Standing outside the house at 1247 Oak Street, Scarlett could see her old life through the kitchen window. Marcus was washing dishes while Sarah sat at the table with her hands resting on her swollen belly. She looked about seven months along, maybe eight. They were both smiling, talking about something Scarlett couldn't hear through the glass.
It was a nice house. Better than the apartment she and Marcus had shared when they were married. White picket fence, two-car garage, the kind of neighborhood where kids rode bikes on the sidewalk and nobody locked their doors during the day. The kind of place Marcus used to say they'd live someday, when they had enough money saved up.
Apparently, murdering your wife was profitable.
*Target identified: Sarah Chen (formerly Morrison). Threat level: Low. Recommended approach: Direct confrontation.*
The voice in her head was getting more talkative. Over the past three days, since she'd clawed her way out of that grave, the system had been feeding her information almost constantly. Where Sarah worked (a bookkeeping firm downtown). Where Marcus worked (a private security company that Scarlett had never heard of). Their daily routines, their friends, their habits.
It was like having a personal surveillance team that never slept.
"Not yet," Scarlett whispered. She wanted to watch them a little longer. Wanted to understand what kind of people they'd become in the two years since they'd killed her.
Sarah got up from the table, moving slowly because of the pregnancy, and Marcus immediately stopped what he was doing to help her. His hand went to the small of her back, guiding her toward the living room. The same gesture he'd used with Scarlett a thousand times.
*Emotional response detected. Heart rate elevated. Recommend immediate action to prevent target from escaping.*
"My heart rate is fine," Scarlett said, though she could feel anger building in her chest like pressure behind a dam. "And she's not going anywhere. She's eight months pregnant."
She watched Marcus help Sarah settle onto the couch, then disappear into another room. When he came back, he was carrying a glass of water and what looked like prenatal vitamins. He sat down next to Sarah and put his hand on her belly, probably feeling the baby kick.
Scarlett had wanted kids. They'd talked about it constantly during their marriage. Marcus always said he wanted to wait until they were out of the business, until they had enough money to give their children a normal life. Now here he was, playing father to Sarah's baby, in the house that should have been Scarlett's.
*New mission parameter unlocked: Protect unborn child. Infant is not responsible for parents' crimes.*
That was interesting. The voice in her head apparently had some kind of moral code.
"I'm not going to hurt a baby," Scarlett said.
*Acknowledged. * Updated target priority: Eliminate Sarah Chen after birth of child. Timeline extended accordingly.
Scarlett almost laughed. The system was giving her permission to wait until Sarah wasn't pregnant anymore. Like it was doing her a favor.
She was about to leave when she noticed something that made her freeze. Marcus had gotten up again and was walking toward the front window. Not looking out, just closing the curtains. But in the brief moment before the fabric blocked her view, she saw something that changed everything.
Marcus was wearing a shoulder holster.
In their entire marriage, Marcus had never brought his gun home. It was one of his rules. Work stayed at work, and home was supposed to be safe. The fact that he was armed now, in his own house, meant he was expecting trouble.
Or maybe he'd been expecting it for two years.
*Alert: * Target has enhanced security measures. Recommend surveillance before engagement.
Scarlett backed away from the window and walked down the street to where she'd parked the motorcycle she'd stolen three days ago. She needed to think about this. If Marcus was carrying a gun in his own house, it meant he knew something. Maybe he knew she was alive. Maybe he'd been waiting for her to come back.
As she started the engine, she saw the living room curtains twitch. Someone was watching her leave, though she couldn't tell if it was Marcus or Sarah.
*Message received. Priority: Urgent.*
The envelope icon in her vision started flashing again.
"What now?" she said.
New text appeared on her screen, but this time it wasn't from the system. This message had a different format, like it was coming from somewhere else.
The man you knew as Marcus Chen is not who you think he is. His real name is Marcus Webb. He's been working undercover for the FBI for five years. Your marriage was part of his assignment. Sarah Morrison was his handler. They've been monitoring you since before you met.
Scarlett nearly drove the motorcycle off the road.
They killed you because you were getting too close to discovering a government operation that's been running for decades. The Montenegro job wasn't about weapons. It was about eliminating witnesses to Project Blood Queen.
You are not the first woman to be resurrected by this system. You are number seven of twelve.
Scarlett pulled over to the side of the road and sat there, staring at the words floating in her vision. Her husband had been an FBI agent. Her best friend had been his handler. Their entire relationship had been a lie designed to keep her under surveillance.
And she wasn't the only one who'd been brought back from the dead.
*Warning: * Other Blood Queens may be hostile. Trust no one until you understand the full scope of the operation.
"How do I find the others?" she asked.
Scanning for active Blood Queen signatures. Search complete. One signature detected within fifty miles. Location: Chicago General Hospital. Identity: Victoria Blackwood.
Scarlett stared at the name on the screen. Victoria Blackwood. Same last name as her maiden name. But she'd never had a sister. Her parents had died when she was twelve, and she'd grown up in foster care. She was an only child.
Or so she'd always believed.
Time remaining
361 days, 14 hours, 32 minutes.