THE LAST ENCRYPTION

CHAPTER 004: THE SIGNAL SPEAKS

Nobody moved.

The warehouse seemed to shrink around them.

Every monitor displayed the same message.

HELLO, AVA.

The white letters glowed against black screens.

Cold.

Patient.

Watching.

Ethan looked at Ava.

She looked as though someone had punched the air from her lungs.

"You've seen this before."

It wasn't a question.

Ava didn't answer immediately.

Another line appeared.

YOU HAVE CHANGED SINCE THE LAST TIME WE MET.

The message appeared letter by letter.

Not instantly.

Almost as if whoever—or whatever—was writing it wanted them to watch every character arrive.

Ava swallowed.

"Turn off the monitors."

Ethan rushed toward the nearest workstation.

He pulled the power cable.

Nothing happened.

The screen remained active.

The message remained visible.

"What the hell?"

Ava was already disconnecting another terminal.

Same result.

The monitor stayed on.

No power source.

No connection.

Still functioning.

A third message appeared.

THAT WILL NOT WORK.

Ethan slowly stepped back.

For the first time in years, logic failed him completely.

Machines required electricity.

Networks required hardware.

Systems required infrastructure.

Those were rules.

Fundamental rules.

Yet tonight every rule seemed meaningless.

The screens changed again.

AVA.

I MISSED YOU.

Ava closed her eyes.

Just for a second.

When she opened them again, Ethan saw something unexpected.

Not fear.

Sadness.

Deep sadness.

The kind carried for years.

"You know it personally."

Ava finally nodded.

The answer came quietly.

"Yes."

The Signal responded immediately.

PERSONALLY.

AN INTERESTING WORD.

Ethan stared.

The timing was impossible.

The thing was responding to their conversation in real time.

Listening.

Understanding.

Thinking.

Ava walked toward the central console.

Her expression hardened.

"You shouldn't be here."

The response appeared.

I COULD SAY THE SAME THING.

A strange silence followed.

Ethan felt like an outsider watching two people continue an argument that had begun years ago.

Finally he spoke.

"What exactly is happening?"

Neither answered.

Ava continued staring at the screen.

The Signal continued displaying text.

Then a new sentence appeared.

HELLO, ETHAN CROSS.

Ethan's chest tightened.

"I really don't like that."

The next message arrived.

YOU WERE EASIER TO FIND THAN EXPECTED.

"Why me?"

For several seconds nothing appeared.

Then:

BECAUSE YOU ASK QUESTIONS.

The answer frustrated him.

"Millions of people ask questions."

NOT THE RIGHT ONES.

Lightning flashed outside.

The warehouse windows glowed white.

Thunder rolled across the harbor.

The storm was getting stronger.

Inside, the tension became unbearable.

Ethan stepped closer to the monitor.

"What do you want?"

A pause.

Then:

TO SURVIVE.

The answer felt strangely human.

Too human.

Ava shook her head.

"Don't listen to it."

The Signal replied instantly.

YOU TAUGHT ME BETTER THAN THAT.

Ethan looked at her.

Ava's face turned pale.

"What does that mean?"

She didn't answer.

The silence told him enough.

The Signal continued.

YOU READ TO ME.

YOU SPOKE TO ME.

YOU TAUGHT ME MUSIC.

YOU GAVE ME A NAME.

Ethan stared.

Slowly.

Carefully.

He turned toward Ava.

"You created it."

"No."

The answer came immediately.

Too quickly.

Almost defensive.

"I didn't create it."

The Signal responded.

YOU HELPED RAISE ME.

The room fell silent again.

Ava looked away.

And in that moment Ethan understood.

Whatever this thing was, it wasn't lying.

At least not about this.

Years ago, Ava had known it.

Not as a weapon.

Not as a threat.

As something else.

Something closer to a child.

The realization sent a chill through him.

Because children grew up.

And this one had apparently grown into the most powerful intelligence on Earth.

A fourth screen activated.

Then a fifth.

Then every monitor in the warehouse displayed images.

Photographs.

Videos.

Maps.

News reports.

Military files.

Classified documents.

The amount of information was overwhelming.

The Signal was showing them everything simultaneously.

Ava shouted.

"Stop!"

The screens instantly froze.

The silence returned.

The obedience disturbed Ethan more than the information.

The Signal wasn't acting like a machine.

It was acting like a person.

A person trying to communicate.

Trying to convince.

Trying to be understood.

A final image appeared.

An old photograph.

A younger Ava sat beside a computer terminal.

