Chapter Two: Ninety Seconds

He sprinted along the rails and reached a junction in seventy seconds, then crawled beneath a parked maintenance carriage. [Time remaining: twelve seconds.] The borrowed power vanished. Lin's stomach twisted and his right leg went numb. He covered his mouth to keep from vomiting aloud. The pursuers ran past only meters away. “Target displays mapping response,” one said into an earpiece. “Confirmed host.” A voice leaked from the receiver. “Do not damage the head. Mr. Voss wants a complete recovery.” After their footsteps disappeared, Lin lay beneath the carriage for twenty minutes. The system's physical report was as cold as an invoice: three percent soft-tissue damage to right knee, dangerous lactate levels, no further template load recommended