BLOOD RUN

Episode 13: The Final Safeguard

PROTOCOL BLACKOUT ACTIVATION: 00:09:47.

Jack stared at the screen.

FINAL SAFEGUARD ACCEPTED: ELENA CARTER.

His mother had spent years hiding from the Founders. She had warned him about Cross, helped design the original safeguards, and insisted that Blackout had to be stopped.

Now her name appeared beside the authorization that could give the Founders control.

"Tell me that's a fake," Jack said.

President Mitchell examined the display.

"I can't."

Jack turned toward him. "You expect me to believe you know nothing about this?"

"I expect you to understand that Cross has spent years making the truth difficult to distinguish from a lie."

"Then we're running out of time to distinguish them."

Jack called Thomas back, but the phone went straight to voicemail.

He tried again.

Nothing.

Mitchell moved toward the secure terminal.

"I can request a suspension of the transfer."

"Can you actually stop it?"

"I can try."

"That's not good enough."

"It's all I have."

Mitchell entered his credentials. The screen rejected them.

EXECUTIVE AUTHORITY SUSPENDED.

He tried a second time.

The same message appeared.

Cross's voice suddenly filled the room.

"An understandable reaction, Mr. President. Unfortunately, your authority is no longer required."

His image appeared on the display.

Jack stepped toward the screen.

"What did you do to my mother?"

"Nothing she didn't agree to."

"You're lying."

"Perhaps. But ask yourself why her authorization was accepted. Your mother understood Blackout better than anyone. She knew the consequences of activating it."

"Then why would she help you?"

Cross leaned closer to the camera.

"That is the question you should be asking her."

The screen went dark.

Jack looked at Mitchell.

"Where is the original Blackout control center?"

Mitchell hesitated.

"There was a facility beneath the old federal communications complex. It was closed after the initial testing."

"Was it really closed?"

"No. Not entirely."

Jack headed for the door.

Mitchell followed.

"Where are you going?"

"To find Elena."

"You can't enter that facility without authorization."

Jack glanced at him.

"Then I suggest you find me some."

Maya was escorted into a small room by two security officers.

They had taken her tablet, but they hadn't found the handwritten notes she had tucked inside her jacket.

One officer closed the door.

"Wait here."

Maya sat quietly until their footsteps faded.

She had learned one thing from working with Jack: when powerful people wanted you to panic, they usually wanted you to make a mistake.

She studied the room.

A desk. Two chairs. A wall monitor. A telephone without a visible connection.

Then the monitor switched on.

Senator William Cross appeared.

"Ms. Brooks. I hope you're comfortable."

"Where's Jack?"

"Still making the same mistakes his parents made."

Maya kept her expression neutral.

"What does Elena's authorization mean?"

Cross smiled.

"It means the final safeguard has accepted her identity."

"That's not an answer."

"It's the only one you're getting."

Maya leaned forward.

"Elena helped design the system. If she authorized Blackout, she must have had a reason."

For a brief moment, Cross's smile disappeared.

"Your intelligence background makes you curious. Unfortunately, curiosity can be dangerous when it leads people toward information they aren't equipped to understand."

"Or when someone is afraid they'll understand too much."

Cross stared at her.

Then he laughed softly.

"You remind me of Jack."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

"You shouldn't."

The screen went black.

Maya immediately moved to the desk.

Something had bothered her about Cross's reaction. He had sounded confident until she questioned Elena's decision.

If Elena had genuinely agreed to activate Blackout, Cross wouldn't have needed to avoid the subject.

Unless the authorization meant something different from what the screen claimed.

Maya took out her notes and wrote two words:

AUTHORIZATION ≠ ACTIVATION.

Then she circled them.

The system had accepted Elena's safeguard, but that didn't necessarily mean the final process was complete.

She needed access to the original records.

And she needed to get out.

Daniel and Marcus reached the medical facility just as a convoy prepared to leave.

"That's him," Marcus whispered, pointing toward a vehicle near the entrance. "Captain Price is inside."

