home invasion

The taxi crawled through evening traffic, every traffic light seeming like an eternity. Kai's broken ribs sent waves of agony through his body with each bump and turn. He kept dialing Mia's number, each unanswered ring tightening the knot in his stomach.

"Can't you go any faster?" he asked the driver, pressing credits into the man's hand.

The driver glanced at the rearview mirror, eyes widening at his bloodied appearance. "Streets are monitored, pal. I speed, we get flagged. You look like you've got enough trouble."

Kai slumped back, the sharp pain a constant reminder of his encounter. His mind raced through possibilities. If they'd sent an android after him at work, what might they have sent to their apartment? To Mia?

He was screwed. His identity was compromised now. He couldn't even access his emails and accounts. The MIND had frozen everything. He had to get Mia and make it out of the city as fast as possible.

What the hell had Rook gotten him into? Mia had warned him against meeting him, but maybe if he had then this would have happened. No, there was no need lampooning over what had already happened. What mattered was finding out what the hell Rook wanted to talk to him about. What he had discovered that had sent a pack of killer robots after him?

Kai remembered Rook as a kid, having met him an orphanage when he was barely ten. Kai had been recently orphaned, both his parents disappearing in the Cairo dead zone. Both of them had worked as archivists. Risking their lives by delving into ruins to uncover lost treasures; artifacts, jewelry, technology, art and books that were lost to humanity after the war. The items sold for insane prices and were regarded as prestigious by the oligarchs who ruled the world from the shadows. Lost media had to be vetted and sanctioned by the MIND, controlling the knowledge and history of the past for a chosen few. Sanctioned missions to the dead zones were led by freelancers desperate enough to brave the toxic atmosphere, hostile wildlings and mutated creatures to earn credits. Freelancers like his parents.

Rook believed his parents had been killed for possessing a piece of unsanctioned lost media. His claims seemed outlandish and delusional. Until Kai arrived, cradling a book everyone told him did not exist. This book, the only possession Kai had left of his parents had been the spark that brought them together. Now, it seemed it was bound to destroy his life. Why? What had Rook discovered that was regarded as an alpha threat?

The cab finally pulled up half a block from his building. Kai thrust a handful of credits at the driver without counting.

"You should see a doctor," the driver called after him.

Kai pretended not to hear, cutting through the alley beside his building. Every breath was fire in his lungs, but fear pushed him forward. The soft glow of apartment lights above seemed peaceful, normal. Was he overreacting?

Then he saw it. Their bedroom window was open. Mia never left it open, not since the smog advisory last year.

His military training took over. He entered through the service door, using his keycard to bypass the building's security system. The elevator would make him an easy target, so he took the stairs, each step sending spikes of pain through his torso.

Four flights up, he paused outside their apartment door. No sounds from within. The door was intact, so no forced entry. His hand hovered over the doorknob, then moved to the keypad instead. The soft beep of acceptance felt unnaturally loud.

Inside, the apartment was eerily quiet. The lights were off, but the glow from the cityscape outside cast long shadows through the front room. Immediately, Kai noticed the signs: overturned coffee table, scattered books, a lamp smashed on the floor.

There had been a struggle.

His heart pounding, Kai moved silently to the living room's west wall. Behind a framed photo of him and Mia at the coast was a small safe. He keyed in the code with trembling fingers and retrieved the black handgun inside. The weight of it was familiar even after all the years. He checked the magazine—full—and chambered a round.

"Mia?" he called softly, knowing there would be no answer.

Gun raised, Kai moved methodically through the apartment, checking corners, keeping his back to walls. The kitchen was clear. So was the small office space. That left only the bedroom at the end of the hallway, its door ajar, a sliver of darkness beyond.

He approached sideways, presenting a smaller target, the gun steady despite the throbbing pain in his shoulder. Using the barrel, he nudged the door wider.

The room opened up before him, and the world collapsed.

Mia lay on the floor beside their bed, her chestnut hair fanned out beneath her. Her neck, that graceful neck he'd kissed a thousand times, was twisted at an impossible angle. Her eyes were open, staring at nothing.

"No, no, no..."

The gun clattered to the floor as Kai dropped to his knees beside her. His fingers traced her cheek, still warm. He gathered her into his arms, cradling her against his chest, rocking slowly.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, hot tears burning tracks down his face. "I should have been here. I should have protected you."

Her skin was soft against his fingers, just like this morning when they'd argued. It seemed so insignificant now, trivial in the face of this finality.

"Sir." The voice was flat, emotionless but familiar.

Kai's head snapped up. Standing in the doorway were three identical figures all wearing Mr. Weiss's face. Their expressions were blank, eyes hidden behind dark glasses. One of them held something in its hand. A book, charred around the edges. With a jolt of horror, Kai recognized the remains of his mother's Jovan Sovereign tome.

That damn book.

Cold fury replaced grief in an instant. They had taken everything from him. His parents, now Mia, and even the last connection to his mother.

"You're a hard man to terminate, Mr. Parker," the middle android said. All three raised guns simultaneously.

Time slowed. Kai saw his pistol on the floor, just out of reach. The androids were blocking the only exit. His body, already battered, screamed in protest as he tensed.

*Think. Remember your training.*

In one fluid motion, Kai lunged sideways, grabbed the edge of the bed, and flipped it onto its side, creating a makeshift barricade as the androids opened fire. Bullets tore through the mattress, sending foam and fabric exploding outward. He scrambled for his gun, fingers closing around the grip just as a bullet grazed his temple.

Red clouded his vision. Rage, Pain or Blood. He couldn't tell. With mechanical precision born from years of militia drills, Kai leaned around the bed's edge and fired. The first shot caught the leftmost android directly in the eye, causing its head to jerk back in a shower of sparks.

