dimly lit containment cell.
The heavy scent of copper and ozone filled the air.
Her brother, Leo, lifted his bloody head, his swollen eyes straining in the dim light.
"Vic...?" Leo rasped out, his voice trembling with sheer terror.
"Don't move, Leo," Victoria said softy, keeping her eyes fixed on the darkness ahead.
From the shadows across the room, the dopplegänger stood up smoothly.
She wore the pristine dark blue commander's dress uniform, untarnished by mud or blood.
She moved with the exact same fluid grace as Victoria.
"You look terrible, original," the duplicate spoke, her voice an uncanny, pitch-perfect match to Victoria’s own.
"You should have died in the alley like Marcus was supposed to arrange."
"Marcus failed," Victoria said, raising her pistol directly at the duplicate's heart.
"And so will you."
"Will I?" the duplicate sneered, taking a slow step forward.
She didn't reach for a gun.
Instead, she held up a small remote detonator with a blinking red LED light.
"You see this switch?" the double asked, her smile cold and robotic.
"It's linked directly to the explosive collar strapped around your brother's neck."
Victoria's eyes darted down to Leo's neck.
A thick metal collar hummed softly against his skin, pulsing with a faint red light.
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"Drop your weapon, Victoria," the double commanded.
"Or watch your brother's head leave his shoulders."