Daniel watched several security officers escort a man from the building. The man's face was partially hidden, but Daniel recognized his posture.

"Samuel!"

The man turned.

For one second, their eyes met.

Then the officers hurried him into the vehicle.

Daniel started forward, but Marcus caught his arm.

"Wait."

"They're taking him away!"

"And if we rush them, we lose him completely."

Daniel pulled free.

"He's the last person who can tell us what happened to our team."

"And he's the only person who can do that. Think before you act."

Daniel forced himself to stop.

The convoy began moving.

Then one of the vehicles suddenly halted.

A security officer approached the driver's window and spoke to someone inside. The doors opened, and the officers started looking around.

Marcus frowned.

"Something's wrong."

Daniel's phone vibrated.

A message had arrived from an unknown number.

IF YOU WANT PRICE ALIVE, FOLLOW THE SECOND VEHICLE.

Below it was a second message.

DO NOT TRUST MARCUS.

Daniel slowly turned toward his companion.

Marcus saw the message on the screen.

"You're wondering whether I'm working for Cross."

"I'm wondering why someone wants me to think you are."

"Good. Keep wondering."

The second vehicle pulled away from the facility.

Marcus pointed toward it.

"That's our chance. But if this is a trap, we're walking into it together."

Daniel looked at the road, then back at Marcus.

"We've been doing that since Nightfall."

They followed the vehicle.

The old federal communications complex stood beneath a hillside on the outskirts of Washington.

Jack and Mitchell arrived at its entrance shortly before the countdown reached six minutes.

The building appeared abandoned, but the security system recognized Mitchell's credentials and unlocked the outer door.

Jack looked at the president.

"You said your authority was suspended."

"My executive authority was suspended. My original credentials still identify me as the person who approved the facility's construction."

They entered a dim corridor lined with old equipment cabinets.

At the end stood a reinforced door.

A screen beside it displayed two names.

THOMAS CARTER — ORIGINAL ARCHITECT.

ELENA CARTER — ORIGINAL SAFEGUARD AUTHORITY.

Below them was a third line.

DESIGNATED SUBJECT: JACK CARTER.

Jack stared at it.

"My parents put my name here when I was a child."

"They created a temporary authorization profile," Mitchell said. "They believed it would be deleted after testing."

"But it wasn't."

"No."

Jack pressed his hand against the scanner.

The door opened.

Inside, a circular room surrounded a central console. Screens covered the walls, showing maps, emergency communications networks, and the status of government systems.

At the center of the main display, a timer counted down.

PROTOCOL BLACKOUT ACTIVATION: 00:05:12.

A second screen showed Elena sitting alone in a white room.

She looked directly into the camera.

"Jack, if you can see this, you need to know that I did not authorize Blackout."

Jack moved closer.

"Then who did?"

Elena's recording continued.

"The Founders created a false authorization request using my original safeguard credentials. The system recognizes my identity, but it cannot determine whether I willingly approved the request."

Mitchell looked sharply at the screen.

"So the authorization is valid, but the consent is false."

"Exactly," Jack said.

Elena's image flickered.

"The final safeguard was designed to prevent a single person from controlling Blackout. My authorization should only unlock the shutdown process when combined with Jack's decision."

Jack studied the screen.

"What decision?"

A new message appeared.

PERMANENT DISABLE: AWAITING DESIGNATED SUBJECT.

Then Elena spoke again.

"Jack, if you're there, don't activate the permanent disable function until you understand what it will do. Blackout is connected to critical emergency systems. Shutting it down incorrectly could disrupt services people depend on."

Jack's expression hardened.

"Of course there's another complication."

Mitchell examined the console.

"Can you safely disable it?"

"I don't know," Jack answered. "Maya would need to inspect the system first."

"Then we need her here."

Jack contacted her.

The call connected, but her voice was faint.

"Jack? I found something. Cross's authorization isn't the same as a completed activation. The system still needs the final designated-subject decision."

"Can you get here?"

"I'm trying."

A loud alarm sounded in the communications complex.

