THE DEAD COPY

THE DIVERSION

The rain had stopped by the time they reached the original facility.

Elliot crouched behind a fallen tree, watching the building through a pair of night vision binoculars. The structure was low and concrete, barely visible against the dark sky. No windows. One door. Guards patrolled the perimeter in pairs, their flashlights cutting through the darkness.

Frank lay beside him, his rifle resting on a log. Eleanor was somewhere to the east, setting her explosives.

"The guards change shifts every four hours," Frank whispered. "Next shift change is in twenty minutes. That's our window."

Elliot scanned the tree line. No movement except the guards. No sound except the wind.

"Where's Eleanor?"

"Setting the diversion. She'll trigger it in fifteen minutes. That should draw most of the guards to the east side of the building."

"And then we go in through the west."

Frank nodded. "The maintenance tunnel entrance is fifty meters from here. Mira's map shows it leads directly to the server room on level two."

Elliot checked his weapon—a compact assault rifle Frank had given him. It felt heavy in his hands, heavier than the pistol from the night before.

"You ready for this?" Frank asked.

Elliot thought about Daphne. About Bea. About all the copies trapped in Gavin's facilities.

"Yes," he said.

The explosion shook the ground.

Elliot felt it through his boots—a deep thrum that vibrated up his legs and into his chest. Flames lit up the eastern sky, orange and red against the blackness. Alarms blared from the facility.

Guards shouted. Boots pounded on concrete.

Frank grabbed Elliot's arm. "Now."

They ran.

The western side of the facility was dark. Most of the guards had rushed toward the explosion, leaving only two at the maintenance entrance. Frank dropped them both with silenced shots before they could raise their rifles.

Elliot reached the door first. He typed the code Mira had given him—different from the one at the other facility. The lock clicked. The door swung open.

They descended into darkness.

The maintenance tunnel was narrower than the one at the storage facility.

Elliot had to turn sideways to fit through some sections. The walls were damp, covered in moss and mildew. The air smelled like rotting wood and stagnant water.

Frank led the way, his night vision goggles glowing green in the darkness. Elliot followed, his rifle pressed against his chest, his finger resting near the trigger.

"Fifty meters to the first junction," Frank whispered. "Then left."

They walked. Water dripped from the ceiling. Somewhere above them, alarms were still blaring.

Elliot's foot hit something soft. He looked down.

A body.

A guard, facedown in the water. A bullet hole in the back of his head.

Frank crouched beside the body. "Recent. Within the hour."

"Gavin executed his own men?"

"Or someone else did." Frank stood up. "Stay alert."

They moved faster. The tunnel curved left, then right. The walls changed from dirt to concrete. The ceiling rose. They were under the facility now.

Frank stopped at a metal hatch. "Server room is on the other side."

He pressed his ear against the hatch. Listened.

"I don't hear anything."

He pushed the hatch open.

---

The server room was massive.

Rows of machines stretched into the darkness, their lights blinking red and green. The air was cold, dry, humming with the sound of cooling fans. Cables ran along the floor, thick as snakes.

Elliot stepped inside, his rifle sweeping the room.

"Where are the original transfer protocols?" he asked.

Frank pointed to a section at the far end. "There. The archival servers."

They walked between the rows, their footsteps muffled by rubber flooring. The lights from the machines cast strange shadows on the walls.

Elliot's heart pounded. They were so close.

A sound. Behind them.

Frank spun around, his rifle raised. "Who's there?"

Silence. Then a voice.

"You shouldn't have come back."

Elliot's blood ran cold.

Gavin Thorne stepped out from behind a server rack. He wore a dark suit, immaculate despite the hour. His gray-templed hair was perfectly combed. His blue eyes were calm.

"Elliot," Gavin said. "I was wondering when you'd figure it out."

Elliot raised his rifle. "Don't move."

Gavin smiled. "You're not going to shoot me. You need me alive. Otherwise, you'll never find the isolation protocol."

Frank's finger tightened on the trigger. "He's stalling."

"Of course I'm stalling." Gavin spread his hands. "My security team will be here in approximately three minutes. You can shoot me and run, or you can listen to what I have to say."

Elliot's jaw tightened. "Talk fast."

Gavin walked toward them. Slow. Deliberate.

"You're not a copy, Elliot. Not really. You're something I've never seen before. A copy of a copy. A second-generation duplicate with the neural stability of an original."

"Because the first copy put a piece of himself into me."

Gavin's eyes widened. Just a fraction. "You know about that?"

"Bea told me. Before she died."

"Bea." Gavin's expression softened. "She was my favorite. So bright. So curious. I was sorry to see her degrade."

"You did that to her."

"I tried to save her." Gavin stopped a few feet away. "Every copy degrades eventually. Even Eleanor. Even me, if I were a copy. But you—you're different. You're stable because you have two anchors. My code and the first copy's code. They balance each other."

Elliot's mind raced. "Then the isolation protocol—"

"Will kill you." Gavin's voice was firm. "If you remove my code, you'll be left with the first copy's code. And that's not enough to keep you stable. You'll degrade within weeks."

Frank spoke. "He's lying."

"He's not." Gavin looked at Frank. "I've never lied to you, Frank. Not about the science. I told you Bea was dying. I told you there was nothing I could do. You chose not to believe me."

