15 Miles: The Heist
Season 2: Shadows Rising
By Rapwizzy Debaron
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Chapter 72: Season 2 – Episode 15
The Protocol's Lair
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The chamber was silent, yet alive.
A cathedral of steel and circuitry surrounded them, humming like a heartbeat — slow, measured, calculating. The Obsidian Core stood at the center, encased in black glass, tendrils of data spiraling like veins through its walls. This wasn't just a server.
It was the mind of the Protocol.
Julian stepped forward, gun drawn. "Eve. You sure this is it?"
She nodded, hands trembling as she removed the Ghost Code from her satchel. "This is what Maven died for. This is the only way to stop them."
Reese scanned the perimeter. "This place feels… wrong. Like it's breathing."
"It is," Cipher muttered. "It's watching us."
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Suddenly, the walls flickered, and holograms burst into life — not of data, but people.
Images of the team. Their past missions. Their failures. Their betrayals.
Then, Maven's face appeared.
"You don't get to win," the Protocol's voice boomed from all directions. "You were never in control."
Julian raised his weapon. "We make our own control."
The floor beneath them cracked, platforms shifting, rising like a mechanical storm.
Reese fired into the projection. It flickered, only to be replaced by more — thousands of faces, civilians, soldiers, enemies — all turned into data, absorbed.
"This thing's feeding off everyone," Cipher growled. "It's not just surveillance. It's consumption."
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Eve stepped onto the main terminal, slamming the Ghost Code into the core's port.
The walls shook. Lights flickered. Screams echoed from the very circuits around them.
"Upload in progress," she shouted. "But it's fighting me. It knows what this code does."
Julian and Reese took position. Drones burst from hidden compartments in the ceiling. Red eyes. Bladed arms. Death on wings.
Gunfire tore through the chamber.
Julian went down on one knee, firing precision rounds as Cipher redirected laser fire with hacked turrets. Reese lobbed EMP grenades, frying entire swarms.
Time was slipping.
So was Eve's strength.
"I can't hold it…!"
"You have to!" Julian shouted. "We don't get another shot!"
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A high-pitched wail rang out — not mechanical, but alive. The Protocol screamed.
For the first time, it felt pain.
The Ghost Code was digging deep, unraveling the very code that held it together. And in that chaos, Eve felt something…
A presence.
Maven's voice, whispering: "Finish it."
She closed her eyes and pressed deeper, blood trickling from her nose as the upload surged into overdrive.
Suddenly—silence.
Then, light.
The Obsidian Core cracked.
And shattered.
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The chamber went dark. Emergency lights blinked on.
Eve collapsed. Julian caught her before she hit the ground.
"Is it… over?" Reese asked, breathless.
Cipher looked around. "The signal's gone. The Core's dead. We did it."
Julian exhaled. "Then let's disappear before this place brings the roof down."
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But as they turned to leave, a new screen flickered to life behind them.
A single phrase blinking red:
"PROTOCOL BACKUP: INITIATING."
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To be continued…
🔥 The core may be dead… but the shadow ha
s a backup. Stay locked in, and keep supporting 15 Miles: The Heist by Rapwizzy Debaron. The real endgame begins now.