Chapter 13 - The Final Override
Arthur slammed his body directly into the front of the medical platform, knocking Higgins off balance and sending the chief stumbling backward across the concrete floor. The enforcers hesitated for a split second, unsure whether to open fire with their primary target colliding with the high-voltage machinery.
"Cut the power!" Arthur screamed, reaching up with his bare hands to grab the glowing cables of the neural halo.
The electric current surged through his fingers, sending a violent shock up his arms and making his entire body convulse, but he refused to let go. He ripped the primary fiber-optic connector free from its housing with a furious wrench, sending a shower of bright white sparks cascading across the floor.
The blinding light of the halo flickered, turned a sickly shade of yellow, and then went completely dark.
Leo slumped forward in the medical chair, the straps automatically releasing as the system suffered a catastrophic power failure. The toddler drew a deep, ragged, entirely natural breath, his small chest heaving as tears finally spilled over his eyelashes.
"Grandpa!" Leo sobbed, struggling out of the chair and stumbling forward across the platform on shaky legs, his tiny white shoes with rainbow stripes sliding on the metal surface.
Arthur caught him in his arms, pulling the boy tightly against his chest as tears streamed down his own wrinkled cheeks. "I've got you, Leo. I've got you. Grandpa's here."
Chief Higgins scrambled to his feet, his face purple with rage. "Shoot them! Shoot them both right now!" he screamed at the enforcers.
Before the enforcers could raise their weapons, the entire warehouse suddenly plunged into absolute, pitch-black darkness. The isolated micro-grid hadn't just failed—it had suffered a total system collapse as the analog backup files Arthur and Maya had uploaded earlier finally rippled through every connected server in the region.
Maya moved instantly in the dark, slamming her elbow into the control panel of the loading bay door. The heavy steel door groaned upward, flooding the warehouse with the bright, warm light of the rising morning sun.
"Move, move, move!" Maya shouted, grabbing Miller by his good arm and hauling him toward the exit.
Arthur cradled Leo tightly in one arm, using his free hand to grab the small brown teddy bear from where it had fallen on the platform. He ran toward the open loading bay door, stepping out of the dark, oppressive industrial warehouse and into the brilliant light of a new day.
May you like
Behind them, the entire facility began to power down with a series of dull, dying hums, leaving Chief Higgins and his enforcers stranded in the shadows.
---
