XAMI: One True Love

Chapter Seventy Two: Counterstrike

Xavier’s POV

The alarms had barely subsided in the safe house when the first wave hit. Red lights flashed across the monitors, signaling breaches across Eden’s network, but this wasn’t digital anymore.

> They’re coming for us.

Xavier grabbed his bag, checking the weapons he had stashed earlier. Knives, tasers, and the modified stun guns — minimal, but enough to hold off most attackers. He glanced at Mila, who was already moving, eyes sharp, scanning the room.

“They’re sending operatives,” she said, voice steady despite the adrenaline coursing through her veins. “They know we’re here, and they won’t stop until they retrieve the terminal… or me.”

He nodded. “Then we make sure neither happens.”

Outside, headlights flashed against the window, shadows moving quickly. Operatives — precise, trained, and armed — were closing in. Eden wasn’t just a laboratory anymore. It was a network of killers, manipulators, and hunters.

Mila moved toward the door, every step deliberate, her mind calculating. The merge had left remnants in her neural pathways, fragments she could use to anticipate movement, predict attacks. The clone’s echo flickered at the edges of her awareness.

> Use me, it whispered.

I can help.

Mila clenched her jaw. “No,” she muttered under her breath. “This is me. Not you.”

The first operative slammed through the window with a crash. Glass exploded, shards scattering across the floor. Xavier fired, taking down the attacker with precise aim.

Mila ducked low, sliding to the side, and grabbed a fallen weapon. The clone’s residual instinct guided her, but she kept control. Every movement, every dodge, every counterattack — hers alone.

More operatives poured in, tactical, coordinated. Xavier and Mila moved as one, weaving through the room, using cover, improvising. Sparks from the shattered monitors ignited papers, smoke curling, adding to the chaos.

> We can’t hold them here forever, Xavier said, voice low, firing another shot.

Mila’s eyes scanned the exit. “There’s a service tunnel. Leads under the city. We can escape, regroup, then hit them back. Harder.”

A final operative charged, blade glinting. Mila sidestepped, spinning and using the momentum to knock him off balance. Xavier kicked another into the wall, sending him sprawling.

> “Go!” Mila shouted.

They sprinted toward the tunnel, hearts pounding, lungs burning, shadows chasing them down every step. Behind them, the safe house erupted — alarms, sparks, and the unmistakable hum of Eden’s retaliation.

They didn’t look back.

> This isn’t over. It’s only beginning, Xavier thought, gripping Mila’s hand as they plunged into the darkness.

Outside, Eden’s eyes would continue to watch, waiting for the next strike. But Mila and Xavier were already planning theirs.