Chapter 44 Wren
Wren
The helicopter shakes slightly as Logan banks south.
Los Angeles spreads beneath us like a galaxy.
Freeways glowing.
Skyscrapers cutting into the night.
Millions of lives moving through their ordinary routines.
None of them know they’re sitting on top of a system that’s about to fail.
My laptop lights the dark cabin.
Lines of code pour down the screen.
Network traffic.
Command signals.
Routing pathways.
Then—
A signal spikes.
My stomach drops.
“No.”
Boone looks over immediately.
“What?”
My fingers move across the keyboard faster.
“I’m seeing infrastructure disturbances.”
River leans forward from the seat across from us.
“What kind of disturbances?”
“Traffic systems.”
I pull up another map.
Then another.
“Hospital routing servers just glitched.”
Gage frowns.
“Glitched how?”
“Like someone flicked a switch on and off.”
Logan’s voice comes over the headset.
“Is that bad?”
I exhale slowly.
“It’s a test.”
Boone’s expression hardens.
“The second Architect.”
“Yes.”
Another alert flashes across the screen.
Power distribution nodes are shifting.
Water pressure control systems flicker.
Tiny disturbances.
But I know what they mean.
“She’s probing the city.”
“Why do you say she?”
“I feel that she’s a she.”
River swears quietly.
“How long until Phase Three?”
The timer flashes again.
0:38:51
“Thirty-eight minutes,” I say.
Silence fills the helicopter.
Thirty-eight minutes before the cascade system activates.
Thirty-eight minutes before the infrastructure grid begins collapsing piece by piece.
Hospitals.
Traffic.
Emergency response.
Everything.
Boone leans slightly closer to look at my screen.
“Can you stop it from here?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because she’s inside the control hub.”
I zoom the map again.
A red marker flashes downtown.
“Municipal infrastructure tower.”
River nods immediately.
“I know the building.”
Gage glances out the window.
“We’re about five minutes out.”
Another signal appears.
This one different.
Stronger.
The second Architect is moving deeper into the system.
“She’s escalating.”
Boone looks at me again.
“How bad?”
I hesitate.
Because the answer isn’t good.
“She just accessed emergency dispatch routing.”
River goes very still.
“Meaning?”
“If she flips that switch…”
I swallow.
“Emergency calls won’t reach anyone.”
Gage mutters under his breath.
“That’s not escalation.”
“That’s war.”
The helicopter tilts again as Logan drops altitude.
Downtown LA grows closer.
Glass towers.
Helipads.
Lights everywhere.
My screen flashes again.
A new command prompt appears.
PHASE THREE READY
Cold dread spreads through my chest.
“She’s preparing activation.”
Boone’s voice turns quiet beside me.
“How long?”
I stare at the timer.
0:35:02
“Thirty-five minutes.”
River checks his weapon.
“Then we move fast.”
Logan’s voice comes through again.
“Approaching target building.”
The helicopter dips lower.
I can see the tower now.
Dark glass.
Thirty stories tall.
A helipad on the roof.
And lights glowing from the upper floor.
Boone follows my gaze.
“That her?”
“Yes.”
River nods once.
“Then that’s where we land.”
My hands tremble slightly over the keyboard.
Boone notices immediately.
“Hey.”
I glance up.
His eyes are steady.
Calm.
Grounded.
“I missed the second signal once,” I say quietly.
“You won’t miss it again,” he replies.
“You don’t know that.”
“I do.”
“Why?”
“Because I’ve watched you work.”
Something in my chest tightens.
The helicopter begins descending.
Rotor blades pounding the air.
The rooftop grows larger.
Wind whipping across the landing pad.
River stands.
“Alright everyone.”
Weapons click into place.
“This ends tonight.”
Gage checks the door.
Logan steadies the aircraft.
“Touchdown in ten seconds.”
Boone reaches for my hand again.
Just briefly.
“You stay behind us,” he says.
I shake my head immediately.
“No.”
“Wren—”
“I’m the only one who can stop the system.”
His jaw tightens.
“I know.”
“Then we do this together.”
The helicopter touches down hard on the rooftop.
The doors slide open.
Cold night air blasts into the cabin.
River moves first.
Weapon raised.
Gage right behind him.
Boone steps out next.
Then turns and offers me his hand.
I take it.
The city spreads around us.
The wind howls across the rooftop.
Somewhere below—
The second Architect is waiting.
And the timer continues counting down.
0:34:11
Less than thirty-five minutes before Los Angeles begins to collapse.
Boone glances toward the rooftop access door.
Then back at me.
“Ready?”
I take a breath.
“No.”
Then I close my laptop and step forward anyway.
“Let’s go stop an Architect.”