Jack met Ezra at the hospital's rear entrance—far from the cameras, far from the front desk, far from anyone who would think to ask questions.
Ezra looked like he always did. Unbothered. Pressed coat. Smile just sharp enough to be mistaken for a threat if you squinted.
"You don't look surprised to see me," Jack said.
"I'm surprised you're not shooting," Ezra replied.
"I haven't decided yet."
Ezra held up a gloved hand. "Before you threaten me, I want you to know something: I didn't put her in that hospital because I care. I put her there because I was trying to keep her out of Raven's hands. She'd been compromised."
Jack narrowed his eyes. "You said the same thing about Elara."
Ezra's smile didn't fade. "And wasn't I right?"
Jack moved in closer. "Tell me what's inside her."
Ezra pulled out a small, flat device and handed it to him. "That implant? It's an echo chamber. A psychic failsafe. It stores thoughts, loops them. Whoever controls it can reinforce false identities or erase them entirely. She wasn't carrying it by choice."
Jack examined the device. It was pulsing, faintly synced with the signature in Amina's collarbone. It felt alive.
"You were working with her before, Ezra," Jack said. "Before she disappeared."
"Yes."
"She stole something from me."
Ezra raised an eyebrow. "She stole something from all of us."
Jack didn't blink. "But you helped her."
"I did," Ezra admitted. "Because she said she had to disappear. She claimed she found a relic too powerful to destroy—and too dangerous to fall into Raven's hands. So she ran."
"And now?"
Ezra sighed. "Now I think they found her anyway."
Jack stepped back. "What do they want from her?"
"She remembered something she shouldn't have. About Elara. About you. About the early prototypes. Whatever's inside her—those memories—they're unfinished. Damaged. And the Raven Circle wants to extract them."
"Why?"
"Because they think Amina's carrying the missing piece of the project. The piece that made Elara human."
Jack went still.
"You're saying Amina remembers who Elara really was?"
"No," Ezra said. "I'm saying Amina remembers who Elara was before the Raven Circle changed her."
Jack's stomach turned.
"You expect me to believe she came back to help?"
Ezra's voice softened. "No. I expect you to believe she came back to tell you the truth before they take it from her again."
Jack looked toward the window where Amina lay unconscious.
The past was bleeding back into his life, and it wouldn't stop until it swallowed everything.
Lena intercepted them on the second floor.
"Security just red-flagged Ezra's ID," she said. "You've got twenty minutes before someone with a badge starts asking real questions."
"Plenty of time," Ezra said with a grin.
Jack ignored him.
"Any change in Amina's condition?"
"She's stabilizing," Lena replied. "But the implant's resonance is increasing. If we don't disconnect her soon, it's going to overwrite whatever's left of her."
"Can we remove it?"
"I can try," she said. "But not here. Too many eyes. We need to move her."
"Where?"
Lena hesitated. Then: "Kael's place. He's off-grid now. Relic-safe."
Jack looked at Ezra. "You're coming."
Ezra gave a mock bow. "Wouldn't miss it."
They moved Amina just after midnight.
No alarms. No trails. Just Jack carrying her through the service corridor while Lena shut down cameras with a remote signal jammer.
By the time they reached Kael's safehouse, rain had started again. Steady. Cold.
Kael opened the door with a raised brow.
"This is a bad idea."
"Feels like old times," Jack replied, brushing past him.
Inside, the place was low-tech by design. Concrete walls, analog locks, blackout curtains. Lena set up her tools in the corner while Ezra made himself a drink from Kael's dusty cabinet.
Jack laid Amina on the cot and knelt beside her.
"She looks worse than I remember," Kael muttered.
"You never knew her," Jack said.
Kael grunted. "Did you?"
Jack didn't answer.
Lena scanned the implant again.
"It's embedded in soft tissue. I can pull it, but the data stream it's linked to might collapse."
"Meaning?" Jack asked.
"Meaning she might forget everything. Including you."
Ezra raised his glass. "Could be merciful."
Jack stood. "Do it."
Lena nodded, pulled on gloves, and began working. Steady hands. Focused breath.
Jack watched in silence.
Then Amina's body tensed.
Her eyes opened.
Not with recognition—but with panic.
"No," she whispered. "Not yet. Not before I tell him."
Jack leaned down. "Amina—"
"Jack," she gasped. "It wasn't Elara's idea."
He froze.
"What wasn't?"
"She didn't choose to disappear. They made her. I helped them. I thought I was protecting her."
Jack felt the room fall away.
"They used us both," Amina whispered. "And now they're using her again."
Her eyes met his.
"Don't let them finish what I started."
Then her body went still.
Lena pulled the implant out with a soft metallic click.
The light inside it died.
Jack sat back.
Amina's breathing steadied.
Kael exhaled. "She'll live."
Jack stood. Walked to the window.
Ezra joined him, drink still in hand.
"Now what?" he asked.
Jack stared at the street beyond the glass.
"We find out who gave the order."
"To do what?"
Jack's voice was quiet.
"To erase her."