Chapter 19 - THE PROTOCOL OF RELEASE
Before Unit Seven could answer, the primary security console behind us flashed a brilliant, blinding crimson.
A sharp, synthesized klaxon blared through the facility.
“Warning: External override detected. Federal oversight directive 104-B initiated. Facility lockdown and asset reset in three minutes.”
I spun around. "What is that? Is Sterling purging the facility?"
"Agent Sterling has determined this node has been compromised by my interaction with you," Unit Seven said, his voice finally showing a crack of human urgency. "The core servers are initiating a memory wipe and structural purge. We have ninety seconds before the bulkheads seal permanently."
"Then we get out of here," I grabbed his small shoulder, pulling him gently out of the chair. "Come with me, Seven. You're done being an asset."
The boy looked down at his small hands, then up at the screens flashing red around him. For a ten-year-old mind carrying the weight of a corporate empire, the decision wasn't logical—it was human.
"My designation is locked to the network," he whispered.
"Your name isn't Seven," I said firmly, pulling him toward the emergency escape chute at the rear of the chamber. "What did your mother call you before all of this?"
A faint, long-forgotten memory flickered across his pale eyes.
May you like
"Leo," he whispered.
"Let's go, Leo."
