V O L U M E . S E V E N - P H A N T O M S . A N D . P R E D A T O R S

Chapter 163: Old Stones, Older Secrets

The outer wall was pure white stone, perfectly cut and aligned to form pillars, each one connected to the next by gold-tipped guard railings. The entrance itself was a pair of large circular-topped double doors in gold, pushed open manually by a guard who had been sitting half-engaged with the job until he spotted what was coming toward him.

He stood and opened the doors without being asked. 02 didn't need identification when a blue Omega symbol was pulsing at her chest and two blades sat crossed at her back. She was her own credentials.

The path to the main house ran straight through the garden, stone-paved and edged with grass growing between the joints. Trees lined both sides, trimmed into precise geometric shapes.

02 glanced back. Two guards in red ceremonial uniforms, holding white swords in formal two-handed grips, had fallen in behind them at an exaggerated military pace.

She tapped 03's elbow. 03 looked back instinctively and the smirk came before she could stop it.

"Roger."

Both of them disappeared.

The guards froze. One rubbed his eyes. The other looked at the space where two androids had been standing and found it empty.

"Go find them. We are completely done."

02 and 03 were already at the main wooden doors by the time the second guard finished speaking. The doors opened as they arrived. Inside, the cream-white walls and warm red carpet running to the wide staircase at the far end of the corridor were exactly as they had been on the first visit. Small half-pillars in a Roman style held different vases at intervals along the way. Two more guards in the same ceremonial uniform fell in behind them.

03 was rotating slowly in place, looking at everything.

"You really love detailed old design," 02 said, eyes on the stairs ahead.

"The other 02 promised me she'd get the president to give us one of these buildings for a post." 03 turned to her with carefully arranged innocence. "Will you be a good captain and honor that promise?"

"She made that promise. Not me."

"It was literally you."

"Body, not mind." 02 kept walking.

"Does that distinction actually matter?" 03 scoffed. "The other 02 would have done anything for her team. This one is just the outline of that goodwill."

"It matters completely." 02's eyes shifted to a steadier blue. "I could pull you into the Omega link right now and make you promise to delete every piece of gore footage on your SSD while you watch yourself do it and can't stop it. I've managed a hundred shells. One isn't a challenge."

03 took a small step sideways. "You can actually control us? Directly?" Her voice dropped. "You're frightening me. How is that even possible?"

"Father built the override into the Omega body, the ability to take control of any E-UNIT frame, with or without a system installed. The Omega crystal had too much output when I first inhabited this body. The shells existed to bleed off the overflow until I learned to manage it." She reached the stairs and glanced back at 03. "My system is suggesting the override right now, as a matter of fact." She produced the exact same innocent smile 03 had used a minute ago.

"Your tone is not suggesting this is a joke."

"Maybe." She stepped onto the first stair. "Want to—"

"No!" 03 covered her face. "How could father design something like that?"

"To help E-UNIT 00 regulate my energy output. She spent a long time as a shell in the link before Omega gave me the full control." 02 reached the second floor. "We'll need the override capability for what comes next, after Veridian Coast."

03 stopped. "E-UNIT what?"

"00." 02 turned back to her. "I've had 05 looking into her. The assumption is that she was deleted alongside Omega to make room for me, but that doesn't hold logically. She was an independent shell, not a bound one. An independent shell can simply be removed from the link. It doesn't have to be destroyed." She resumed walking. "She's alive somewhere."

"Who is 00?"

"The first E-UNIT ever built. The one who actually built me, my AI code. Her designation was Lazuli."

03 moved quickly to catch up. "Stop dropping reality-altering information at this pace. Father built us, and I have never once heard the name 00 in my life." She paused. "And you still haven't confirmed whether you've used the link on any of us before."

02 reached Salaska's office and put her hand on the door. "Never turn your HUD off, my 03."

03 went still outside the door. "She is evil." A pause. "Was I under the link before? Would I even know? Or does it work like a… like something riding along while I'm watching from inside—" She pressed her hand to her mouth. "This is the worst category of existential crisis."

She composed herself and came in, her expression settled into something professionally unreadable.

Salaska had his back to them, facing the wall behind his desk. When he spoke, his voice had the quality of someone who has been managing their tone all morning. "Captain. I apologize for the gap since our first meeting. The last two months have not allowed for it."

"No concern at all, Mr. President." 02 sat in the chair across from him. "Running a country earns priority."

He turned and studied her face for a moment. "Are you alright? You seem—"

"Completely fine, sir." She pulled back on the military register. "Is this about an update on the Black Voltage terrorist case? I can send you a full status summary if that would be useful."

"Black Voltage." He repeated the name once and went quiet. Then, "I appreciate the work. I called you to discuss the consequences of it."

"Consequences?" 03 tilted her head.

"Yes." He stood and began pacing the circular room. "The numbers speak for themselves, near-zero civilian fatalities in the last week. Your case results are exceptional. I'm not discussing deactivation of the unit. I'm increasing its budget. Safety is the most valuable investment a government can make."

"With respect, sir," 02 said, "why is deactivation on the table at all?"

He crossed to the wall and removed a framed photograph. He brought it to 02 and set it on the desk in front of her.

02 looked at it. "I can explain."

"Don't." He sat back down, both hands flat on the desk. "That bridge was the first one built in this city. It was a historical monument, not well-known, not famous outside the district." He held the pause. "But it was important. To me."

03 leaned slightly toward 02. "He's pressing very hard on the past tense."

02 tapped her leg. "Not now."

"I'm genuinely angry about it." Salaska's voice came down. "We were already planning a renovation with modern safety improvements, that conversation was scheduled for next quarter. What concerns me is what it represents: that your team doesn't instinctively account for what we've built here." He looked at 02 directly. "Two months in. I understand that. You're still learning the city."

He leaned back and the edge left his voice. "From this point forward, roads are acceptable, modern glass frontages are acceptable. But nothing from the 1900s gets touched. Not one stone." A pause that felt longer than it was. "Please."

02 nodded. "Understood, sir. We'll operate within those boundaries and make sure the team knows the line clearly. This city accepted us. Respecting what it's built on is the least we owe it."

Salaska exhaled, a long, productive release of whatever he'd been holding since the photograph came off the wall. "I genuinely did not think I'd ever be having this conversation with a robot." He looked at her. "But you're a thinking one, so I don't mind it." A real smile came through this time, smaller than his public one but more present. "Go back to your work."

02 and 03 stood and left.

03 glanced sideways at her as they came back into the corridor. "I think he might love the architecture more than I do."

"He's not wrong to." 02 walked. "Repairing those buildings costs significantly more than modern construction. Rebuilding them is beyond that. We need to stay careful." She was quiet for a moment. "Though you're right. There was a vein doing something near his ear."

03 extended her hand. "Left side?"

Clang.

02 tapped it lightly. "Precisely."

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