Chapter Three: The Deleted Sister

Helix recovered first and opened fire. Su Lan used the van door as a shield, shooting out the tunnel lights. Glass fell like hard rain. Forty-one percent. The Clocktower commander emerged from a maintenance passage and removed his mask. Lin recognized Han Che, his former mentor. “Pull the cable!” Han shouted. “That is not a memory. It is a personality contamination source.” “Was the evidence you planted on me three years ago contaminated too?” Han’s expression faltered. That instant told Lin he knew the truth. Sixty-eight percent. The tunnel speakers screamed. Convergence overloaded the cooling array. Frost spread across the truck. The fiber sheath cracked, and Lin lost all feeling in his hand.