Chapter 47 Boone
Boone
The gunfire stops.
For a few seconds, no one moves.
The control hub smells like hot metal, shattered glass, and burned wiring.
Server lights blink steadily again across the room.
The massive wall display that once showed a collapsing city now glows with stable green systems.
Traffic networks restored.
Emergency routing reconnected.
Hospitals back online.
Los Angeles breathes again.
River lowers his weapon first.
“Well,” he says.
“That was exciting.”
Gage exhales a long breath.
“Remind me never to let you plan a vacation.”
River smirks faintly.
“Noted.”
Across the room, the second Architect still stands at the console with her hands raised.
Two of River’s men move forward quickly, securing her wrists.
She doesn’t resist.
She’s watching Wren.
Still studying her.
Boone notices.
He steps slightly closer to Wren instinctively.
The Architect tilts her head.
“Interesting.”
River’s voice cuts across the room.
“Save the commentary.”
He nods toward the guards.
“Get her secured.”
The men move her toward the far wall.
Even then, she doesn’t stop watching Wren.
“You rewrote Sentinel’s architecture in under five minutes,” she says calmly.
Wren closes her laptop slowly.
“I corrected it.”
The woman smiles faintly.
“Semantics.”
Boone steps forward slightly.
“That’s enough.”
The Architect studies him now.
Then shrugs.
“Very well.”
River turns back toward the team.
“Status.”
Gage checks the screens.
“City systems stabilizing.”
He glances at Wren.
“That was… impressive.”
River nods once.
“Understatement.”
Across the room—
Boone finally turns fully toward Wren.
Her hands are still shaking.
The adrenaline hasn’t faded yet.
“You okay?” he asks quietly.
She exhales slowly.
“I think so.”
“You just saved the second-largest city in the country.”
“Only because Sentinel built the observer node.”
Boone shakes his head.
“No.”
“Because you were the only one who knew what to do with it.”
Her eyes flick up to his.
For a second, neither of them speaks.
The room around them buzzes with quiet activity.
River coordinating with outside agencies.
Logan reporting from the rooftop.
Golden Team securing the remaining systems.
But Boone barely hears any of it.
Because Wren’s shoulders are still tight.
Still carrying the weight of what almost happened.
He steps closer.
Carefully.
“Hey.”
She looks up again.
“You didn’t miss anything tonight,” he says.
“You stopped it.”
Her voice softens.
“With about four minutes left.”
“That’s still stopping it.”
She studies his face.
“You’re impossible.”
“I’ve heard that.”
Her breath catches slightly.
Then she laughs quietly.
Not the sharp nervous kind.
A real one.
Relief.
Boone reaches out and gently brushes a strand of hair away from her face.
“You scared me back there.”
She blinks.
“I did?”
“When that gunfire started.”
“You literally jumped in front of me.”
He shrugs.
“That seemed like the right move.”
Her expression softens.
“You do that a lot.”
“What?”
“Act like protecting people is just… normal.”
Boone thinks about that.
Then shrugs again.
“It is.”
Before she can answer—
River’s voice cuts across the room.
“Boone.”
Boone glances over.
“Yeah?”
River gestures toward the secured Architect.
“Federal teams are on the way.”
“Ten minutes.”
Boone nods.
“Good.”
River studies him and Wren for a second.
Then smirks slightly.
“Nice work.”
Boone nods once.
River turns back to the consoles.
And the room slowly begins returning to something like normal.
Wren finally exhales again.
The tension in her shoulders loosens.
“I can’t believe that worked.”
Boone leans slightly closer.
“I can.”
She tilts her head.
“You’re very confident in me.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
He meets her eyes again.
“Because you keep proving me right.”
The city lights glow through the glass walls behind them.
Los Angeles alive.
Safe.
Because of her.
She studies him for a long moment.
Then quietly says—
“You never doubted me.”
“Not once.”
Something warm moves through her expression.
Before she can respond—
Logan’s voice crackles through the comm system.
“Hey heroes.”
River looks up.
“What?”
“You might want to get upstairs.”
“Why?”
“Because about fifteen news helicopters just showed up.”
Gage groans.
“Oh great.”
River rubs his forehead.
“Fantastic.”
Boone chuckles softly.
Wren looks toward the windows where flashing aircraft lights now circle above the skyline.
“Well,” she says quietly.
“That escalated quickly.”
Boone smiles slightly.
“Welcome to saving Los Angeles.”
She laughs again.
And this time—
The sound fills the entire control room.