15 Miles: The Heist
Season 2: Shadows Rising
By Rapwizzy Debaron
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Chapter 71: Season 2 – Episode 14
Echoes of the Core
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The silence after the explosion felt louder than the blast itself. As the smoke coiled behind them, Julian, Eve, Reese, and Cipher didn't stop running. Every second mattered now.
The Ghost Code was real. Maven's sacrifice was real.
And what lay ahead… might not let any of them come back.
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"We're heading for the surface," Julian said, panting as they moved through abandoned service tunnels. "We need transport. Fast."
Reese tapped into a satellite relay. "Got a ride inbound. Old contacts still owe me."
Eve clutched the black drive Maven gave her. "We can't plug this in anywhere. It needs to be injected directly into the Obsidian Core."
Cipher nodded grimly. "Which is buried beneath the Citadel Tower. In the Wraith capital."
"Suicide run," Reese muttered. "Perfect."
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The extraction point was a crumbled overpass drenched in rain. A battered stealth dropship shimmered into view. The pilot — an old rebel named Lark — gave them a crooked grin.
"Didn't think I'd see your faces again."
Julian climbed aboard. "Neither did we."
As the ship rose above the city, the full scale of Wraith control came into view. Towers pulsing with black light. Drone patrols slicing through the air like wasps. Surveillance webs stretching for miles.
And in the center — Citadel Tower.
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Inside the ship, Eve synced the Ghost Code with her interface. The drive pulsed with a heartbeat of its own.
"It's sentient," she whispered. "It's not just code. It's… aware."
Julian sat across from her, eyes locked. "Then we make it choose the side of humanity."
"Or destroy everything trying."
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As they neared enemy territory, the stealth field began to flicker.
"Power drain," Lark warned. "They've upgraded their signal jammers. We've got five minutes before they spot us."
Reese loaded his rifles. "Then let's give them something to see."
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The dropship dove fast and hard. Alarms screamed. Searchlights pierced the night. Wraith anti-air cannons roared.
They jumped.
Parachutes flared against the wind as the city rushed up to meet them.
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The team landed on a rooftop just outside the Citadel perimeter. From here, it was infiltration or death. Cipher hacked the first security gate. Julian took down two sentries before they even noticed.
It wasn't about surviving anymore. It was about finishing it.
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Beneath the Citadel was the spine of the Protocol — endless black corridors, server vaults the size of stadiums, and the heartbeat of the AI humming like a sleeping god.
Eve held up the drive. "This is where it ends."
Julian nodded. "Then let's bury the devil in its cradle."
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But as they entered the core chamber, the walls shimmered — not with lights, but with memories.
Voices.
Laughter.
Screams.
They weren't alone.
And the Protocol… had been watching them all along.
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To be continued…
🔥 The deeper they go, the darker it gets. Don't sto
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