CHAPTER FOUR
North Bay didn't feel like a town.
It felt like a waiting room.
The roads were clean. The buildings were spaced too evenly. People moved with purpose but without urgency, like they'd been given schedules they didn't remember agreeing to.
I parked near the edge of town and shut off the engine.
Lisa looked out the window. "This is where my mom said to go."
"I know," I replied.
That was the problem.
I hadn't been guided here.
I hadn't been corrected.
I had arrived.
We walked instead of driving further. Every step felt like crossing into a decision already made.
No pressure in my head. No warnings.
Freedom, the system whispered—not in words, but suggestion.
Lisa slowed beside me. "You feel it too, don't you?"
"Yes."
"Like someone's holding the door open."
I nodded.
We reached a small square—shops, benches, a fountain that wasn't running. No cameras. No guards.
That was the trap.
"Scott," a voice said.
I turned.
A woman stood near the fountain. Short blonde hair. Hands in her coat pockets. Calm in a way that didn't need to prove itself.
She didn't scan the area.
She didn't reach for a weapon.
She didn't raise her voice.
Morgan.
I knew her instantly, though I'd never seen her face.
"You took your time," she said.
Lisa stepped closer to me. "Who is she?"
"Someone who knows my real name," I replied.
Morgan smiled faintly. "You still use Scott?"
"It's efficient."
"It's inaccurate."
I felt the system lean forward—not command, not warning.
Interest.
"You're not here to kill me," I said.
"No," Morgan replied. "If we wanted you dead, you'd have finished the job in Queens."
Lisa stiffened. "You knew about that."
"Of course we did," Morgan said. "We just wanted to see what you'd do."
Anger sparked, sharp and dangerous. "People died."
Morgan didn't flinch. "Yes. That's what you were trained for."
Lisa's voice trembled. "Then why let him leave?"
Morgan finally looked at her.
"Because weapons don't ask questions," she said. "He did."
I moved without thinking—positioning myself slightly in front of Lisa.
Morgan noticed.
"Still protecting," she said. "Even now."
"What do you want?" I asked.
"To talk," she replied. "Somewhere quieter."
"I'm not coming."
She nodded. "I know."
She gestured behind us.
I turned.
The square was empty.
No people. No cars. No movement.
Just absence.
"You didn't surround us," I said.
"No," Morgan replied. "We removed everything else."
Lisa grabbed my sleeve. "Scott…"
I felt it then—not pressure.
Weight.
Every exit closed without force.
"You can walk away," Morgan said calmly. "We won't stop you."
I searched her face. No lie. No trick.
The system whispered softly.
Test it.
I took a step back.
Nothing happened.
Another step.
Still nothing.
Lisa's grip tightened.
I stopped.
Morgan met my eyes. "You already know the truth."
I exhaled slowly. "If I leave, you take her."
"Yes."
Lisa inhaled sharply.
"And if I stay?" I asked.
"She stays because she chooses to."
Silence stretched.
Lisa stepped forward before I could stop her.
"I'm staying," she said.
"No," I snapped. "You don't understand—"
She turned on me. "I understand enough. Running isn't saving anyone. You said that yourself."
I hadn't meant for her to remember that.
Morgan watched, unreadable.
Lisa looked back at her. "You're not like them."
Morgan nodded once. "No. I left."
"Why?" Lisa asked.
Morgan's jaw tightened—for the first time.
"Because I helped build men like him," she said. "And one day, I realized they were still children when we broke them."
The boy appeared at the edge of the square.
Only I saw him.
He shook his head slowly.
This isn't how it ends.
I ignored him.
"I'll come," I said. "But if you touch her—"
Morgan cut me off. "Then you'll kill me. I know."
She turned and began walking.
No restraints. No guards.
Just confidence.
Lisa glanced at me. "You're shaking."
"So are you."
She smiled faintly. "Guess we're both human then."
We followed.
As we crossed the square, the town came back to life. Cars passed. People talked. The fountain began to run.
Like nothing had happened.
Inside my head, the system spoke one last time that day.
This path was always available.
That was when I understood.
This wasn't capture.
It was escalation.
And for the first time since Queens—
I wasn't sure I was choosing it