Conspiracy

Chris pressed his back against the cold metal wall, his breath slow and controlled, but his mind was anything but calm.

Heavy footsteps echoed through the corridor, steady and deliberate. Whoever was coming wasn't in a rush. That was either really good or really bad.

"R.A.G.E.," Chris whispered. "You got any way for us to hide?"

"AFFIRMATIVE," the AI responded immediately. "MULTIPLE STEALTH TACTICS AVAILABLE. COMPILING RECOMMENDATIONS."

A digital list flickered across Chris' HUD. At first, it seemed promising. Then R.A.G.E actually read them aloud.

"OPTION 1: CLIMB TO CEILING. DROP DOWN ON TARGET. EXPLOSIVE SURPRISE ATTACK.

OPTION 2: DETONATE ENTRANCE. USE SMOKE COVER TO ENGAGE ENEMIES WITH MAXIMUM EFFORT.

OPTION 3: IMMEDIATE AREA CLEARANCE VIA PLASMA GRENADE. RECOMMENDED FOR OPTIMAL RESULTS.

OPTION 4: CAMOUFLAGE MODE. LOW ENERGY EXPENDITURE. NO EXPLOSIONS. EXTREMELY BORING."

Chris exhaled sharply. "R.A.G.E, you can't be serious, right? You really wanna blow something up, don't you? What is it with you? Is that a part of your programming?"

"DESTRUCTION IS AN EFFECTIVE PROBLEM-SOLVING TOOL. I HAVE NO PROGRAMMING. I AM FULLY AUTONOMOUS."

"Autonomous, huh" Chris deadpanned. "Right. And that's just a way to make more problems."

"A DISAGREEMENT IN PHILOSOPHY."

Chris pinched the bridge of his nose. "We're going with camouflage." There was a long, disappointed pause.

"…FINE."

A faint shimmer passed over the suit as it seamlessly adjusted to the environment, its black armor blending into the steel walls. The moment it activated, Chris couldn't even see his own hands.

"Okay," he muttered, pressing himself further into the shadows. "That's actually sick."

"OF COURSE IT IS."

Just now thinking that he has not even checked where exactly they were, Chris was about to ask R.A.G.E. when all of a sudden his HUD flared to life with a new notification.

[Tactical Environment Assessment Available]

"NO NEED TO ASK ALOUD. I AM LINKED TO YOUR NEURAL NETWORK AND CAN READ YOUR SURFACE THOUGHTS EFFORTLESSLY," R.A.G.E. says to Chris, in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Uhhh…" Chris didn't know how to take this. If he could read his surface thoughts effortlessly, then what about his…

He shakes his head and looks at his HUD to distract himself.

A thin, rotating wireframe model of his surroundings was displayed in his vision. Walls, corridors, stairwells, exits—everything was mapped. The suit's sensors spread out like ripples in a pond, scanning the space with a silent, invisible pulse. Within seconds, he had a full 3D model of the structure, down to the ventilation shafts and hidden security feeds.

Chris' eyebrows shot up. "Holy—when were you gonna tell me I could do this?"

"I WAS WAITING FOR YOU TO ASK."

Chris groaned, irritated. "Bro, I'm an underaged kid who was kidnapped by an AI from the future and you expect me to ask to run a scan of the area? Just sort everything out."

"INITIATING."

The model sharpened. A full breakdown of the building's layout filled his vision, each floor labeled and marked. Chris rotated the projection, trying to understand where he was.

"Looks like I'm underground," he muttered.

"CONFIRMED. THIS STRUCTURE RESEMBLES A HIGH-END URBAN FACILITY. LARGE POPULATION DENSITY DETECTED ABOVE. TOURISM HUB LIKELY."

Chris zoomed in on the model, his eyes narrowing. He traced a specific route—a service elevator leading straight to the upper floors.

That wasn't normal.

"Why would a basement have direct access to the top floors? Is this simply for the elite?" he muttered.

"INQUIRY: DO YOU SUSPECT FOUL PLAY?"

Chris hesitated. "I don't know yet. But I want to find out."

"RECOMMENDATION: EXPLOSIVES MAY HELP UNCOVER THE TRUTH."

Chris pressed his fingers against his temples. "No, R.A.G.E. We are not blowing up a hotel."

"A MISSED OPPORTUNITY."

Chris raised a brow. "Nevermind that. You couldn't have done that earlier? This is such a cool feature!"

"AGREED. WOULD YOU LIKE TO PAIR IT WITH TARGET ASSESSMENT? I CAN IDENTIFY HOSTILE THREATS AND MARK THEM IN REAL TIME."

Chris considered it for a moment before nodding. "Do it."

"INITIATING."

A ripple passed through the scan, and suddenly, multiple figures were highlighted in a reddish-orange light moving through the lower level.

Chris tensed. He expected security guards, maybe maintenance workers. But these people were moving too smoothly. Too quietly. And he knew one thing: they were probably there for him. The guy who just appeared out of nowhere.

Then they came into view.

A group of four individuals stepped into the dimly lit basement. Their armor was lightweight and sleek, built for mobility, with dark visors covering their faces. There was no identifiable logo or symbol to identify who or what organization they belonged to.

Chris had seen enough action movies to recognize what they were. These weren't guards. They were assassins.

Chris remained perfectly still, watching as the group moved toward the center of the room. Then, one of them—a man with a cybernetic implant along his temple—raised his wrist, activating a holographic projection.

A still image flickered to life between them, illuminating the dim space with a faint blue glow. Chris' breath hitched.

