Location: Undisclosed Tier Zero Vault - 700 Feet Below Denver
Somewhere, in the hollow space between a buried lie and a living weapon, something awoke.
She wasn't grown in a lab like the others.
She was programmed-fed on silence, grief, and rage.
> Echo-9 had just come online.
---
Back in Chicago - Hidden Safehouse
The team returned to find their network scrambled. Communications cut. Emergency codes pulsing across dark web layers.
Nova sat in front of the terminal, pale.
> "They've initiated Redline Protocol."
Aria's stomach dropped. "What does that mean?"
Zero stepped forward. "Redline means full-spectrum engagement. If Tier Zero can't contain the Echo series... they erase it."
Nova looked up, voice shaking. "Redline Protocol doesn't just target Echo. It unleashes her."
---
The One Evelyn Feared
Lio pulled a classified file from the backup drive they'd recovered at Sanctum. Only Evelyn had full clearance.
Inside was a profile:
> Subject: Echo-9 (Project: Remnant)
Neural graft failed. Empathic core bypassed. Combat viability: 137%. Estimated survival rate (target proximity): <4%.
Notes: "Terminated prototype. Destroy records. If found-run."
The last entry was Evelyn's voice:
> "Echo-9 wasn't made to replace me. She was built to end me."
---
A Voice in the Dark
At 3:14 a.m., Aria's comm buzzed. A scrambled message played-one no one else could hear.
A girl's voice. Low. Calm. Familiar.
> "Aria Lane. I've watched you. Walked your footprints. Listened to Evelyn whisper to you when you cried. You don't understand who you are."
> "You're the key. I'm the lock."
> "I'm coming."
Then static.
Aria stared at the screen until it melted into darkness.
"She's awake," she said. "Echo-9 knows who I am."
---
Preparing for War
Kade sharpened his blade beside her.
"We can run," he said. "Vanish. There are places even Tier Zero doesn't reach."
Aria shook her head. "She's not hunting us. She's hunting the world."
Zero looked up. "We need allies."
Nova stood. "Not just allies. Ghosts. We need to find the other broken ones Evelyn mentioned."
"The forgotten, the broken, the unfinished," Aria repeated.
Lio loaded a new set of coordinates. "Then let's start building an army."
---
Meanwhile - Tier Zero HQ
Rhea stood before a digital wall of surveillance feeds. Every continent. Every sensor.
And then: one red dot.
Moving like a storm through Europe. Untraceable. Unstoppable.
"She's here," Rhea said, eyes wide. "Echo-9 has breached containment."
General Marcus frowned. "Deploy all assets."
"She is the asset," Rhea replied.
---
Final Scene - Abandoned Cathedral, Prague
A girl in black stepped through the rain. Pale skin. Eyes glowing violet. Around her, bodies lay motionless-not dead, just dreaming.
She whispered:
> "Not yet. But soon."
A child nearby reached for her.
She smiled softly.
> "Sleep."
The child collapsed gently into the mud.
She looked to the sky.
> "Aria... I'm coming to wake you up."
YOU ARE READING
Code Name: Echo
Mystery / ThrillerAria Lane thought she was just a normal girl from a quiet town. That changed the day her mother died-and the wrong people started watching her. Forced to leave everything behind, Aria is taken in by a quiet, distant uncle. But after a strange accide...