Frank's face twisted with rage. "You could have saved her. You just didn't want to."

"I couldn't. The degradation is irreversible." Gavin turned back to Elliot. "But you—you have a chance. A chance to survive. A chance to be free. All you have to do is trust me."

Elliot laughed. It was a bitter sound. "Trust you? You put my sister in a tank. You turned her into a template for your dead mother."

"Daphne volunteered."

"She didn't know what she was volunteering for."

"She knew enough." Gavin's voice was cold. "She knew she would forget you. She knew she would become someone else. She chose that. She chose to erase you."

The words hit like a punch to the chest.

"You're lying," Elliot said.

"I'm not. Ask her. When she wakes up—really wakes up—she'll tell you the same thing." Gavin stepped closer. "You're not saving Daphne. You're saving a memory. A ghost. The real Daphne died the moment she agreed to the transfer."

Elliot's hands shook. His finger hovered over the trigger.

"Elliot," Frank said. "Don't listen to him. He's trying to get inside your head."

"He's already inside my head," Elliot said. "He's been there since the day I woke up."

Gavin smiled. "Finally. You're beginning to understand."

Boots pounded in the corridor outside. Shouted orders. The security team was almost there.

"Last chance," Gavin said. "Put down the weapons. Come with me. I can help you."

Elliot looked at Frank. Frank shook his head.

"Never," Elliot said.

He raised his rifle and fired.

---

The bullet hit Gavin in the shoulder.

He staggered back, blood blooming across his white shirt. His expression didn't change—no pain, no fear. Just calm curiosity.

"That was a mistake," he said.

The door burst open. Guards poured into the server room, rifles raised.

Frank grabbed Elliot's arm and pulled him toward a maintenance hatch on the far wall. "Go. Now."

Elliot ran. Bullets pinged off the server racks around him. Frank fired behind him, covering their escape.

They reached the hatch. Elliot yanked it open and dove through. Frank followed.

Darkness. More tunnels. More water.

They ran without speaking, without looking back, without stopping.

Behind them, the alarms grew louder.

---

They emerged from the tunnel two blocks from Eleanor's building.

Elliot collapsed against a wall, gasping for breath. Frank leaned against a lamppost, blood seeping from a graze on his arm.

"We didn't get the data," Elliot said.

"We got something." Frank pulled a small drive from his pocket. "I grabbed it while you were talking to Gavin."

Elliot stared at the drive. "The transfer protocols?"

"Everything. The archival servers. The neural maps. The isolation protocol." Frank's voice was grim. "Gavin was stalling because he knew we were close. But he didn't know I already had the drive."

Elliot took the drive. It was warm in his palm.

"We need to get back to Eleanor's. Daphne is there."

Frank nodded. "Let's move."

They walked through the dark streets, staying in the shadows, avoiding the main roads. The city was quiet at this hour—no cars, no people, just the hum of streetlights and the distant sound of sirens.

Elliot's mind was spinning. Gavin's words echoed in his head.

You're not saving Daphne. You're saving a memory.

Was it true? Had Daphne chosen to forget him? Had she volunteered to become someone else?

He didn't know. But he was going to find out.

---

Eleanor's door was open when they arrived.

Elliot stepped inside, his rifle still raised. The room was empty. The monitors were dark. The cot where Daphne had been lying was empty.

"Eleanor?" Frank called.

No answer.

Elliot's heart sank. He walked to the cot and touched the blanket. Still warm.

"They were here," he said. "Someone took them."

Frank checked the back room. "There's blood on the floor. Fresh."

Elliot's hands curled into fists. "Gavin."

"Or his people." Frank returned to the main room. "They must have followed us from the facility."

Elliot looked at the wall of photographs. Gavin's face stared back at him. Smiling.

"He knew we were coming. He knew about Eleanor. About Daphne. About everything."

"Then we have a mole."

Elliot thought about Phoebe. About Mira. About everyone who knew about the plan.

"It doesn't matter who," he said. "We need to find them."

Frank checked his phone. "I have a contact in Gavin's security team. A woman who owes me a favor. If anyone knows where Gavin takes his prisoners, she does."

"Call her."

Frank dialed. The phone rang three times. Then a voice answered.

"Frank? It's three in the morning."

"I need a location. Gavin took two women from an address in the Underneath. I need to know where he's holding them."

Silence. Then: "The white room. Gavin's private facility on the east side. But Frank—if you go there, you won't come back."

"I'll take that risk."

He hung up.

Elliot grabbed his rifle. "Let's go."

Frank grabbed his arm. "No. You're not coming."

"Like hell I'm not."

"You're compromised. Gavin knows your face. He knows your voice. He knows everything about you. If you walk into that facility, he'll put you in the white room before you get within fifty meters."

"Then what do you suggest?"

Frank pulled out a syringe filled with blue liquid.

"Eleanor gave me this before she left. It's a neural suppressant. Temporarily blocks your unique neural signature. Gavin's scanners won't recognize you."

Elliot stared at the syringe. "What are the side effects?"

"Memory loss. Confusion. Possible seizures." Frank's voice was flat. "But it wears off in a few hours."

Elliot took the syringe. He didn't hesitate. He pressed the needle into his arm and pushed the plunger.

The world went dark.