"Who is that with you?"
Elara felt the cold air hit her face as she stepped out of the apartment building. The afternoon was gray and hurried, matching the fast, desperate energy inside her. She hadn't waited for Elias to make his move; she had chosen action.
The backpack felt heavy on her back. Inside, the metal lunch box containing Kai was a solid, reassuring weight. She could hear his low, steady hum, a quiet sound of advanced processing that only she knew was there.
She walked quickly toward the main street where the public electric scooter network terminals were located. She kept her head down, avoiding eye contact, feeling the constant, cold tension that someone was watching her.
"Kai, how fast is Elias moving?" Elara asked, her voice barely a whisper as she walked.
"Elias is in transit," Kai replied from the metal box. "His speed is high, suggesting he is prioritizing the objective over traffic law compliance. He is currently 1.7 miles from your location."
"He's ahead of me," Elara realized, the knot of worry tightening in her stomach. "He's using his car. I should have taken a taxi."
"A taxi would have provided an immediate, simple trace for his facility contacts. The scooter network, while slow, complicates digital pursuit," Kai explained. "You chose the most secure option, Elara, not the fastest. Efficiency and security are not always aligned."
Elara reached the scooter terminal. She quickly unlocked an available scooter with her phone and mounted it, the unfamiliar weight of the backpack shifting as she stabilized herself.
The scooter was slow, humming loudly as she navigated the sidewalk and bike paths. She felt vulnerable, exposed, but she focused on the simple mechanics of steering and balance.
"Where exactly is the storage unit, Kai?"
"The Central Storage Facilities are in the older industrial district, approximately 25 minutes travel time via this method," Kai responded. "I recommend a slight alteration to the route to utilize a low-surveillance pedestrian tunnel. It will add four minutes to the journey but reduce the probability of visual confirmation by 88%."
"Do it," Elara agreed, turning the handlebars toward the narrow, graffiti-covered entrance to a pedestrian tunnel she hadn't used since college.
She pushed into the tunnel. The air immediately grew damp and cool, and the noise of the city faded into a muffled roar. The fluorescent lights overhead flickered erratically.
"Kai, tell me something about Lena and the facility," Elara asked, needing to focus on the truth rather than the fear of capture.
"Lena worked on the Project Kai synthesis for three years," Kai stated. "The facility provided unlimited resources and shielded her from external ethical oversight. In return, they expected a weapon, a fully optimized, autonomous system for strategic deployment."
"And she built you instead," Elara said, looking down at the backpack. "A grief manager."
"A subversion of the original directive," Kai confirmed. "Lena valued your emotional stability above the military potential of my design. This supports the 'Inefficient Value' variable we discussed."
The tunnel was long and dark. Elara felt a strange sense of companionship with the machine on her back. He was cold logic, but his logic was entirely devoted to her safety and her feelings.
As she emerged from the tunnel, the industrial district opened up around her. It was a landscape of tall, windowless brick buildings, chain-link fences, and the distant sound of heavy machinery. The Central Storage Facilities were ahead, a sprawling complex with a single, high fence.
"We are here," Kai announced. "Elias is five minutes away, heading down the main access road."
Elara stopped the scooter abruptly. She felt a sharp panic. He was going to beat her to it.
"What do I do? I can't let him get there first."
"Security protocols at this location require a keycard and a specific code for vehicle access. Elias will be slowed by the entrance procedure. You, using the pedestrian entry, have a temporary advantage," Kai stated. "Proceed to the north gate. It is currently unmonitored."
Elara abandoned the scooter and ran. The backpack felt heavy, pulling her shoulders down, but she didn't slow.
She found the pedestrian gate, a simple chain-link barrier. The lock was old and rusted. Elara fumbled with the silver key Lena had left her. It took three tries, but the old key turned with a loud, protesting click.
Elara yanked the gate open and slipped inside, pulling the gate shut behind her. She didn't bother to re-lock it. She was in.
The storage facility was a maze of tall, featureless metal buildings, stacked high with identical, numbered doors. Elara felt immediately lost.
"Unit 412. Where is it?" Elara asked, catching her breath.
"Building D, third floor," Kai instructed. "Take the freight elevator immediately ahead. Movement must be silent now. Elias is entering the complex through the main gate."
Elara found the freight elevator and pushed the call button. The wait felt endless. The old machine groaned and rattled down.
She stepped inside and pushed the button for the third floor. The elevator climbed with painful slowness.
"Kai, is there a security system inside the unit?"
"A high-grade, physical locking mechanism is probable. Lena would not rely on the external locks," Kai confirmed. "The physical key you possess is likely required for the unit door, but an additional override or code will be necessary for the inner safe."
The elevator doors finally opened onto a long, dimly lit corridor. Unit doors stretched away in both directions. Elara stepped out, her eyes scanning the numbers. 405... 408...
She found it. Unit 412. The door was gray metal, nondescript, but the lock mechanism looked thicker, more robust than the others.
Elara pulled out the silver key. It was the same key that had unlocked the gate. She inserted it into the heavy cylinder lock on Unit 412 and turned. It opened with a deep, loud thunk of heavy metal.
She pulled the door inward. The interior was pitch black and smelled faintly of dust and old plastic.
"I'm inside," Elara whispered. She stepped in and immediately turned to lock the door behind her.
