The ventilation shaft was a steel coffin.
Elena moved ahead of me through the cramped space, her body blocking most of the dim emergency lighting that filtered through occasional grates. The metal walls pressed close on all sides, barely wide enough for our shoulders, filled with the constant hum of air recyclers and the distant sound of machinery.
Perfect place for an ambush. Perfect place to die.
I followed Elena's boots, studying the way she moved, memorizing her habits and weaknesses. The slight favor she gave her left leg—old injury, probably. The way she paused at each junction to check her handheld scanner—predictable pattern. The small backup pistol tucked into her right ankle holster—insurance she thought I hadn't noticed.
Elena Cross was professional, experienced, dangerous. But she was also human, which meant she could be fooled.
We crawled for twenty minutes through a maze of ducts and service tunnels, following routes that took us deep into the facility's infrastructure. Past the living quarters, through the medical section, around the perimeter of Kane's private laboratory where I'd stolen the Genesis files.
Finally, Elena stopped at a grate that opened onto a maintenance corridor I didn't recognize. She checked her scanner one more time, then carefully removed the cover and dropped silently to the floor below.
I followed, landing in a crouch beside her.
The corridor was narrow, lined with pipes and electrical conduits. Emergency lighting cast everything in sickly red, and the air smelled like metal and ozone. We were somewhere in the facility's basement levels, far from the main security checkpoints.
"Storage section," Elena whispered, pointing down the corridor. "Mostly automated systems down here. Fewer guards, more places to hide."
She led me past rows of supply rooms and equipment lockers, her steps confident despite the unfamiliar territory. I stayed close, but my attention was divided between following her and mapping our route in my head.
Because I was starting to have doubts about this alliance.
Elena had appeared at exactly the right moment, with exactly the right offer, knowing exactly what I needed to hear. She'd helped design my psychological programming, which meant she understood how I thought, how I made decisions, how to manipulate my responses.
What if this whole escape was just another layer of conditioning? Another test to see how I'd react under stress?
We reached a heavy door marked "External Maintenance Access." Elena produced a keycard from her tactical vest and swiped it through the reader. The lock disengaged with a soft click.
"How did you get that?" I asked.
"I have friends in low places." Elena opened the door, revealing a service tunnel that stretched beyond the reach of our vision. "This connects to the old subway system. Abandoned for decades, but the tunnels still run clear to Level 19."
She stepped into the darkness, but I remained in the doorway.
"Problem?" Elena asked, turning back.
I studied her face in the dim light, looking for tells, for signs of deception. But Elena's expression was calm, patient, like she had all the time in the world to wait for my decision.
"Why help me?" I asked.
"I told you. Because I—"
"No." I stepped closer, close enough to see the flecks of gold in her green eyes. "The real reason. Not the story about mixed-blood children or Vincent Moreau or giving me the tools to choose my own path. Why are you really here?"
Elena was quiet for a long moment. When she spoke, her voice was softer, more vulnerable than I'd heard it before.
"Because I failed someone once. Someone who trusted me to protect them." Her hand moved unconsciously to the scar on her cheek. "I helped create the Genesis program thinking I could make it better from the inside. Control the damage, limit the casualties."
She laughed, a sound with no humor in it.
"But you can't control evil, Null. You can only choose whether to serve it or fight it. And for too long, I chose to serve."
"What changed?"
"I met a girl. Genesis-003. She was... she was special. Brilliant, funny, stubborn as hell. She reminded me what it felt like to have hope." Elena's eyes went distant, remembering. "Kane terminated her when she was eleven months old. Said she was showing too much independence."
Elena looked at me directly, and I saw pain there that went deeper than any physical wound.
"I couldn't save her. But maybe I can save you."
The admission hung between us in the dark tunnel. Raw, honest, completely unguarded. Either Elena was the best actress in New Los Angeles, or she was telling the truth.
But truth and safety weren't the same thing.
"Okay," I said. "I'll trust you. For now."
Elena's smile was genuine relief. "Thank you."
"But I want to make one thing clear." I stepped close enough that she could see the danger in my eyes. "If this is another manipulation, another layer of programming designed to test my responses—I will kill you."
Elena nodded seriously. "Understood."
"Good." I gestured toward the tunnel. "Lead the way."
We moved through the abandoned subway system in single file, our footsteps echoing off tiled walls that hadn't seen maintenance in twenty years. The tunnels were a maze of intersecting passages, maintenance shafts, and forgotten storage rooms. Perfect territory for someone who knew the layout.
Which Elena clearly did.
"You've been planning this for a while," I observed as we navigated a particularly complex junction.
"Months. Ever since I heard about Genesis-007's exceptional performance ratings." Elena paused to check her scanner. "I knew Kane would eventually move to terminate you. It was just a matter of timing."
We climbed a maintenance ladder to a higher level, emerging in what looked like an old station platform. Graffiti covered the walls in a dozen languages, and homeless camps dotted the space between rusted support pillars.
"How many people know about these tunnels?" I asked.
