k, but Christina's mind was a bl

uldn't let her rest. It forced her to replay the moments before the crash in infinite detail. Th

zoom in on the object she had been holding in

, etched into the metal, were microscopic lines. Lines that were in

etchings with a schematic of a non-standard circuit board. I

open in the dark. It wasn'

er infancy. The image was blurry, filtered through a baby's

ping the silver chain around baby Christina's neck. Her mot

sed, a faint, pulsing blue l

nd, but the shape of the syllables, combined with the context flooding her

soaked her hospital gown, sticking to her skin

database called "Ghost Protocol." It w

ced fell into the hands of a military-industrial family like th

, her thumb hovering over Burke's contact

much urgency, Burke's paranoid nature would kick in. He would imm

. The pathetic, heartbroken woma

side of the bed. Her bare feet hit the cold linoleu

t. The sound of rushing water filled the tiny space. She s

woman staring back was pale, with dark circles un

iometric encryption key, it required a specific input to activate. A password wou

hen looked down at her fingertips. A dark s

the bathroom do

" It was Ev

e grabbed the sink for support, feigning w

a tablet. "Your heart rate spiked agai

t, shivering slightly. "I had a nightmare.

pression casual. "Major Clark was downstairs processing your di

Was he eager to get rid of her, or e

phone. She typed out a message to Burke,

orget my

minutes later.

l with it

ed. She walked over to the window and looked down at the par

ly determination took root in her chest. She would tear the Clark

ualized a countdown clock i