Chapter 17 - THE LOCKED CONTROL TOWER
Ward separated Mara from Jonah and the children.
He brought her to the old control tower overlooking the hidden runway.
Every monitor displayed a different airport.
London.
Paris.
Singapore.
New York.
Thousands of passengers moved through security checkpoints while Orpheus silently copied their information.
“You built a machine for identity theft,” Mara said.
Ward poured himself water.
“No. Your father built a machine for survival.”
He placed the childhood photograph on the desk.
After the ferry accident, Mara had been the only surviving witness to a political assassination. Her father erased her original identity to protect her.
Orpheus created Mara Quinn.
The real Mara had died on the ferry.
The girl who survived received her name.
“Who was I?” she asked.
Ward smiled. “The first question Orpheus was designed to make impossible.”
Below them, the underground aircraft moved toward the hidden runway.
Theo and May were being taken aboard.
Mara ran toward the tower door.
It locked before she reached it.
Ward touched the glass.
“Your brother refuses to complete the global release. The children’s song contains the missing sequence.”
“You’ll never make them use it.”
“I don’t need to.”
Ward displayed footage of the children humming inside the lift.
Orpheus had recorded every note.
The upload timer resumed.
04:21.
Mara grabbed a metal chair and struck the control panel beside the door. Sparks erupted, but the lock remained closed.
Then the tower radio activated.
Jonah’s voice whispered through it.
“Look at Runway Nine.”
A fuel vehicle was driving directly toward the underground jet.
Jonah was behind the wheel.
Ward reached for an emergency control.
Before he could press it, someone inside the tower placed a blade against his sleeve—not touching skin, but stopping his hand.
Cass stood behind him.
May you like
“Your plane isn’t leaving,” she said.
Then the tower windows went dark.