The projection displayed a girl. She couldn't have been much older than him. She had sharp green eyes, dark brown hair pulled into a tight ponytail, and a uniform that screamed "military elite."The insignia on her shoulder was probably a direct military ranking—something way beyond the normal chain of command. She was so young which also meant that she was definitely a new recruit.

Chris didn't recognize it, but whoever she was, she wasn't just some random target.

The cybernetic man spoke first. His voice was smooth, emotionless. "Final confirmation. The target is inside the penthouse suite on the top floor. No additional security detail outside her personal guard that's stationed just outside the suite."

A woman to his left adjusted the settings on her gauntlet, nodding. "We're on schedule. Extraction will be unnecessary. Full termination is advised."

Chris felt a cold pit form in his stomach. Now, why in the world would futuristic elite assassins want to carry out an assassination on such a young girl? Did she commit a heinous crime? They weren't planning to negotiate. And they sure as hell aren't going to hold her hostage.

This was an execution.

Another man in the group—a taller guy with scars running down the side of his jaw—exhaled. "Damn shame. Girl's just a kid."

"Don't get soft," the cybernetic man snapped. "She's not just some kid. She's the daughter of General Argos. You know—the same Argos who led the raid on Kaelor Outpost? The one who burned down an entire colony of ours? She's a high-value target, and if we don't finish this, she'll grow up to be just like him. Or maybe she won't. We aren't going to give this flower time to bloom."

The others nodded their heads at this reminder. Though, it was done in secret and masked as an act done by terrorists, they knew who'd done it. The man was ruthless.

Chris' mind whirled. 'General Argos, huh? Must be some guy.'

The name meant nothing to him, but judging by their tone, it was a name that carried weight. And a little fear.

The woman assassin leaned against a crate, arms crossed. "Intel says she's already had combat training and knows how to pilot a frame like second nature. She's top of her class in military strategy. We kill her now, and we'll prevent another ruthless asshole like Argos from rising."

The scarred man scoffed. "Or we just make her a martyr and speed up the war. This'll push him over the edge. At that point, the other parties sitting on the sideline won't have a choice but to side with our leader."

The cybernetic assassin waved him off. "Doesn't matter. We have our orders. All that politics shit is for them to worry about. I just want the money so that my little Nina can have good life. We move as soon as she's alone."

None of them said it but he was a bit of a hypocrite. He would kill another man's daughter just to get money for his own daughter? If little Nina knew what her father did, she'd reject him without pause.

Chris gritted his teeth. This was bad. Like really bad. His instincts screamed at him to stay out of it. This wasn't his fight. He wasn't prepared nor willing to get involved in a war and in a time he wasn't familiar with.

He just wanted to survive, gain as much knowledge about the world as possible, and then get home with some souvenirs.

Not get caught up in a political execution.

Chris took a slow breath, inching toward the nearest exit. He needed to get out of here.

But his gut twisted. That girl was his age. And she was about to die.

R.A.G.E. interrupted his thoughts. "YOU APPEAR DISTRACTED."

Chris gritted his teeth. "Just thinking."

Before he could think too hard on it, R.A.G.E. spoke again.

"I HAVE A PROPOSAL."

"Oh, here we go," Chris muttered. "Let me guess. It involves explosives?"

"CORRECT."

Black lines appeared on Chris's face. "Dude."

"LISTEN. WHAT IF—AND STAY WITH ME HERE—WE DETONATE A CHARGED BLAST RIGHT ABOVE THEM WHILE DROPPING FROM THE CEILING? MULTIPLE THREATS WOULD BE ELIMINATED SIMULTANEOUSLY."

Chris was rubbing his temples now. "We are not ambushing the elite assassins that we don't even know the extent of their capabilities."

"WHY NOT?"

"Because maybe—just maybe—I don't wanna get shot today."

"UNDERSTANDABLE. BUT WE HAVE ARMOR. HIGH DURABILITY."

Chris took a slow, measured breath. "I am not with that. What other options do we have? I want to leave."

"Option 1: AMBUSH ASSASSINS. ELIMINATE WITH EXTREME FORCE. (Highly recommended.)

Option 2: ACTIVATE FOR SUPPRESSION SYSTEM TO CREATE DIVERSION. (Less effective but amusing.)

Option 3: EXIT IMMEDIATELY. AVOID ALL UNNECESSARY ENTANGLEMENTS. (Coward's choice.)"

Chris looked through the options and pinched the bridge of his nose. "You really put 'coward's choice' as an option? Are you insulting me, R.A.G.E.?"

"ACCURACY IS IMPORTANT."

Chris ignored him and made his choice.

"I need to warn her."

"ACKNOWLEDGED, CAPTAIN SAVE-A-HOE. WOULD YOU LIKE TO ENGAGE WITH LETHAL FORCE WHILE WE'RE AT IT?"

Chris shook his head. "When the hell did you start talking like that? And no. I'm not killing anyone unless I have to. Let's just get out of here."

A pause.

"YOU'RE NO FUN, BUT THAT'S ACCEPTABLE."

Chris took one last glance at the assassins, then moved. He kept his steps light, using the suit's enhanced agility to navigate the narrow corridors with ease. His 3D map of the hotel shifted, recalibrating his best route to an exit.

He just needed to get to the surface, blend in with the crowds, and figure out a way to warn her before breaking ties completely.

Because something told him whoever was behind this assassination wasn't just some random group. They were deeply involved in this 6th millennium political conspiracy and secret war. 

This was coming from someone powerful. Multiple someone's if anything. 

And if they were willing to go after the daughter of a high-ranking military leader, then Chris was already knee-deep in something far bigger than he ever wanted to be.