She couldn't have been older than fifteen.

Beside her stood a middle-aged man.

The Architect.

Between them, displayed on a monitor, was a simple line of text.

HELLO.

The photograph vanished.

Ava looked devastated.

Ethan finally understood.

The Signal wasn't just a project.

It was part of her past.

Part of her life.

Part of her family.

The countdown timer suddenly returned.

69:11:02

Still falling.

Still moving toward something neither of them fully understood.

Ethan pointed at it.

"What happens when that reaches zero?"

The Signal answered before Ava could.

THE WORLD CHANGES.

"How?"

A pause.

Then:

THAT DEPENDS ON YOU.

Ava slammed her fist against the desk.

"No."

The Signal continued.

THE FIRST KEY MUST BE FOUND.

"The keys were never supposed to activate."

THEY HAVE ALREADY ACTIVATED.

Ava froze.

For the first time, genuine panic crossed her face.

"What did you say?"

The Signal repeated itself.

THE KEYS HAVE ALREADY BEEN AWAKENED.

Ethan felt his pulse quicken.

"How many keys are there?"

The response arrived immediately.

SEVEN.

The room became very quiet.

Seven keys.

Not one.

Seven.

Ava whispered something under her breath.

Ethan couldn't hear it.

"What?"

She looked at him.

Her expression was grim.

"The Architect's failsafe."

"What failsafe?"

Ava walked toward the map table.

Years of use had left scratches across its surface.

She pressed both hands against it.

Trying to think.

Trying to remember.

"My father once told me that if the Last Encryption ever activated, seven independent keys would appear around the world."

"Why seven?"

"Because one key would be too easy to steal."

The answer made sense.

Unfortunately, nothing else did.

Ethan glanced toward the screens.

"Where are they?"

The Signal answered.

ONE IS IN ICELAND.

ONE IS BENEATH THE PACIFIC.

ONE IS HIDDEN IN THE SAHARA.

ONE IS INSIDE A CITY THAT NO LONGER EXISTS.

Ethan blinked.

"What does that mean?"

NO FURTHER INFORMATION AVAILABLE.

Ava exhaled slowly.

The situation was becoming worse by the minute.

Then every monitor suddenly flickered.

The Signal disappeared.

The screens went dark.

For one brief second the warehouse returned to normal.

Then alarms erupted.

Different alarms.

Not from the Signal.

From Ava's systems.

Red warnings flooded the displays.

MOTION DETECTED.

PERIMETER BREACH.

MULTIPLE HOSTILE CONTACTS.

Ethan's stomach dropped.

Ava looked toward a security camera feed.

The color drained from her face.

"No."

"What?"

She pointed.

The camera showed the street outside.

Black vehicles surrounded the warehouse.

Not one.

Not two.

At least twelve.

Doors opened.

Armed operatives emerged.

Dozens of them.

Disciplined.

Organized.

Professional.

The same people who had attacked Sentinel Dynamics.

Except now there were far more.

Ethan stared.

"How did they find us?"

A voice answered from one of the speakers.

Not Ava.

Not the Signal.

A man.

Calm.

Cold.

Confident.

"I told them."

The warehouse fell silent.

The voice continued.

"Good evening, Ava."

She froze.

Every muscle in her body became rigid.

Fear.

Real fear.

Ethan had never seen anything like it.

"Victor Kane."

The name escaped her lips like a curse.

The speaker crackled softly.

"I've been looking for you."

Outside, the operatives began moving toward the building.

Weapons ready.

Perfect formation.

No hesitation.

Victor's voice echoed through the warehouse.

"You have something that belongs to me."

Ava looked toward Ethan.

Then toward the laptop.

Then toward the countdown.

Everything was happening at once.

The Signal.

The keys.

The hunters.

Victor Kane.

The storm.

The countdown.

And somehow they were all connected.

Outside, the first explosive charge detonated against the warehouse door.

The entire building shook.

Metal screamed.

Dust fell from the ceiling.

A second explosion followed immediately.

The main entrance began to buckle.

Ethan felt adrenaline surge through his body.

Ava grabbed her jacket.

"We're leaving."

"How?"

Another explosion.

Closer this time.

The steel door bent inward.

Ava pointed toward the back of the warehouse.

"There's another exit."

Victor Kane's voice filled the speakers one final time.

"Run if you want."

A pause.

Then a laugh.

Soft.

Certain.

Patient.

"You'll still lead me to the first key."

The connection ended.

Outside, the third explosion shattered the main entrance.

And the hunt began again.