inted down flight after flight, the air thick and suffocating. Somewhere above them, footsteps

urned. Her mind r

n implanted into it - selected like a lab rat, ma

into a long corridor lit by flickering emergency lights. They moved qui

r face. Her flower shop. Her life - observed like prey before a hunt. She

dark, littered with broken glass and dumpsters. Hale pressed a hand to her

said, unlocki

at, eyes still darting around. Hal

e two turns away and the city be

Hale said, not looking at her. "It'll

hops, the people walking their dogs - they all l

been watching me?"

months. Likely longer. Arcturus is methodi

ed them do th

rk. I didn't know what they were

im, her voice cold.

sleep at night? I watched what they did to others before you. Most didn't surv

ilt and admiration. Juniper looked away, her t

whispered. "Just... d

hey anticipated. You have Selene's access. Her contacts. Her assets. They built this world assu

ou want me to s

fear. They erased you because they thought

She had always lived simply, quietly, outside the noise. But now she was inside a w

ence as the city ligh

ll cabin nestled among trees. The moonlight shimmered on the roof. It

a burner phone

turus. Selene's personal data vault. And a fe

it. "How long

our neural signature. Once they realize you're

hey'll try

nce conf

files loaded slowly, one by one. Names. Faces. Case numbers. She scrolled

folder labe

ther's

the screen,

health records... includ

ar to Phase III hosts. Emotional instability linked to memor

t. They had profiled her mother. If she hadn't be

ment Juniper st

rned t

I had po

he replied

h me how t