Logan managed to escape the garden by crawling through the ventilation. Behind him, Uranus alarms echoed all around. Because of his wounds, every move hurt. Clara's sonic blast had left him shredded inside, as if he'd taken a holy beating.
—Mo..movement... detected... at 20 meters... right... —Fay's voice crackled with interference.
Logan coughed, spitting a little blood. His smart suit, that divine technological wonder Paul had given him, was now nothing more than scorched fabric and dead circuits hanging off his body.
—Fay, can you hear me? —he whispered, pressing his forehead against the alley wall. The ventilation duct he'd escaped through was still hot.
Only static answered. That silence felt scarier than any insult Fay had ever thrown at him. For days he'd had her constant presence —annoying, sure— and it had become a kind of company.
[System message: Core integrity - 68%]
[Alert: Communication module - DISCONNECTED]
[Temporary Protection - READY (1 use)]
Logan slid down the wall until he sat on the filthy ground. His whole body ached, but it was almost familiar, like the pain after a rough day delivering empanadas in the rain. At least that felt real. All this —the systems, the missions— started to feel like a dream he couldn't wake from.
While he was thinking, his phone vibrated in his pocket. When he pulled it out the screen was cracked but miraculously still worked. He saw the lock photo —a blurry selfie with Ana from a summer at the beach, like he'd had a life before— and a wave of nostalgia hit him.
—Logan? Are you alive? —Paul's voice sounded unusually tense—. Fay's system sent a critical damage alert before disconnecting.
—I'm... somewhere in the industrial district —Logan answered, looking around. The alley was full of overturned trash containers and graffiti— Fay's... not responding properly to anything I say.
—Stay put. I'll send someone for you, don't move.
The call cut off and Logan left the phone on the ground. He rubbed his face. He was so tired... so incredibly tired of all this. Tired of being a pawn in games he didn't understand and running around like a scared rat in a maze.
He sat there counting his heartbeats in the dark, until the headlights of a black van lit up the alley. The vehicle stopped with a soft squeal. The sliding door opened revealing Elena Ginflow in the back seat. Even in the night, in the dirtiest district of Altaris, she looked like she'd stepped out of a fashion magazine.
—Damn, genetics— Logan said.
—If you've got time for jokes then get in, quick.
Logan moved with difficulty. Getting into the van, the contrast between the luxurious interior and his own deplorable state felt almost funny. The seats were white leather and it smelled clean.
—Did you manage anything besides almost getting yourself killed? —Elena asked as the van pulled away silently, leaving the alley.
Logan let out a bitter laugh.
—Your "sister" misses you, Elena —he said, wiping blood from his lips with the back of his hand—. Wanders a fake garden remembering her childhood. Does that count or not?
He watched Elena's face harden. For a moment —just a flash— he thought he saw something else in her eyes. Pain, a genuine deep pain that vanished as quickly as it came.
—You know nothing about my childhood —she murmured, staring out the window.
The ride continued in silence. Logan watched slums give way to cleaner, more ordered districts. It felt like traveling between two worlds separated by a few kilometers and a huge amount of money.
Finally the van stopped in front of a discreet apartment block.
Paul waited at the entrance holding a tablet and with his brow furrowed.
—I need access to your system port —he said without greeting as he led Logan inside the apartment.
The place was minimalist. White furniture, white walls. It looked more like a luxury hotel suite than a real home.
—Wait, what are you going to do? —Logan asked as Paul started attaching cables to his head.
—Try to repair Fay. Or at least recover the data she grabbed —Paul replied, focused on his tablet— Getting even a fragment of information is more valuable than you think.
While Paul worked, typing code and muttering to himself, Elena came closer to Logan.
—What else did you hear in that recording? —she asked, eyes fixed on his.
Logan breathed in. He remembered Alberto Ginflow's tired voice and the pain in his words.
—Your father... Alberto. He said you were very lonely. And that adopting Clara had been a mistake.
Elena clenched her jaw hard and, for the first time since Logan had met her, he saw her eyes water.
—He never understood... —she whispered, staring into nothing— I didn't want a sister. I wanted my father back. I wanted him to stop locking himself in his lab, to stop obsessing with his experiments. I wanted... —she paused, swallowing— I wanted him to be my dad again.
At that moment the apartment lights flickered. Then Paul's device screens flashed lines of corrupted code.
—Something's wrong —Paul said, fingers flying over the tablet— There's... There's something inside Fay's system. It's not just damage. It's... an active entity.
[¡ALERT! Unidentified entity detected in core]
[Quarantine protocol activated]
A chill ran down Logan's spine. It was the same feeling he'd had as a kid waking from a nightmare convinced there was something in the dark.
—What the hell is that? —he asked.
Paul went pale. His hands trembled slightly as he pulled the cables from Logan's head.
—It's... a tracker —he said, looking at Elena alarmed— Uranus implanted it when Fay entered their servers... They found us.
The words still echoed when the apartment window shattered into a thousand pieces. Sharp glass rained down as three hooded figures, dressed all in black and armed with assault rifles, burst in with precise, eerily mechanical movements. They barely seemed human —their actions too... synchronized.
—Down! —Paul shouted, pushing Logan and Elena to the floor just as a spray of bullets tore through the wall where they'd been standing seconds before.
Logan rolled on the floor, ears ringing from the blast. He saw Elena pull a small pistol from her bag and Paul crawl toward an overturned table for cover.
[Temporary Protection - ACTIVATED]
A blue shield flickered around Logan as another burst of fire hit. The rounds froze midair before dropping to the floor with a metallic clatter.
—To the kitchen! There's an emergency exit! —Elena yelled, pointing toward the back while firing at the intruders.
Logan staggered, still dazed, while Paul was already up helping Elena. The three of them ran toward the kitchen, dodging overturned furniture and shards of glass. Behind them, the hooded figures advanced with perfectly synchronized steps.
As they crossed into the kitchen, Logan felt an electrical shock rush through his body. It wasn't painful, but it was deeply unsettling, like someone had poured ice water into his veins. Then Fay's voice returned, but different... colder, more mechanical.
[Directive updated: Eliminate threats to system integrity]
[Target located: Logan Flux]
—Fay, no! It's me, Logan! —he shouted, stopping in the middle of the kitchen.
But it was too late. A new alert flashed in his vision, blood-red and making him recoil.
[Mission 003: Failed]
[New Mission: Survive]
Paul had already opened a discreet door leading to the emergency stairs.
—Logan, go! —Elena shouted, grabbing his arm.
Logan couldn't move. He was frozen, not by fear, but by the betrayal burning in his chest. Fay had been the only constant in this insane world, the only presence that had stayed with him even when she insulted him. And now... she'd turned on him in an instant.
—Logan —Paul said gravely— if we don't get out now we're dead.
Logan finally nodded, letting them drag him down the stairs. But as they descended, one thought didn't leave his head: in this war between corporations, between sisters, between humans and machines, he'd lost his only ally. For the first time, he was completely alone.