15 Miles: The Heist
By Rapwizzy Debaron
Episode 33: The Core
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The elevator shaft groaned as its emergency clamps unlocked. Sparks rained down the narrow chute as Julian pried open the service panel, revealing a narrow maintenance ladder leading upward—thirty floors straight to the heart of Nexus HQ.
"No turning back," Julian muttered.
Reese cracked his knuckles, smirking. "Wasn't planning to."
Eve wiped soot from her face. "Max would've loved this—sneaking into the most secure fortress on the planet."
Julian nodded, jaw tight. "Then let's finish what he started."
One by one, they ascended into darkness.
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Meanwhile... Nexus HQ – Core Room
Lucian stood before the Nexus Core—no longer a quiet machine. Now it pulsed violently, as if it had a heartbeat of its own. He watched as global feeds blinked erratically—power grids surging, satellites flickering, economies stumbling like drunks on ice.
A message blinked on the screen:
> "CORE STABILITY: 37%"
"WARNING: System Autonomy Reached"
Lucian grinned.
"Perfect."
He turned to the shadow in the corner—an agent in a silver mask.
"Deploy the Omega Sweep. I want them erased from the system, and the world."
The agent nodded and vanished.
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Thirty Floors Below...
Julian and the team emerged into a vast data chamber—glass floors, electric veins glowing beneath their boots. At its center: the Nexus Core, a floating sphere of data, spinning rapidly like a storm in motion.
Eve pulled out the scorched chip Max died protecting.
"This is it."
Julian inserted the chip into the override panel. The Core's hum intensified. Streams of data spiraled outward, intercepting satellite lines, severing Ghost Net control in real time.
But then—
The room shuddered.
Carter's voice crackled through comms. "Multiple hostiles inbound. Heavy. And they've activated Omega Sweep."
Julian's eyes widened. "The self-erasure program... If they deploy that, it won't just erase us—it'll wipe every system we've touched."
Eve's fingers flew over the keyboard. "I can block it. But I need time."
Reese moved to the doorway, cocking his rifle. "You'll get it."
Gunfire erupted as Lucian's elite guards stormed the chamber. Julian, Carter, and Reese met them head-on—bullets flying, sparks dancing across the glass floor. The battle echoed like thunder trapped in a box.
Eve screamed, "Almost there!"
Suddenly, a grenade landed at her feet.
Reese dove, scooping it up and hurling it back—just as it exploded mid-air. The blast knocked him off his feet.
Julian fought toward him, yelling, "Reese!"
Blood pooled under him, but Reese gave a thumbs-up, coughing. "Still breathing. Just scratched..."
Eve's screen lit up green.
"Override complete!" she shouted. "Nexus is blind!"
Julian turned toward the Core and raised Max's chip, inserting it into the final slot.
"Let the world see the truth," he whispered.
Data exploded across the globe—broadcasts revealing corruption, Nexus experiments, Ghost Net atrocities. The world watched as everything unraveled.
Lucian's voice suddenly boomed through the Core's chamber.
"You think this ends me? You're mistaken. I am the system."
Julian looked up at the hovering drones.
"Then it's time we unplugged it."
He aimed at the Core and fired.
The bullet hit home.
The Core cracked.
Light erupted.
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To be continued…
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15 Miles: The Heist