Nova's POV
I can't just sit here and watch him die.
On the monitor, Caspian moves through the hallway like a deadly shadow. He takes down two men in seconds. Three more rush him. He's fast, efficient, brutal.
But there are too many.
A bullet grazes his shoulder. He doesn't even flinch.
Caspian, I whisper, pressing my hands against the monitor like I can reach through it.
My fingers brush the screen and it changes. New windows pop up. The files he transferred to me.
Use it to destroy Julian, his message said.
I should focus on escape. On finding a way out of this safe room.
But Caspian gave me access to everything. His entire intelligence network. Every file he's compiled on Julian over the past eight months.
And suddenly, I realize—he didn't just lock me in here to keep me safe.
He gave me the tools to fight back.
My hands fly across the keyboard. Pulling up files. Bank records. Communications. The full scope of what Julian has done.
What I see makes my blood run cold.
The algorithm theft was just the beginning.
Oh my God, I breathe.
Julian didn't just steal Prometheus and sell it to Volkov. He's been selling pieces of my code to multiple criminal organizations for over a year. Chinese hackers. North Korean state actors. Iranian intelligence.
Every enemy of the United States has a piece of my work.
And Julian made billions.
I pull up more files, hands shaking. Transaction records. Encrypted communications Caspian somehow decrypted.
Julian has been using my algorithm to help criminals break into banks, steal identities, manipulate stock markets. Thousands of people have lost everything because of code I created to help people.
Rage floods through me. Hot and fierce and absolute.
On the monitor, Caspian takes a bullet to the leg. He drops, rolls, comes up firing.
No! I scream.
Focus, Nova. He's buying you time. Use it.
I dive deeper into the files. There has to be something here. Something I can use.
Then I find it.
A video file dated three days ago. Encrypted. Hidden in layers of security.
I crack it open.
Julian's face fills the screen. He's in a meeting. With Volkov.
And my sister Sienna is sitting right beside him.
I unmute the audio.
The girl is becoming a problem, Volkov says in his heavy Russian accent. Your people have failed four times.
I have it handled, Julian replies smoothly. Caspian Mercer won't be able to protect her much longer.
He better not. Volkov leans forward. I'm paying two billion dollars for exclusive access to Prometheus. If anyone can prove you stole it—
No one can prove anything. Julian's voice is cold. Confident. Once Nova is dead, there's no witness. No evidence. The algorithm is legally mine.
Sienna speaks up. What about her friend? Alexis Kim?
My heart stops.
She knows too much, Julian says. After we use her to lure Nova out, kill her too. Make it look like they died together. A tragic murder-suicide.
Volkov nods. And Mercer?
He's ex-military, ex-NSA. Dangerous. Julian smiles. But he has a weakness. He's obsessed with protecting Nova. Use that. Make him choose between fighting us and saving her.
We have bombs in his penthouse, Sienna adds. Planted them two weeks ago. If the assault fails, we detonate. Bring down the whole floor.
Two weeks ago.
Before Caspian even knew they were coming.
They've been planning this for weeks.
On the monitor, more men flood into the hallway. Ten. Fifteen. Caspian is surrounded.
He's running out of ammunition.
I watch him duck behind a corner, reloading. Blood soaks his shirt from multiple wounds.
He's going to die if I don't do something.
Think, Nova. Think!
I pull up Caspian's security system. He gave me full access. That means I can control everything.
The cameras. The locks. The building's entire infrastructure.
I start typing. Fast. Furious.
If Caspian is the fortress, I'll be his weapons system.
I seal doors, trapping half the attackers on lower floors. I cut power to the elevators. I activate fire suppression systems, filling hallways with foam that blinds and disorients.
On the monitor, I watch men slip and fall, unable to see.
Caspian notices. His head snaps up to the nearest camera. He knows I'm helping.
I redirect more systems. Open doors behind the attackers. Lock others. Create a maze that funnels them exactly where Caspian can pick them off.
Come on, I mutter. Just a few more
My screen flashes red.
Someone else is trying to access Caspian's system.
A hacker. A good one.
They're trying to override my commands. Take back control.
I block them. They attack from another angle. I block again.
We're fighting a digital war while Caspian fights a physical one.
I'm better. Faster. I built code like this. I know how it thinks.
But the hacker is relentless.
Then I see it—a signature in their code. A pattern I recognize.
Because I taught it to someone.
My sister.
Sienna is the hacker trying to break Caspian's system.
Rage explodes through me. She took Julian. She helped frame me. She's trying to kill me.
And now she's trying to kill the man who saved me.
Not happening.
I unleash every trick I know. Viruses. Worms. Feedback loops. I don't just block her—I attack.
Her system starts crashing. I can see it in the code. She's panicking.
