Chapter 66

Chapter 66

“Protocol synchronization at sixty-two percent.”

The automated voice echoed mercilessly through the warehouse.

Cassian screamed again.

The sound ripped through Luca like broken glass.

He dropped back to one knee beside him instinctively while the second division operatives around the warehouse continued collapsing one after another.

Some were unconscious now.

Others were barely coherent.

A few had started turning weapons on themselves.

Damon watched the scene with growing horror.

Because these weren’t soldiers anymore.

They were victims.

Vale remained perfectly calm above them on the upper walkway.

Watching children she destroyed die in real time without the slightest trace of remorse.

“Deactivate it,” Damon said again.

His voice was colder now.

More dangerous.

Vale tilted her head slightly.

“You continue asking as if morality influences outcomes.”

Damon’s jaw tightened violently.

“No,” he replied quietly.

A pause.

“I’m asking before I stop being polite.”

Something almost amused flickered across Vale’s expression.

Luca barely noticed.

His attention stayed fixed on Cassian.

Blood continued running from the other man’s nose while his breathing became increasingly unstable.

“You can fight it,” Luca said urgently.

Cassian laughed weakly.

“You always lied badly.”

Luca’s chest tightened.

Because Cassian sounded young suddenly.

Not like a weapon.

Not like a monster.

Just tired.

Another fragment of memory surfaced violently.

Young Cassian sitting beside him after training.

Silent.

Bleeding from split knuckles.

And Luca quietly handing him stolen painkillers.

The memory hit hard enough to make Luca physically recoil.

Because even then

Before Damon

Before freedom

Some part of Luca had still tried to protect people.

Vale noticed immediately.

“Memory integration progressing faster than anticipated,” she murmured.

Luca looked up sharply.

Hatred burning now.

“You did this to us.”

Vale met his gaze calmly.

“No.”

A pause.

“We perfected survival instincts.”

“You tortured children.”

Silence spread briefly through the warehouse.

Even Hale said nothing.

Because there was nothing to defend.

Vale’s expression remained disturbingly composed.

“And yet,” she replied softly, “you survived longer than ordinary children ever would have.”

Damon moved before anyone could stop him.

He crossed the warehouse floor rapidly and aimed the gun directly at Vale’s head from below the walkway.

“You’re going to shut it down.”

Every operative nearby tensed instantly.

Vale simply looked down at him.

Unimpressed.

“You won’t shoot me.”

Damon’s eyes darkened.

“Try me.”

Luca stood immediately.

“Damon.”

But Damon didn’t lower the weapon.

Because for the first time since meeting Hale and Vale

His rage had nowhere else to go.

Not at Luca.

Never truly at Luca.

At them.

The people who stole children and called it science.

Vale studied him quietly.

Then

Unexpectedly

She smiled faintly.

“There it is.”

Damon frowned.

“What?”

“Attachment-driven aggression.”

A pause.

“You would dismantle entire systems for him.”

“Yes.”

No hesitation.

The certainty in Damon’s voice silenced the room again.

Luca looked shaken by it.

Still.

Every time.

Vale’s eyes shifted between them carefully.

“You truly love him.”

Damon’s grip tightened around the gun.

“You say that like it’s a flaw.”

Vale answered instantly.

“It is.”

Luca finally snapped.

“No,” he said sharply.

Everyone looked at him.

Luca stepped forward slowly.

Voice shaking slightly from emotion and exhaustion.

“You think emotions make people weak because you’ve never experienced one that wasn’t twisted into control.”

Vale’s expression cooled instantly.

“You’re emotionally unstable.”

“I’m human.”

The words cracked through the warehouse like gunfire.

Cassian looked up weakly from the floor.

Watching Luca carefully.

And somewhere deep inside himself

Something old shifted.

Because Luca was saying things none of them were ever allowed to believe.

The automated voice echoed again overhead:

“Protocol synchronization at seventy-one percent.”

Cassian’s body jerked violently.

Seraphine checked the time on her tactical display.

Face paling.

“We’re losing minutes too fast.”

Luca turned sharply toward Cassian again.

“How do we shut it down?”

Cassian swallowed hard against visible pain.

“Sublevel three… central neural core.”

Hale finally moved toward them.

“I designed the original access architecture.”

Nobody trusted him enough for comfort.

Damon especially.

“You expect us to believe you’ll help?” Damon asked coldly.

Hale looked directly at Luca.

Not Damon.

Never Damon.

“If the protocol reaches full synchronization,” he said quietly, “Luca dies.”

Silence.

That truth landed heavily.

Because no matter what Hale was

No matter what terrible things he’d done

Luca realized something horrifying:

Hale genuinely did not want him dead.

Not out of love.

Not even guilt.

Something stranger.

Possession.

Pride.

Obsession.

Vale noticed the realization too.

“You always favored him,” she said softly to Hale.

Hale’s expression darkened slightly.

“He adapted better.”

“No,” Vale corrected calmly.

A pause.

“You became attached.”

The word felt poisonous coming from her.

Hale said nothing.

Which was answer enough.

Damon’s stomach turned.

Even Hale

The architect of nightmares

Had failed to remain emotionally detached from Luca completely.

Luca looked sick.

“Don’t,” he whispered.

Because the idea of Hale caring in any capacity felt worse than hatred.

Another operative collapsed nearby screaming.

Foam at the corners of his mouth now.

The synchronization was accelerating.

Cassian suddenly grabbed Luca’s sleeve hard again.

“There’s something else.”

Luca leaned closer immediately.

Cassian’s unfocused eyes found his.

“She connected your original neural key to the system.”

Luca froze.

No.

Damon looked sharply between them.

“What does that mean?”

Cassian coughed hard before answering.

“It means only Luca can shut the protocol down.”

Silence detonated through the warehouse.

Luca slowly straightened.

Already understanding the implication.

Vale smiled faintly from above.

“There it is.”

Damon’s pulse dropped cold.

“What aren’t you saying?”

Cassian looked at Luca with something dangerously close to pity.

Then whispered:

“If he disconnects the system manually…”

A pause.

Blood slid from the corner of his mouth.

“…the neural backlash could kill him.”