CHAPTER 11
1152 Words
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*Chapter 11 - Ghost in the Machine*
We didn’t talk about the kiss.
Not under the bridge. Not while we were running. Not while we were trying to find somewhere dry to sleep.
But every time Damian looked at me, his eyes did something different. Softer.
And every time I looked at him, my heart did something stupid.
We ended up in an all-night laundromat in Camden. 4 AM.
Smelled like detergent and rain.
Damian plugged Ria’s USB into a burner laptop we bought with cash.
The screen lit up with folders. Dozens of them.
`NIGHTFALL PROTOCOL`
`GRID_TARGETS`
`MEDIA_PLAN`
`CONTINGENCY_SILENCE`
“48 hours,” Damian said quietly. “That’s all we have.”
I sat next to him. Our shoulders touched. “Open it.”
He clicked.
The file wasn’t a document. It was a simulation.
London’s power grid. Block by block.
A timer counting down from 47:59:12.
And at the bottom: `EXECUTE: MANUAL OVERRIDE REQUIRED`
“He needs to be in the VexCorp Tower to start it,” Damian said. “Floor 48. The main server room.”
“So we stop him there.”
“Not that simple.” He scrolled. “Look.”
Another file opened.
`GRID_TARGETS`
3 boroughs highlighted. Hackney. Camden. Southwark.
2.4 million people.
“Phase 1,” he said. “Cut power. Create chaos. Then Phase 2: VexCorp rolls out ‘VexShield’ to ‘protect’ the city. Subscription service. 50 pounds a month.”
My stomach dropped. “He’s holding the city hostage.”
“And Phase 3.” He opened the last doc. “Government contract. Permanent. He becomes the one who controls who gets power and who doesn’t.”
I stared at the screen. “This is insane.”
“This is my dad,” Damian said. Flat. Empty.
We sat in silence. The washing machines hummed.
Then my phone buzzed. The burner.
Unknown.
`Found your friend Ria. She won’t talk. Yet. -V`
Damian grabbed the phone. Threw it across the room. It shattered.
“f**k!”
“Damian—”
“He has her.” He was pacing now. Hands in his hair. “He has her because of me.”
I stood and grabbed his arm. “Hey. Look at me.”
He did. His eyes were wild.
“This is not your fault,” I said. “None of this is.”
“How can you say that? My name. My money. My company.”
“And you’re the one trying to stop it.” I stepped closer. “The Damian I met 5 days ago would’ve let London burn to save his shares. The Cole I’m with now is trying to save 2 million people.”
He exhaled. Shaky. “Don’t make me the hero, Eliza. I’m not.”
“You don’t have to be a hero,” I whispered. “You just have to be you.”
He looked at me for a long time. Then he pulled me into a hug.
Tight. Like he was afraid I’d disappear.
“Thank you,” he murmured into my hair. “For not leaving.”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
We pulled apart. Both of us a little wrecked.
“Okay,” he said, wiping his face. “Focus. We need a plan.”
We went back to the laptop.
There was one more folder we hadn’t opened.
`PARTNERS`
Inside: names. Government officials. Police chiefs. News anchors.
All paid by VexCorp.
And one name with a red dot next to it.
`DIRECTOR K. HAYES - MET POLICE - ANTI-TERROR UNIT`
“The guy leading the hunt for us,” Damian said. “He’s on Vex’s payroll.”
“So we can’t go to the police.”
“No.” He closed the laptop. “We go to the press. And we go to the one person who isn’t bought.”
“Who?”
“My sister.”
I blinked. “You have a sister?”
“Half-sister. Lila. She’s 17. And she hates our dad more than I do.” He smiled, small. “She’s the only Vex he doesn’t control.”
“Where is she?”
“Boarding school. Switzerland. But she’s coming home tomorrow for a ‘charity event’ at the Tower.” He looked at me. “It’s our way in.”
“Into VexCorp Tower? During an event?”
“It’s either that or we try to break into floor 48 with a gun.”
I thought about Berlin. The gun. His shaking hands.
“Okay,” I said. “We do it your sister’s way.”
Damian nodded. “We have 24 hours to get to her before the event. And we have to stay off-grid the whole time.”
He stood and packed the laptop. Then he paused.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Yeah.”
“Why me?”
I frowned. “What?”
“Why did you choose me? In Paris. In Berlin. Now. You could’ve run. Taken the USB and disappeared. Why stay?”
I didn’t answer right away.
Because the truth was messy.
Because I didn’t trust him at first.
Because then I saw him choose me over his name.
Because of the way he looked at me like I was real when I felt like a ghost.
Because of the kiss under the bridge.
“Because,” I said finally, “you’re the only person who’s been honest with me since this started. Even when it hurt.”
He stared at me. Then he reached out and tucked a piece of wet hair behind my ear.
His fingers lingered on my cheek.
“I’m honest with you because you’re the only person I don’t have to lie to,” he said softly.
My breath caught.
Footsteps outside.
Both of us froze.
Damian grabbed my hand. “Back door. Now.”
We slipped out into the alley. Rain again.
We ran.
We didn’t stop running until we were on a night bus. Top deck. Back row.
Damian was still holding my hand.
“You okay?” he asked.
“Yeah.” I leaned my head on his shoulder. “Tired.”
“Me too.” He kissed the top of my head. Just like that. Like it was normal.
“Damian?”
“Cole,” he corrected with a small smile.
“Right. Cole.” I closed my eyes. “When this is over... do you think we can be Ava and Damian again?”
He squeezed my hand. “I think I’d like that more than anything.”
The bus rolled through London. Dark. Wet.
48 hours to go.
We had the proof.
We had a way in.
We had each other.
And somewhere in this city, my name was on a kill list.
His sister was walking into a trap.
And his father was 1 day away from owning London.
Time to finish this
....
- Writer
