Chapter 6 - THE PROTOCOL OF THE GHOSTS
The silence in the branch office was absolute, save for the rhythmic, pulsing hum of the emergency lockdown generators.
Mr. Harrison remained frozen in a half-bow, his knees visibly shaking beneath his tailored trousers. He looked less like a respected community bank manager and more like a condemned prisoner awaiting the drop of an executioner's axe.
I stepped smoothly between Harrison and the boy, my badge still held out in my left hand, though it suddenly felt entirely weightless against the magnitude of what was happening.
"Detective Miller, Westbridge PD," I said, keeping my voice low and authoritative. "Mr. Harrison, step away from the child. And you," I glanced down at the ten-year-old, "you are coming with me. Both of you are going to explain what a banned military-grade security override is doing in the hands of a kid."
The boy didn't blink. He didn't look at me with fear, nor did he look at Harrison for rescue. He merely slipped the matte-black device back into the deep pocket of his faded denim jacket with practiced mechanical precision.
"You lack the jurisdictional authority, Detective," the boy said, his voice carrying an icy, formal cadence that belonged in a Pentagon war room, not a suburban bank lobby. "Westbridge Protocol 9 is active. This branch has automatically transitioned to federal asset status the moment the structural override was engaged. Until external containment arrives, you are civilian personnel within a secure zone."
"Don't talk to me about civilian personnel," I snapped, reaching out to take him by the shoulder.
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Before my fingers could make contact, the boy took a single, calculated step backward, out of my reach. At the exact same microsecond, Mr. Harrison lunged forward, not to attack, but to intercept my arm.
"No, Detective! Please—you don't understand!" Harrison cried out, his voice pitched high with terror. "If you touch him, if you interfere with a designated Auditor, this entire block won't just be locked down... it will be wiped clean."
