Chapter 15 - The Unseen Trigger
The duplicate froze in place.
A small hole appeared in the center of her chest, smoking faintly.
She looked down in utter disbelief as synthetic fluid poured from the wound.
Slowly, the double collapsed onto her knees, then fell flat on her face.
Victoria wiped the blood from her eyes and looked up.
Standing near the broken doorway was not a guard or General Vance.
It was General Vance's personal aide—a quiet young lieutenant who had been present at the ballroom earlier.
He held a suppressed pistol, smoke still curling from the barrel.
"Why?" Victoria wheezed out, struggling to stand up against the wall.
"Because General Vance made a mistake, Commander," the lieutenant said, his voice cold and devoid of passion.
He pointed his pistol away from Victoria and aimed it directly at Leo.
"Wait!" Victoria screamed, throwing herself in front of her brother.
"He didn't fire to save you, Victoria," a voice echoed through the room's PA speakers.
It was General Vance, speaking live from the command center above.
"The double was getting rogue and emotional," Vance explained casually over the speaker.
"She was an imperfect prototype."
"And as for you, Commander... you've led us right to the ultimate objective."
Victoria felt a cold dread settle in her stomach.
"What objective?" she demanded, shielding Leo with her body.
"You really thought this was about hiding a black-ops mission?" Vance chuckled sinisterly.
"Your brother isn't just a hostage, Victoria."
"He's the carrier for the biological key we needed to activate the orbital defense network."
"And now that you've bypassed all my sub-level security to reach him..."
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"You've just completed the upload for us."
A heavy steel blast door began to slam down over the exit, locking them inside as red emergency lights began to flash wildly.
