Chapter 6 - Marcus stared at Daniel."I don't understand."
Daniel's breathing was shallow.
"You won't."
He stepped inside.
The door closed behind him.
Laura approached.
"Who did this to you?"
Daniel looked at her.
Then at Marcus.
"Marcus did."
Marcus's face hardened.
"Stop saying that."
"I'm not talking about you."
Daniel pointed toward the monitor.
"I'm talking about the other Marcus."
The screen flickered.
A face appeared.
Marcus.
Same face.
Same voice.
Same scar above the eyebrow.
But colder.
More confident.
The other Marcus sat inside a laboratory.
He looked directly into the camera.
Then smiled.
"You're asking the wrong questions again."
Marcus stepped closer.
"Who is he?"
Daniel whispered:
"Subject 08."
Marcus stared.
"That's me."
"No."
Daniel shook his head.
"You're Subject 09."
Marcus's blood ran cold.
Laura whispered:
"Nine?"
Daniel nodded.
"They've made nine versions of you."
Marcus backed away.
"No."
He touched his face.
"I'm me."
The screen showed files.
SUBJECT 08: MEMORY ARCHITECT.
SUBJECT 09: FIELD TEST.
Marcus stared.
"What does that mean?"
Daniel answered:
"Eight designed the system."
Marcus looked at him.
"Designed what?"
"The Black Ledger."
Silence.
The revelation landed like a hammer.
The money.
The shell companies.
The fake accounts.
The hidden identities.
Marcus wasn't investigating the system.
He had created part of it.
The room began spinning.
Laura grabbed him.
"Marcus."
"I don't remember."
"They erased it."
"But why?"
Daniel looked at the ceiling camera.
"Because Subject 08 tried to expose them."
Marcus turned.
"My own copy?"
Daniel nodded.
"He built a backdoor into the company system."
"That's why I found the ledger."
"Exactly."
Marcus stared at the screen.
"So 08 left clues for me."
"Yes."
"Then why?"
Daniel's expression changed.
"Because 08 knew he would eventually be killed."
A new message appeared.
TRANSFER MEMORY FILE AVAILABLE.
Marcus stepped toward the console.
Laura grabbed his arm.
"Don't."
"I need to know."
"You don't know what they'll put in your head."
Marcus looked at her.
"Apparently they already put things in my head."
He pressed the button.
The screen flashed white.
Pain exploded behind his eyes.
He fell.
Images flooded his mind.
Harris standing in a laboratory.
Laura crying.
Daniel holding a gun.
A man in a black suit.
A child.
A lake.
A red door.
A woman's voice.
Then one phrase repeated:
DON'T TRUST THE MAN WHO DIED.
Marcus screamed.
The machine shut down.
Laura knelt beside him.
"Marcus!"
He opened his eyes.
For several seconds, he couldn't speak.
Then he whispered:
"The lake."
Daniel stiffened.
"What lake?"
Marcus looked at him.
"I don't know."
A memory appeared.
Snow.
Ice.
A car parked beside frozen water.
Harris standing there.
Another man beside him.
Marcus recognized the man's face.
Richard Vaughn.
Vaughn was holding a pistol.
Harris was kneeling.
Then Marcus saw something else.
A fourth person.
A woman.
Her face was hidden beneath a hood.
She spoke.
"Finish it."
Vaughn raised the gun.
The image ended.
Marcus gasped.
"They killed Harris at a lake."
Daniel shook his head.
"No."
Marcus stared.
"How do you know?"
"Because the body was found here."
He pointed toward the floor.
"This building."
Laura's eyes widened.
Marcus suddenly understood.
"They moved the body."
Daniel nodded.
"Exactly."
A loud alarm began.
The monitor displayed:
EXTERNAL ACCESS DETECTED.
Someone was entering the building.
Daniel checked the camera feed.
His face went blank.
Marcus looked.
The lobby doors opened.
Police officers entered.
At least twenty.
Armed.
Behind them walked Richard Vaughn.
But Vaughn wasn't alone.
Another man followed.
Same face.
Same suit.
Same silver watch.
Harris.
Marcus stared.
Two Harris copies were now inside the building.
Then the lights went out.
Daniel whispered:
"We have minutes."
Marcus asked:
"Until what?"
Daniel looked at him.
"Until one of them finds you."
A gunshot echoed through the hallway.
Laura screamed.
The door handle began moving.
Slowly.
And then a voice came from the other side.
May you like
Marcus's own voice.
"Open the door."
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