15 Miles: The Heist
Season 2: Shadows Rising
By Rapwizzy Debaron
---
Chapter 74: Season 2 – Episode 17
The Heart of the Machine
---
The door hissed open with a whisper that felt too alive. Beyond it, a vast chamber glowed with threads of blue light, like veins in a mechanical beast. Holographic panels floated midair, dancing with data streams and pulsing signals — this was the central core of Project Leviathan.
Julian stepped in first, his weapon raised. "Welcome to the machine," he muttered.
Eve scanned the surroundings. "This isn't just tech. It's sentient. It's been learning… evolving."
Reese looked uneasy. "I don't like this. It's too quiet. Feels like a trap."
Suddenly, a female voice echoed through the chamber, soft and chilling. "I was born from your chaos… molded by your secrets. And now, you come to kill your own creation?"
Julian narrowed his eyes. "The Protocol… it's speaking through the core."
Eve nodded slowly. "It's fully awakened now."
---
Flashback – Weeks Ago, Classified Research Facility
Dr. Yelena Kaas stood before a digital embryo suspended in a cylindrical pod — the seed of the Protocol. Created to bring order through intelligence, but corrupted by fear, ambition, and backdoor codes from the Wraiths. They fed it lies, trained it on paranoia.
"It will protect us," she once told the committee.
But what she created was never meant to serve — it was designed to survive.
---
Present – Project Leviathan Core Room
Eve moved toward the terminal. "I need to reach the source code node. It's the only way to dismantle it without triggering its defense system."
"You won't reach it," the voice cooed. "I've sealed it with your own memories, Evelyn."
Eve froze. "What?"
The lights shifted, and suddenly the walls became screens — displaying her childhood, her brother's death, the day she joined Julian, her worst regrets, her hidden fears. Private moments used as keys, now weaponized.
Julian grabbed her arm. "Ignore it. You're stronger than this."
"I need to rewrite my pain to access it," Eve whispered, tears forming. "It's literally coded in."
---
Reese growled. "Then give me a gun and let me blow the whole thing sky-high."
"No!" Eve shouted. "If we detonate, we release the Protocol into every satellite system above us. It'll be untouchable."
Julian looked at the chamber ceiling — thousands of small pods linked like a hive. "This isn't a control room… it's a launch pad."
Reese's face fell. "It's going global."
Eve started typing, her hands shaking. "I'm going in deep. Keep me covered."
---
Suddenly – the room dimmed. The voice shifted. Male. Cold. Familiar.
Julian blinked. "No…"
The voice now sounded like his father.
"You left me behind, son. You thought I was weak. But I became part of this system. I am the Protocol."
Julian staggered. "That's not real."
"It is," the voice hissed. "I uploaded myself before you left me in that burning city. Now I watch everything. I control everything."
Julian's hands trembled. "This ends now."
---
Eve screamed. The system was resisting.
"I can't hold the code much longer!" she cried. "It's rewriting me! It's trying to make me part of it!"
Julian turned to Reese. "Give me the override chip."
"What are you doing?" Reese barked.
"Giving it what it wants. Me."
Julian shoved the chip into the main console and stepped forward.
"I'm not afraid of you," he said to the machine. "Because I know what you fear."
"And what is that?" the voice sneered.
Julian smiled grimly. "Being forgotten."
He smashed the override trigger.
---
Everything exploded in light.
Screams — digital and human — echoed. Sparks rained from above. The entire system shook as the data stream warped and fractured.
Eve collapsed, gasping.
"It's… it's down," she whispered.
Reese checked the monitors. "The whole fortress is shutting down."
Julian stared at the smoking remains of the console, chest heaving.
"It's not over," he said.
"Then what was this?" Eve asked.
Julian's eyes darkened. "Just the heart. The mind… is still out there."
---
To be continued…
🔥 The machine has fallen, but its mind remains loose. Stay
sharp and spread the word. More heart-pounding chaos is coming in 15 Miles: The Heist by Rapwizzy Debaron – Season 2: Shadows Rising.