Good.
I push harder. Find her physical location through her IP address.
She's in the building. Third floor. At a laptop.
I access the camera feed.
Sienna sits in an empty apartment, typing frantically. Cursing. Her system is failing.
Behind her, the door opens.
A man enters. Military gear. One of Volkov's soldiers.
Boss wants an update, he says in Russian. Why isn't the penthouse breached yet?
I'm working on it! Sienna snaps. Someone's blocking me—
Work faster. Volkov doesn't accept failure.
He pulls out a gun. Not pointing it at her yet. Just a reminder.
My sister's face goes pale.
She's not in control. She never was.
She's just another pawn Julian is using. And when she's no longer useful...
Part of me wants to let it happen. Let her face the consequences of her betrayal.
But she's still my sister.
I make a choice I might regret.
I stop attacking her system. Instead, I send her a message:
They're going to kill you when this is over. Julian told Volkov to eliminate all witnesses. That includes you. -Nova
I attach the video file. The one where Julian and Volkov discuss killing her after they kill me.
On the camera, I watch Sienna's face as she opens it. Watches it.
See the horror dawn as she realizes the truth.
She's been sleeping with a man who planned her death from the start.
The soldier behind her gets a phone call. Answers it. Then turns to Sienna.
Change of plans. Boss says the hacker is compromised. Terminate her.
He raises his gun.
Sienna's eyes go wide. Wait—
I make another split-second decision.
I trigger the fire alarm in that apartment. Sprinklers explode. The soldier's gun is knocked aside as water floods the room.
Sienna runs.
I watch her flee through the building, soaking wet, terrified.
She made her choice. Now she'll have to live with it.
If she lives at all.
I turn back to the penthouse monitors.
Caspian has fought his way back to his door. Fifteen men down. But more keep coming.
He's bleeding from multiple wounds. Moving slower.
He can't hold much longer.
I pull up everything Caspian taught his security system. Every defense. Every weapon.
Then I see it.
A override protocol hidden deep in the code. Emergency measures.
Omega Protocol: Complete Lockdown
I read the description. My blood runs cold.
It seals the entire building. Cuts all power except emergency systems. Floods every floor except the penthouse with knockout gas.
Everyone inside will be unconscious in minutes.
Including Sienna. Including Lex if she's really in the building.
Including Caspian if he's still in the hallways.
I hesitate.
On the monitor, Caspian takes another bullet. Chest. He staggers.
No time.
I activate Omega Protocol.
Alarms blare throughout the building. Red emergency lights flash.
I watch on the cameras as gas floods the hallways. Men in tactical gear drop. Unconscious.
Caspian sees what's happening. Realizes what I've done.
He runs for the penthouse door. Fast. Despite his injuries.
The gas is spreading. Reaching for him.
Come on, I whisper. Come on, come on
He reaches the door. Slams through it. Seals it behind him.
Then he collapses.
Caspian! I scream at the monitor.
He's not moving.
Did I gas him? Did the knockout gas reach him before he sealed the door?
Or is he just... dead?
The safe room door suddenly unlocks with a series of beeps.
Omega Protocol complete. Safe room unsealed.
I run out into the penthouse.
Caspian lies on the floor. Blood pooling around him. Eyes closed.
No, no, no— I drop beside him. Press my hands to his chest. Caspian, please
His eyes snap open.
Took you long enough, he rasps.
Relief floods through me. You're alive!
Barely. He tries to smile. Fails. You used Omega Protocol. Smart.
You're bleeding
I know. His hand finds mine. Nova, listen. Volkov is still out there. Julian too. This isn't over
His phone buzzes. A video call.
I answer it.
Julian's face fills the screen. But he's not calling from some remote location.
He's calling from inside the building.
From my apartment.
Hello, Nova, he says calmly. Impressive display. You've incapacitated my assault team. Even turned your sister against me.
Where's Lex? I demand.
Safe. For now. Julian smiles. But here's the thing. While you were busy fighting my soldiers, I walked right into your apartment. And I found something very interesting.
He holds up a flash drive.
My backup files. All my evidence against him.
Every bit of proof you've been gathering for eighteen months, Julian says. Gone. And without it, you can't prove I stole Prometheus.
My heart stops.
But I can prove you're a wanted criminal, he continues. Breaking into a secure building. Assaulting federal officers. He gestures off-screen. The FBI is on their way. Should be here in ten minutes.
You're lying
Am I? His smile widens. You see, Nova, I didn't need to kill you. I just needed to make sure you could never threaten me. And now you can't. Enjoy prison. This time, you won't be getting out.
The screen goes black.
I stare at Caspian, horror flooding through me.
He's won, I whisper. He's actually won.