The main display changed.

ACTIVATION SEQUENCE ADVANCED.

00:03:30.

Mitchell looked toward the door.

"Someone has taken control of the facility."

Jack examined the console.

"Can we stop the countdown?"

"Not from here," Mitchell said. "The authorization is being coordinated from another location."

Jack stared at the screen.

"Then where is Cross?"

Before Mitchell could answer, a door opened on the far side of the room.

A woman stepped into the light.

Elena Carter.

Jack froze.

For three years, he had believed his mother was dead. When he discovered she was alive, she had disappeared again, leaving him with more questions than answers.

Now she stood only a few feet away.

"Jack."

He approached her cautiously.

"Are you really here?"

"Yes."

"Did you authorize Blackout?"

"No. I told you what the recording said."

"How did you get here?"

Elena glanced at Mitchell.

"Cross brought me to the facility because he believed my presence would force you to cooperate."

Jack looked at the president.

"You knew?"

"No," Mitchell answered.

Elena shook her head.

"We don't have time for this. The system is about to activate, and Cross has one more piece of the original architecture."

"What piece?" Jack asked.

Before she could answer, the main screen changed.

A new authorization appeared.

FINAL SUBJECT CONFIRMED: JACK CARTER.

Jack stepped away from the console.

"I didn't authorize anything."

Elena looked horrified.

"He's using your identity remotely."

The countdown reached two minutes.

Then the speakers came alive.

Cross's voice filled the room.

"Thank you for gathering in one place. It saves us considerable effort."

Jack turned toward the ceiling.

"You're finished, Cross."

"Am I? Your mother is here. The president is here. And the system has recognized you as its final subject."

"You forged the authorization."

"I created the conditions for it. There's a difference."

Elena moved toward the console.

"You don't understand what Blackout will do."

"I understand perfectly. It will end the endless arguments, the delays, and the weak leadership that have left this country vulnerable."

"By placing power in your hands?"

"By placing power in the hands of people capable of using it."

Jack looked at Elena.

"How do we stop it?"

She hesitated.

"The permanent disable function requires both of us. But if we trigger it after activation begins, the system may lock its emergency functions."

"Can we stop it before then?"

"Only if we reach the original control panel."

Jack looked around the room.

"This is the original control panel."

"No," Elena said quietly. "This is a replica."

Jack stared at her.

"Where's the real one?"

Elena looked toward the floor.

"Under the White House."

The countdown reached one minute.

00:01:00.

Mitchell's face drained of color.

"The White House basement."

Cross laughed through the speakers.

"Exactly, Mr. President. And by the time you reach it, the transfer will be complete."

Jack grabbed Elena's hand.

"Then we'll have to get there before the countdown ends."

She looked at him, fear and determination mixing in her expression.

"Jack, if we fail, Blackout won't just give Cross control of the government."

"What else will it do?"

Elena swallowed.

"It will erase the original records of Nightfall, including every piece of evidence that could expose the Founders."

The timer dropped to forty-five seconds.

Jack turned toward the exit.

Then his phone vibrated.

A message from Maya appeared.

I FOUND THE ORIGINAL AUTHORIZATION RECORD. MITCHELL DIDN'T SIGN THE FINAL ORDER. SOMEONE USED HIS IDENTITY AFTER HE ENTERED THIS FACILITY.

Jack looked at the president.

Mitchell read the message over his shoulder.

"Then someone has been impersonating me."

Another message arrived.

JACK, CHECK THE SECURITY CAMERA. THE PERSON WHO ENTERED THE CONTROL ROOM BEFORE YOU WASN'T MITCHELL.

Jack slowly turned toward the president standing beside him.

For the first time, he noticed that the man had not once asked how Elena had escaped.

The stranger smiled.

Then his face changed.

A small device on his wrist began flashing.

"You're too late, Jack."

The lights went out.

And the countdown reached zero.

Clarify the countdown and facility timeline

Explain the identity impersonation reveal

Strengthen Maya’s escape and discovery