The name echoed through the empty streets like a gunshot.
I stared at the man who claimed to be my father. Marcus Webb. The ghost from Kandahar. The man I'd killed. The man who was standing here, alive, in front of me.
"You're lying," I said. "My father is dead. He sacrificed himself to save me."
Marcus laughed. It was a bitter sound. "Julian sacrificed himself to save you. He was a good man. A weak man. But a good man. He was never your father. He was just a man who raised you."
"Then who are you?"
"I'm your real father. The one who created the equation. The one who built the Committee. The one who's been watching you your whole life."
"Why? Why did you do all of this?"
"Because I had to. To protect you. To protect the future. To protect the world."
I raised my weapon. "You destro
