Geneva – 11:58 PM
The storm had passed.
Physically.
But inside Akanksha—
Something felt unfinished.
Her secure terminal blinked.
Encrypted Archive Released – Priority Alpha
Source: Unknown.
She opened it.
Her breath stopped.
File title:
"Operation Sand Veil – Original Recruitment Directive."
Her name.
Age: 17.
Origin: Classified.
Status: Asset Candidate.
Her fingers trembled slightly as she scrolled.
The recruitment wasn't random.
It wasn't patriotic selection.
It was engineered.
Zurich – Secure Link Activated
Adrian appeared on-screen.
"You received it too."
Preyajeet stepped closer.
"Received what?"
Akanksha turned the screen toward him.
A scanned document.
Authorization signature—
Not Pakistani intelligence.
Not foreign military.
But a joint shadow program.
Cross-border.
Multinational.
Her recruitment as a spy—
Was approved by multiple factions.
Including a covert Indian intelligence wing.
Silence filled the room.
Preyajeet's voice was barely controlled.
"That's not possible."
Adrian spoke quietly.
"It was an early AI predictive experiment."
Akanksha's eyes lifted slowly.
"What?"
Adrian continued.
"They used behavioral forecasting algorithms to identify high-adaptability minors. You were selected as a cross-border infiltration asset long before you knew."
Her world tilted.
"I wasn't sent to betray India."
Preyajeet said nothing.
She whispered—
"I was designed to."
Unknown Location
The strategist observed calmly.
"Yes," they murmured.
"Let her question her foundation."
Because nothing destabilizes a person more than learning—
Your life was pre-written by unseen hands.
Geneva – Private Room
Akanksha sat down slowly.
Her entire childhood.
Her training.
Her missions.
Predicted.
Modeled.
Calculated.
She looked at Preyajeet.
"Did you know?"
His answer came instantly.
"No."
But something else lingered.
Anger.
Not at her.
At the system.
"They turned you into an experiment," he said quietly.
Adrian added softly,
"Early Sovereign prototypes were crude. They tested human adaptability modeling."
Akanksha's voice cracked just slightly.
"So my loyalty shift…"
"Was statistically anticipated," Adrian finished.
Silence.
Preyajeet clenched his jaw.
"They predicted you'd fall in love too?"
Akanksha looked at the final line in the archive.
Emotional Anchor Probability: 64% – High likelihood of mission realignment through relational bond.
Her heartbeat pounded.
They predicted him.
Predicted her love.
Predicted her choice.
Her entire rebellion—
Part of someone else's algorithm.
Preyajeet stepped back slightly.
Not from her.
From the weight of it.
"They played with your life."
She stood slowly.
"No."
Her voice steadied.
"They tried to."
He looked at her carefully.
"You don't feel betrayed?"
"I do," she admitted softly.
"But not by you."
Silence.
Then she stepped closer.
"They predicted patterns. Not decisions."
He frowned slightly.
"What's the difference?"
She looked straight into his eyes.
"They couldn't force me to choose you."
The room felt still.
"Even if they predicted it… I still chose it."
Preyajeet's expression shifted.
Because she was right.
Prediction isn't control.
Probability isn't destiny.
Adrian spoke carefully.
"The strategist likely leaked this to destabilize you."
Akanksha nodded slowly.
"They want me to doubt my freedom."
Preyajeet asked quietly,
"Do you?"
She thought for a long moment.
Her entire past felt rewritten.
But her heart—
Still beat the same.
"I choose again," she said finally.
He stepped closer.
"Choose what?"
"You."
No hesitation.
No algorithm.
No prediction.
Just certainty.
Unknown Location
The strategist watched biometric readings.
Stress elevated.
But collapse?
No.
Emotional reinforcement increasing.
They frowned slightly.
"She's integrating it."
Instead of breaking—
She was evolving.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Geneva – Balcony
Night air was cold.
Akanksha stood staring at the city.
Preyajeet joined her quietly.
"They turned you into data," he said.
She nodded.
"But data doesn't feel."
He took her hand.
"And what do you feel?"
She smiled faintly.
"Angry."
He smirked slightly.
"Good."
She leaned closer.
"They may have predicted my heart."
He looked down at her gently.
"But they can't own it."
Below them—
The decentralized AI alliance continued stabilizing.
The strategist's manipulation was failing again.
But something deeper had been revealed.
If early AI experiments shaped global spy networks—
Then Sovereign wasn't the first system.
It was just the most visible one.
Akanksha turned serious.
"This started long before us."
Preyajeet nodded.
"And whoever built those early models…"
"…is still watching," she finished.
Far away—
In a darker control room—
An older figure stepped into the strategist's chamber.
Calm.
Measured.
More dangerous.
"You underestimated her," the elder voice said.
The strategist lowered their head slightly.
"She adapts."
The elder figure looked at the screen showing Akanksha and Preyajeet standing together.
"Good," they murmured.
"Phase Five begins."
And this time—
It wouldn't test loyalty.
It would test sacrifice.