Kendrick stepped out of the shadows. His expression was unreadable. "You're predictable."
"So are you," Brent replied, finally turning to face him. "Still chasing ghosts?"
"You're holding something that doesn't belong to you."
Brent raised an eyebrow. "I created it. It belongs to no one."
Kendrick's jaw tightened. "You experimented on people. You ruined lives."
"And you think I enjoyed it?" Brent's voice spiked. "You think this was some grand plan? We were all part of the same machine. The difference is—I never stopped fighting to fix what went wrong."
"Fix it by starting again? By pushing it even further?"
"You don't understand, Eclipse. You never did. But Elias did. He understood what Helix could be if it had time."
Kendrick's hand hovered near his side, close to the stun device. "You're not walking out of here with that canister."
