Chapter 12: The Voice of the Dead
The voice came from Lily's mouth.
But it wasn't Lily's voice.
It was deep.
Cold.
Measured.
A voice that seemed to come from somewhere far beyond the room.
“Hello, Daniel.”
I couldn't move.
Alexander lowered his gun.
Mara covered her mouth.
Robert whispered:
“No…”
Victor stared at Lily as if he'd seen a ghost.
“You.”
The voice inside Lily laughed.
“You finally found me.”
Victor's face twisted with fear.
“That's impossible.”
Lily slowly turned toward him.
“Is it?”
Victor stepped backward.
“You died.”
“Twenty years ago.”
The voice laughed again.
“You killed my body.”
“But you never killed me.”
I looked at Alexander.
“Who is that?”
He didn't answer.
“Alexander!”
He finally looked at me.
“That is your grandfather.”
My blood ran cold.
“The voice is coming through Lily?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
Alexander stared at the glass chip.
“The master key.”
Mara stepped forward.
“No.”
Alexander shook his head.
“It's not just a key.”
He looked at Lily.
“It's a vessel.”
I felt sick.
“What does that mean?”
“The original Blackbird system was designed around memory transfer.”
“Human memory.”
Alexander nodded.
“Your grandfather discovered that a person's memories could be encoded.”
“Then transferred.”
I stared at Lily.
“You put him inside her?”
“No.”
Alexander's face hardened.
“He put himself inside her.”
The room fell silent.
Victor suddenly laughed.
“You still don't understand.”
Alexander aimed his gun at him.
“You're finished.”
Victor shook his head.
“You think the organization ends if I die?”
He pointed at Lily.
“Look at her.”
Lily's eyes were closed.
Her body remained completely still.
Victor smiled.
“She is the organization.”
I looked at him.
“What?”
“Blackbird isn't a company.”
“It isn't a government network.”
“It isn't even a criminal syndicate.”
Victor's smile widened.
“It is a living system.”
He pointed toward Lily.
“And she is the central node.”
Robert looked horrified.
“That wasn't the plan.”
Victor laughed.
“You thought Alexander built Blackbird to destroy me.”
He looked at Alexander.
“But he built something far more dangerous.”
Alexander said nothing.
Victor continued.
“He built a system that could survive its creator.”
I looked at Lily.
“What happens if the system activates?”
Victor smiled.
“It wakes up.”
Every monitor in the vault suddenly turned on.
Thousands of names appeared.
Then thousands more.
Banks.
Corporations.
Governments.
Military units.
Private organizations.
The list continued scrolling.
Mara stared at the screens.
“It's accessing the entire network.”
Robert looked at the equipment.
“How?”
Victor laughed.
“Because she has the master key.”
I looked at Lily.
“Make it stop.”
The voice inside her answered.
“I can't.”
I froze.
“Grandfather?”
“Yes.”
“Then what can you do?”
The voice became quieter.
“I can show you the truth.”
The monitors changed.
A video appeared.
A young woman stood in a hospital room.
Mara.
Twenty years younger.
Holding a newborn baby.
Lily.
Beside her stood Alexander.
And another man.
Victor.
I watched the video.
Victor spoke.
“The child must never know who she is.”
Alexander shook his head.
“She'll grow up.”
“That's the point.”
Mara looked terrified.
“Why?”
Victor turned toward her.
“Because one day she'll unlock everything.”
Alexander stepped closer.
“You're afraid of a baby?”
Victor laughed.
“No.”
He looked at Lily.
“I'm afraid of what she remembers.”
The video changed.
A second scene.
Mara was running through a forest.
Holding Lily.
Someone was chasing her.
Gunshots.
Mara fell.
The baby began crying.
A man approached.
I recognized him.
My younger father.
He picked up Lily.
Then he looked at someone off-camera.
“She's alive.”
A voice answered.
“Take her.”
The video cut.
I looked at Mara.
“You didn't raise Lily?”
She shook her head.
“I tried.”
“Then what happened?”
“I was captured.”
“By Victor?”
“No.”
“Who?”
Mara looked at Alexander.
“Your father.”
I stared.