"You killed her!" Kai roared, firing again. The second shot went wide as pain lanced through his ribs.

The androids advanced methodically, unperturbed by their companion's damaged state. They spread out, maneuvering to flank him. Kai knew he had seconds before they had clear shots.

He rolled from behind the bed, firing upward at the android directly above him. The bullet struck its shoulder, barely slowing it down. Its foot came down on Kai's wrist, pinning his gun hand to the floor. White-hot pain shot up his arm as bones cracked.

The second android approached, its movements unhurried. It placed the barrel of its gun against Kai's forehead.

"Target acquired. Termination imminent."

Kai struggled against the crushing weight, his free hand clawing at the android's leg. His thoughts flashed to Mia's body just feet away, to his parents, to Rook's desperate message. Was this how it ended? All those years of searching, training and surviving. For nothing?

"No," he snarled through gritted teeth. "Not like this."

The android's finger tightened on the trigger.

A soft *thunk* broke the tension as something small and cylindrical rolled into the room. Before the androids could react, it erupted in a plume of dense, white smoke. A deafening *crack* followed, and the head of the blinded android exploded in a shower of circuits and synthetic skin.

The pressure on Kai's wrist vanished as both remaining androids whirled toward the new threat. Through the thickening smoke, muzzle flashes illuminated a silhouette in the doorway, tall, broad-shouldered, moving with military precision.

Two more shots rang out in quick succession. The android nearest the door staggered backward, a fist-sized hole blown through its chest, exposing the mechanical skeleton beneath. It collapsed in a heap of twitching limbs.

The last android raised its weapon toward the doorway. Before it could fire, the top half of its head disintegrated, showering Kai with hot metal and blue fluid. The headless body remained standing for an uncanny moment before toppling sideways.

Silence fell, broken only by Kai's ragged breathing and the soft hiss of the smoke grenade. He lay on the floor, pain radiating from every corner of his body, unable to process what had just happened.

Heavy footsteps approached through the smoke. Kai tensed, ready for another fight, but his battered body refused to cooperate. A figure emerged from the haze, tall, dressed in military-grade camouflage fatigues, face obscured by a gas mask and oversized tactical goggles.

The figure knelt beside Kai, setting down a massive rifle that looked like it could punch through tank armor. A gloved hand reached toward him.

Instinctively, Kai flinched away.

"Easy, son," came a muffled voice through the mask. "If I wanted you dead, I'd have let the tin cans finish the job."

The figure reached up and pulled off the gas mask and goggles in one motion.

Kai's breath caught in his throat.

Staring down at him were slate-gray eyes he hadn't seen in three years. Eyes he'd inherited. The face was more weathered, crisscrossed with new scars, but unmistakable.

"Dad?" The word felt foreign on his tongue.

Max Parker's mouth twisted in what might have been an attempt at a smile. "Hey, kiddo," he said gruffly, extending a hand. "Long time no see. You look like shit."

For a moment, Kai could only stare, reality and memory colliding violently in his mind. This was the man who had abandoned him at eleven, who had thrown him into a militia, who had criticized and berated his every move. This was also the man who had just saved his life.

Rage, relief, confusion; a myriad of emotions churned in Kai's chest as he took the offered hand.

Max pulled him to his feet with surprising gentleness. "We need to move. More will be coming."

The reminder snapped Kai back to the present. To Mia's body lying on the floor. He pulled away from his father, staggering back to kneel beside her.

"I can't leave her," Kai whispered, brushing her hair back from her face. "She didn't deserve this."

Max's expression softened momentarily. "No, she didn't." He placed a hand on Kai's shoulder. "But staying here won't bring her back. It'll just get you killed too."

"What do they want from me?" Kai demanded, voice cracking. "Why her? Why any of this?"

"They're eliminating everyone connected to the Jovan Sovereign book," Max replied, checking his watch. "Your mother was right all along. It's not just a story."

Kai looked up sharply. "What do you mean? Mom always said it was fiction."

"She said that to protect you." Max moved to the window, scanning the street below. "The book is real—or is supposed to be. That's what your friend Rook discovered."

"Rook? You know about Rook?"

"I know a lot of things. Including that we have about three minutes before reinforcements arrive." Max retrieved his rifle, slinging it over his shoulder. "Make your choice, son. Come with me and learn the truth, or stay here and die for nothing."

Kai looked down at Mia one last time. This morning they'd argued about his obsession with his mother's book. Now she was dead because of it.

Gently, he closed her eyes. "I'm going to make them pay," he promised, his voice barely audible. Then, louder, to his father: "Where are we going?"

"Somewhere safe. For now." Max tossed him a small device. "Put this on your chest."

Kai examined the disc-shaped object. "What is it?"

"EMP shield. The only thing keeping those tin cans from tracking your biorhythms." Max was already moving toward the door. "And you're going to need a lot more than that pistol where we're going."

Kai placed the device against his sternum, feeling it adhere to his skin. As he gathered his weapon and followed his father into the hall, pain and grief crystallized into something much colder.

They would pay. All of them. LUMON, the androids, whoever had given the order. He would burn it all to the ground for what they'd done to Mia.

But first, he needed answers.

"Dad," he called as they reached the stairwell. "Tell me about the Jovan book. What's in that book that's worth killing for?"

Max Parker paused, his weathered face half-turned back toward his son. For a moment, the hard lines softened, and Kai glimpsed something like the father he remembered from childhood. Before Cairo, before everything changed.

"It's not what's in the book, son," Max replied, his voice uncharacteristically gentle. "It's who wrote it."

Before Kai could process this, Max was moving again, descending the stairs with the fluid grace of a lifetime soldier. Kai followed, battling against the jolts of pain that erupted every time he took a step.

Behind them, sirens wailed in the distance.