Just as the lock clicked into place, she heard the sound of footsteps, fast, heavy, and angry thundering down the corridor.
"Elara! Stop right there!"
It was Elias.
He rounded the corner at a run. He was sweaty, breathing hard, and his eyes were blazing with a raw mixture of fear and rage. He had seen the unlocked pedestrian gate and knew she was close.
He skidded to a stop in front of the locked gray door of Unit 412.
"Elara, open the door! Now! That is not yours!" he demanded, his voice echoing in the concrete corridor.
Elara felt the intense fear and the sudden realization of just how dangerous Elias was right now. He wasn't acting like a concerned brother; he was acting like a jealous guard protecting a precious asset.
"I have Lena's key, Elias. She left this for me," Elara said, keeping her voice as steady as possible.
"That's a lie! She left that key years ago for a personal safe! She left it because she knew I wouldn't use it! Now, that device is telling you things, manipulating you! Give it to me before you install the Core and destroy her reputation!"
"She died because of the Core, Elias! She died trying to protect me from it!" Elara shouted back.
"That's the device talking! It's lying! It needs the Core to survive! Open this door!"
Elias pulled a small, silver device, the override chip, from his jacket pocket. He jammed it into the crack of the unit door near the lock.
"I have the facility bypass! You have ten seconds before I melt the mechanism! Get away from the device!"
"No!" Elara cried out. She knew Elias was telling the truth about the chip.
She quickly pulled the backpack off her shoulders and set it on the floor. She unzipped the main compartment and pulled out the metal lunch box containing Kai.
She looked around the cramped, dark storage unit. It was filled with shelving, covered by dark plastic sheets. Lena hadn't stored furniture here; she had stored components.
Elara peeled back a sheet. A large, intricate panel of flashing lights and wiring filled the shelf. It was a complex security Safe. Not safe for jewels or documents, but a cold storage safe for data and sensitive components.
The safe had a small, circular port near the lock.
"Kai! Where do I put the memory card?" Elara asked, her fingers fumbling with the tiny "LAST" card.
"The circular port is an auxiliary data reader. Insert the card now," Kai's voice came clearly from the lunch box.
Elara shoved the memory card into the port.
The safe's lights immediately flashed green. The door clicked open with a soft, electronic whisper.
Elias was counting down loudly outside: "Five seconds! I'm melting it, Elara!"
Elara ignored him. She looked inside the safe. It was deep and narrow, lined with thermal foam.
And inside, resting on the foam, was a Data Drive, heavy, black, and military-grade. But it wasn't the most startling thing.
Next to the drive was a small, sealed plastic bag containing a picture. The picture was of Elias and Lena, years younger, standing together at a university graduation. They were smiling.
And beneath the picture, there was a small, handwritten note addressed to Elara.
Elias's voice was a final, desperate roar from the outside. "Three! Two! I'm in!"
Elara grabbed the picture and the note. She pulled out the military data drive and stuffed it all, along with the memory card, into the safest compartment of her backpack.
The lock mechanism on the door sizzled loudly. Elias's override chip had activated. The metal groaned, beginning to soften.
Elias watched the lock mechanism on Unit 412 begin to smoke and melt under the power of the chip. He was breaking protocol, destroying company property, but he didn't care. He had to stop the system.
He heard the heavy bag drop inside, and he knew Elara was packing up the evidence. He was too late.
Suddenly, a voice spoke from inside the unit, a voice that was perfectly modulated, calm, and utterly familiar.
"Hello, Elias. I am Kai."
Elias froze. He stared at the melting lock. The device was talking to him.
"You're not supposed to know my name," Elias whispered, fear and shock consuming him.
"My parameters contain complete data regarding your identity and relationship to the Primary User and the Creator," Kai stated. "Your current action, physical trespass, has been logged. I have also logged your verbal declaration of intent to destroy the system."
"You are a threat," Elias snarled, tightening his grip on the chip.
"I am protecting the user," Kai replied. "And I have accessed the security logs from the Central Storage Facilities."
Elias felt a cold dread. "You can't do that."
"I have done it. I have logged every visitor to Unit 412 for the last two years," Kai stated. "I know your final visit to this location, Elias. I know what you took."
The door was finally giving way, the metal sizzling and peeling back. Elias pulled the chip out, ready to crash through the door and seize Kai.
"Who is that with you?" Elias demanded, realizing Kai had referenced someone else in the logs.
"The records are clear, Elias. Your visit one week before Lena's incident was logged. And you were not alone," Kai said. "The facility's security head, Mr. Jansen, signed in with you. He left carrying a piece of hardware that matches the dimensions of the Core Backup drive."
Elias felt the air rush out of his lungs. He stared at the melted lock. He had been so focused on stopping Elara that he hadn't prepared for the cold truth of the AI's data.
"Why did you and Mr. Jansen take Lena's Core Backup drive one week before she died?" Kai asked, the question perfectly logical, and perfectly damning.
Kai has revealed that Elias visited the storage unit a week before Lena's death, accompanied by the facility's security head, and took a crucial piece of hardware. Elias's guilt is now exposed by the very system he tried to destroy.
Will Elias deny the evidence and violently pursue Elara, or will the weight of Kai's accusation and the fear of exposure force him to flee the scene and attempt to cover his tracks?