Chapter 15: The Architect of Control

Kael's pulse thundered in his ears as he faced Voss. The mastermind behind the mind-bending nightmare that was Echo Protocol stood before them, impeccably calm. His dark suit was untouched by the chaos that had consumed the building. In stark contrast to the enforcers, drones, and the storm of destruction they'd left in their wake, Voss seemed immune to the violence, as if he stood above it all.

"Drop your weapons," Voss said softly, his voice cutting through the tense silence like a razor. "You've caused enough damage already."

Niko, always the first to break the silence, snarled. "How about you drop your ego first?"

Kael didn't move, his gun trained on Voss. Seraphine stood beside him, her breath unsteady but her gaze unwavering. Behind them, Kane was furiously checking his wrist-com, trying to confirm the extraction time, while Niko kept his weapon raised, ready for the next move.

"Voss," Kael began, his voice cold, "you've lost control. Echo Protocol is in our hands now."

Voss smiled, a thin, predatory curve of his lips. "You really believe that? You think the data you've stolen is the key to stopping me?" He took a measured step forward. "Echo Protocol isn't just a set of memories on a drive. It's already in play. The moment you took it, you sealed your fate."

Kael's grip tightened on his weapon. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, Kael, that you and your little band of rebels were never a threat. You were the final piece of the puzzle." Voss's eyes gleamed with a mixture of triumph and something far darker. "I've been watching you for months. Monitoring your every move. Your memories… your choices. All meticulously manipulated to lead you here."

Kael felt a cold chill run down his spine. "You're lying."

Voss gave a slow shake of his head, his gaze locking onto Kael with an almost paternal condescension. "Am I? Tell me, Kael, have you ever wondered why you've been so desperate to stay hidden? Why, despite all your skill and brilliance, you ran instead of fought back?"

Kael didn't respond. He didn't need to. The truth was gnawing at him already.

Voss continued, his voice dropping to a whisper, "Because you were always a part of Echo Protocol. Your mind was tampered with long before you became a memory architect. Everything you've done since… every moment you thought was yours… it's all been programmed."

Kael's heart stopped. His mind reeled as Voss's words cut through his defenses, his certainty unraveling. Could it be true? Had Voss really been pulling his strings this entire time?

"No!" Seraphine shouted, stepping forward, her fists clenched. "You can't manipulate everything. People are more than their memories, more than their pasts!"

Voss glanced at her with a cold, dismissive smile. "Ah, Seraphine. The girl with no past, clinging to the hope that she'll be whole again. You, too, are a creation of Echo Protocol. The memories you lost? They weren't stolen. They were erased for a reason. And I'll bet you never once questioned why."

Seraphine's face drained of color, her eyes flickering with doubt. Kael could see the battle raging inside her, the war between the truth she thought she knew and the possibility that her entire life had been a fabrication. He wanted to tell her not to believe Voss, not to fall for his manipulations—but could he even trust his own reality anymore?

"I have to hand it to you, Kael," Voss said, circling slowly as he spoke, his voice oozing confidence. "You've made it farther than anyone I've ever manipulated. But the truth is, you've been playing my game from the beginning. You are my greatest work."

Kael's vision blurred, his hand shaking as the weight of Voss's revelation threatened to crush him. Memories of his life flashed before him—every decision, every betrayal, every loss. Were they all a lie? Was his very identity a construct, carefully engineered by the man standing before him?

"You're wrong," Kael growled, fighting the rising tide of doubt. "I know who I am."

Voss raised an eyebrow, amused. "Do you? Then why is it you've never been able to escape the guilt of that last experiment? Why do you still hear the screams of the one who died?"

Kael staggered back as if struck, the memory of the failed experiment—the accident that had destroyed his career—surging to the surface. He had spent years haunted by it, consumed by guilt and regret. But what if that memory, too, had been planted? What if Voss had used it to control him from the very beginning?

"Kael!" Seraphine's voice broke through his spiraling thoughts, pulling him back to the present. "You have to focus! He's trying to break you."

Kael's eyes snapped to hers, and for a moment, the haze lifted. Seraphine was right. Voss was manipulating him again, trying to shatter his sense of self. But whether his memories were real or not didn't matter anymore. What mattered was stopping Voss from twisting the world to his will.

Kael steadied himself, taking a step forward. "I don't care if you've messed with my mind. I don't care if half my life has been a lie. Right now, I'm making one choice for myself."

Voss's smile faltered slightly, his eyes narrowing. "And what choice is that?"

"To end this."

Without warning, Kael fired. The bullet struck Voss's shoulder, knocking him off balance. He staggered but didn't fall, his expression twisting into one of fury.

"You insolent—" Voss began, but Kael didn't wait to hear the rest. He charged forward, closing the distance between them before Voss could react. Kael grabbed him by the collar, slamming him into the wall.

"I'm not playing your game anymore," Kael growled, his face inches from Voss's.

The sound of approaching footsteps echoed down the corridor. More enforcers were coming.

"We don't have time for this!" Kane shouted, glancing at his wrist-com. "Extraction in two minutes!"

Kael released Voss, shoving him aside. The man slumped against the wall, clutching his shoulder, his arrogant composure finally shattered.

"You can't win, Kael," Voss spat, his voice venomous. "Even if you kill me, Echo Protocol is already active. You've done exactly what I wanted."

Kael turned away, leading Seraphine, Niko, and Kane toward the rooftop stairs. They had made it this far—now they just had to survive the extraction.

"Let's go!" Kael barked, his heart pounding with a mix of adrenaline and uncertainty.

As they ascended the final steps, the roof came into view, the cool night air rushing over them. A sleek, black transport hovered above, the extraction team lowering a rope ladder. The enforcers weren't far behind.

Niko went up first, firing a few shots to keep the enforcers at bay. Seraphine followed quickly, her movements more urgent now. Kane scrambled up after her, the precious data drive still clutched in his hand.

Kael was the last to ascend, his eyes flicking back toward the doorway they had just come from. Voss was still inside, bleeding, but alive.

As Kael grabbed the rope ladder and hoisted himself up, Voss's voice echoed in his mind.

You'll never be free.

But Kael didn't look back.

The extraction team pulled them into the transport, and as the doors slammed shut behind them, Kael allowed himself to breathe. For now, they had escaped. But Voss's words lingered in his mind, like echoes of a past he could no longer trust.