Alarms shrieked as Kyle tore down the corridor. Red lights flashed. Guards spilled in, rifles raised. Bullets chewed the walls as he dove into a stairwell, his head buzzing with leftover Mindjevity patterns. A map of the building flickered in his mind. Up. Roof access.

  He ran up the stairs, taking them two at a time then burst through the rooftop door.

  Cold night air slammed into him. Spotlights snapped on, pinning him.

  “Kyle!” Malcolm’s voice thundered from loudspeakers. “You’ve proven it works. You’re part of Mindjevity now. Don’t throw away your life.”

  Kyle’s fists clenched.

  “I’d rather die than be your experiment.”

  He sprinted across the roof. Searchlights followed. At the edge, a yawning gap waited—thirty feet down to the street.

  Behind him, boots thundered. Gunfire cracked.

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  Kyle didn’t slow. He launched himself into the night.

  Time stretched. Wind roared in his ears. His hands slammed against the far ledge. Pain ripped through his arms as he hauled himself over. Bullets sparked where he’d stood seconds before.

  He turned just once. Malcolm stood in the spotlight, blood on his face, smiling like a viper.

  “You can’t run forever!” Malcolm shouted.

  Kyle dropped into the fire escape and jumped into the darkness below. He hit the alley hard, rolling to his knees. His chest heaved, sweat stung his eyes, and the echoes of Mindjevity still pulsed in his skull.

  For a heartbeat, the data-patterns kept flickering. Faces. Names. A girl’s profile flashed bright, almost burning into his mind—Aiko Takahashi.

  Coordinates followed, shifting like constellations. It wasn’t perfect, but it was enough: a thread leading to her.

  Kyle pressed a hand to the wall, shaking. “She’s the key,” he whispered. “And Malcolm won’t stop until he has her.”

  The thought of Aiko trapped in Malcolm’s hands made his chest tighten. He clenched his fists.

  “She won’t fight him alone,” he said, voice low but certain. “I’ll find her. I’ll help her stop him. Whatever it takes.”

  Kyle staggered into the darkness, the city swallowing him whole. But now he carried something more than survival. He carried a weapon Malcolm hadn’t planned on… knowledge.

  And he would use it to bring Malcolm down.