"Enough to keep them from being completely deserted. Not enough to attract official attention." Elena led me toward an exit marked by a glowing red sign. "The perfect place to disappear."
As we walked, I let my hand brush against Elena's tactical vest. Casual contact, like I was steadying myself on the uneven ground. She didn't react, didn't seem to notice.
She definitely didn't notice the micro-transmitter I planted on her equipment belt.
Standard Genesis surveillance gear, designed to be undetectable by normal scanning equipment. Range of five miles, battery life of seventy-two hours. Enough to track her movements and determine whether she was leading me to safety or into another trap.
The exit led to a service elevator that carried us up fifteen levels in humming silence. When the doors opened, we stepped into an alley that smelled like garbage and rain. Above us, the first hints of dawn were beginning to lighten the perpetual smog that covered New Los Angeles.
"Welcome to the real world," Elena said.
Level 19 was a maze of narrow streets and crowded buildings, the architecture a chaotic mix of styles from different eras. Neon signs advertised everything from synthetic food to illegal modifications, and the air buzzed with the constant hum of flying vehicles passing overhead.
It was loud, dirty, vibrant, and completely unlike the sterile environment of Genesis Labs.
I loved it immediately.
"Blood Rose bar is six blocks north," Elena said, checking her watch. "We'll hole up there until tonight, then make our move on Moreau."
But I was already thinking beyond tonight. The data chip in my pocket contained enough information to expose the entire Genesis program, but only if I could get it to the right people. The families had resources, influence, the ability to bury scandals and eliminate witnesses.
I needed leverage. Insurance. Something that would guarantee my survival long enough to complete my mission.
"Elena," I said as we walked through the crowded streets. "I need to make a stop first."
"Where?"
"Genesis Labs has a weapons cache in this sector. Emergency supplies in case of facility lockdown." I gestured toward a building that looked like an abandoned office complex. "I want to pick up some equipment."
Elena frowned. "That's not part of the plan."
"The plan just changed." I met her gaze steadily. "You want Moreau dead, I need better gear. Simple trade."
For a moment, I thought Elena might refuse. Her green eyes studied my face, looking for signs of deception or hidden agenda.
She wouldn't find any. Because this wasn't about deception—it was about preparation.
"Fine," Elena said finally. "But we make it quick."
The weapons cache was exactly where my training memories said it would be: sub-basement level, behind a maintenance door marked "Authorized Personnel Only." The lock yielded to my bypass tools in seconds.
Inside, rows of military-grade equipment waited in climate-controlled storage. Assault rifles, explosive devices, surveillance gear, medical supplies. Everything a Genesis operative might need for extended field operations.
I selected carefully: compact pistol with silencer, tactical knife, portable scanner, first aid kit, and enough ammunition to fight a small war. But the most important item was a communication device that could transmit encrypted signals across the entire city.
My insurance policy.
"Planning to start a revolution?" Elena asked, watching me pack the gear.
"Planning to survive one." I secured the communication device in an inner pocket where Elena couldn't see it. "Moreau won't be the only one who wants me dead after tonight."
Elena nodded grimly. "Fair point."
We left the cache and headed toward the Blood Rose bar, blending into the morning crowd of workers and street vendors. But I could feel Elena watching me, studying my movements, analyzing my choices.
She suspected something. Good. Suspicion would keep her sharp, keep her honest.
Because despite her story about Genesis-003, despite the pain I'd seen in her eyes, I still didn't fully trust Elena Cross. She was too convenient, too perfectly positioned, too willing to help.
And if twenty-two years in Genesis Labs had taught me anything, it was that convenient help usually came with hidden costs.
As we walked through the crowded streets of Level 19, I made my own plans. Not just for killing Vincent Moreau, not just for escaping Kane's termination schedule, but for something bigger.
I was going to expose Project Genesis. All of it. Kane's research, the family consortium, the plans for mass production. I was going to make sure the world knew what they'd done, what they were planning to do.
And if Elena Cross tried to stop me, I was going to kill her too.
The transmitter in my pocket felt warm against my fingers, already locked onto Elena's signal. In seventy-two hours, I'd know whether she was truly an ally or just another enemy wearing a friendly face.
Either way, I'd be ready.
For the first time since my awakening began, I was making my own choices, following my own plan, trusting my own judgment. Not because Kane had programmed me to, not because Elena had manipulated me into it, but because I'd decided it was the right thing to do.
It felt terrifying. It felt dangerous.
It felt like freedom.
"Null," Elena said as we approached a building marked with a faded red rose painted on its brick facade. "Once we go in there, once we commit to this plan, there's no going back."
I looked at the bar, at the people moving through the streets around us, at the endless city stretching away in all directions. Somewhere out there, Marcus and Maya were trying to build a new life. Somewhere else, mixed-blood children were disappearing into Vincent Moreau's concentration camps. And deep beneath our feet, Kane was preparing to create an army of soulless killers with my face.
"I know," I said.
Elena pushed open the door, and we stepped into the Blood Rose together.
But I was no longer following her lead. For better or worse, I was charting my own course now.
Even if it led straight into hell.
End of Chapter 7