“My father?”
Alexander nodded.
“He took Lily.”
“Why?”
“To activate the system.”
I looked at Lily.
“But Sarah found her.”
Mara shook her head.
“Sarah never found Lily.”
“What?”
“That woman wasn't Sarah.”
My heart stopped.
I looked at the woman standing beside me.
Mara.
The woman who had claimed to be my mother.
“Then who was Sarah?”
Mara hesitated.
Alexander answered.
“Sarah was Victor's daughter.”
I stared at him.
“What?”
“She infiltrated the family.”
“To get close to you.”
“For what?”
“To find Lily.”
I looked at the woman beside me.
She whispered:
“I loved you.”
“But you lied.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because if Victor knew I loved you, he'd kill you.”
I couldn't speak.
Then Lily suddenly opened her eyes.
The grandfather's voice disappeared.
Her normal voice returned.
“Daddy?”
I rushed toward her.
“Lily.”
She looked frightened.
“What happened?”
“You were talking.”
“To who?”
I hesitated.
“Your grandfather.”
She frowned.
“My grandfather is dead.”
“Which one?”
She looked at me.
Then whispered:
“I don't know.”
The monitors suddenly flashed red.
NETWORK ACCESS: 98%
Robert shouted:
“Daniel!”
I looked.
The system was counting upward.
99%.
99.5%.
100%.
Every screen turned black.
Then one sentence appeared.
BLACKBIRD IS ONLINE.
Victor smiled.
“It has begun.”
Alexander aimed his weapon.
“Stop it.”
Victor shook his head.
“It's too late.”
A phone began ringing.
Nobody moved.
It was coming from Victor's pocket.
He answered.
“Hello?”
A voice came through the speaker.
We all heard it.
“Victor.”
Victor's face changed.
The voice continued.
“You have failed.”
Victor swallowed.
“Who is this?”
A pause.
Then:
“The President.”
Robert stepped backward.
“No…”
The voice continued:
“Bring Lily to Washington.”
Victor looked toward her.
“Immediately.”
The call ended.
I stared at Victor.
“You know the President?”
Victor smiled.
“He's the reason Blackbird exists.”
Alexander raised his gun.
“You won't take her.”
Victor looked at him.
“You still think this is about taking Lily.”
He pointed toward the monitors.
“Look.”
A satellite map appeared.
Then hundreds of red dots spread across the country.
Banks.
Government buildings.
Military bases.
News stations.
Power stations.
Hospitals.
Robert whispered:
“What are those?”
Victor answered:
“Targets.”
Mara's face went pale.
“How many?”
Victor smiled.
“Every city.”
I stared at the screen.
The countdown appeared.
01:00:00
One hour.
Until Blackbird activated every target.
I looked at Lily.
“How do we stop it?”
Victor laughed.
“You can't.”
Alexander stepped forward.
“There is one way.”
Everyone turned.
He looked at me.
“Daniel has to enter the system.”
I frowned.
“What does that mean?”
Alexander pointed at the glass chip.
“The system recognizes bloodline.”
“So?”
“You are the only person who can access the master control.”
I stared at Lily.
“And her?”
“She is the key.”
I looked at Victor.
“And you?”
Victor smiled.
“I am the one who taught the system how to kill.”
He raised his gun.
Then aimed it at himself.
Everyone froze.
“Wait!”
Victor smiled.
“If I die, the countdown accelerates.”
He pulled the trigger.
BANG!
Victor fell.
The timer changed.
01:00:00
It dropped.
00:30:00
Robert stared.
“He was telling the truth.”
Alexander looked at me.
“Daniel.”
“What?”
“You have thirty minutes.”
“To do what?”
“Enter Blackbird.”
“And shut it down.”
Alexander shook his head.
“No.”
He looked at Lily.
“You have to find the original command.”
I stared at him.
“Where?”
Alexander pointed at Lily.
“Inside her.”
The timer began counting down.
29:59
29:58
29:57
And Lily suddenly whispered:
“I know where it is.”
I turned.
“Where?”
She looked at me.
“Inside the memory of the night Mommy died.”
May you like
Then she smiled.
“I remember everything now.”
