The Nevada facility looked like nothing.
Just a stretch of desert, dust and sun and silence. But the satellite image said otherwise. Heat signatures ran deep — at least six levels underground.
Juno stood over the terminal at their hideout.
"This isn't Pale Court architecture. It's American. Built off their data, but cleaner. Faster. Funded."
"By who?" Maya asked.
Juno zoomed in.
"Classified. But routed through a front called EchoGuard Systems."
Evan already knew the name. His father had written it in the margins of the last page. Circled. Underlined twice.
They moved at night.
Juno disabled the outer drones. Maya cut through the fence.
Evan slipped in through a maintenance shaft that hadn't been sealed — left open for someone like him.
The first two levels were automated: bots, scanners, zero personnel.
Level three held a security checkpoint. Beyond it, a room full of screens.
One screen showed X-12.
Alone. Sitting at a desk. Drawing something over and over — a symbol that looked like a spiral cut in half.
Juno whispered, "That's a pulse signature. EM-coded."
"She's sending signals," Maya said.
"Not just signals," Evan said. "Commands."
They reached the observation room. A single guard. Evan took him down before he spoke.
Inside the file terminal, Juno found logs.
"Subject X-12 not held. She's... running the facility?"
Evan scanned the console. "No. She's the key. This system doesn't operate without her brain's resonance."
"She's the power source," Maya said flatly.
The lights flickered.
Then a voice came through the speakers.
Calm. Young. Hollow.
"You don't have authorization."
Juno's fingers froze.
Evan stepped forward. "We're not here to hurt you."
"You already did. Years ago. Before I remembered."
Maya asked, "Do you know who we are?"
Silence.
Then: "I know you're not Cain. That means I'm allowed to decide."
Doors sealed behind them.
Gas hissed.
Juno yanked the emergency override.
Lights snapped off. Only red emergency lamps remained.
They ran toward the containment wing — toward X-12.
Evan reached her chamber first. The door opened before he touched it.
She sat there, waiting.
Thirteen, maybe fourteen. Eyes black as coal. Calm.
"Why are you helping us?" Evan asked.
She tilted her head. "Because I'm done being theirs."
Juno scanned her vitals. "She's clean. No chip. But her neural field is boosted — there's a satellite uplink in her head."
"Can we remove it?" Maya asked.
Juno shook her head. "No. If we cut it, it'll kill her."
Evan looked at X-12. "What do you want?"
She stared back.
"To finish what your father started."