Chapter 115: Chapter 115

"Neither are you."

Kenji smiled. It was small and sad.

"I'm already dead, Jax. I've been dead since Tokyo. You just gave me a reason to keep breathing."

The railguns hummed louder.

Jax grabbed Kenji's arm. His grip was tight. "No. I'm not letting you do this."

Kenji pulled his arm away. "You don't have a choice."

The shuttle shook.

Jax looked at the console. The target was locked. The city was in the crosshairs. The railguns were charging.

He looked at Kenji. At his tired eyes. At his shaking hands.

"Kenji."

Kenji cut the wire.

There was a flash. A blast.

The railguns went silent.

The shuttle went dark.

Kenji flew back. He hit the wall. He didn't move.

Jax ran to him. He grabbed his shoulders.

"Kenji. Kenji."

Kenji's eyes were open. He looked at Jax. His mouth moved.

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

"For what?"

"For being so angry. For being a weapon. For not knowing how to be anything else."

Jax shook his head. "You were everything else. You were never a weapon. Don't ever forget that.”

Kenji smiled. Blood came out of his mouth.

"Tell Leo," he said. "Tell him I finally learned."

"Learned what?"

Kenji's eyes closed.

"Mercy."

His body went still.

Jax held him. The shuttle drifted silently into the dark.

Kael stood at the console. His head was down.

Jax didn't move.

The pod launched from the shuttle.

Jax stared through the window. The shuttle was a dark shape against the stars. Kenji was inside.

He didn't look away.

Kael sat next to him. His hand was on Jax's shoulder.

They drifted toward Earth.

The safe house was quiet.

Leo was sitting on the floor. His knees were pulled up to his chest. His eyes were red.

He looked up when Jax walked in.

"Where's Uncle Kenji?"

Jax stopped.

Leo's face crumpled.

"No," he whispered. "No. You promised. You promised he'd come back."

Jax walked over to him and knelt down.

"Leo."

Leo pushed him away. "Don't. Don't touch me."

Jax didn't move.

Leo's hands were shaking. His breath was fast. "You promised."

"I know."

"You lied."

"I didn't lie. I believed it."

Leo's lip trembled. "He always came back. Every time. He always came back."

Jax put his hand on Leo's head. Leo didn't push it away this time.

"I know," Jax said. "He was the strongest of all of us."

"Then why did he die?"

Jax looked at Leo. At the tears on his face. At the pain in his eyes.

"Because he finally learned," Jax said.

Leo looked at him. "Learned what?"

"Mercy."

Leo stared at him. Then he looked away tearfully.

"He was supposed to come back," he whispered.

Jax didn't answer.

Maja was standing in the doorway. Her face was pale.

She walked over to Jax and stood in front of him.

"Is it true?" she asked. "Is Uncle Kenji really dead?" Her eyes soften with sadness.

Jax looked at her. At her small face. At her big eyes.

"Yes," he said.

Maja nodded. Her lip trembled. But she didn't cry.

"He was brave," she said.

Jax nodded too. He was holding himself from breaking down. He said, "The bravest."

Maja looked at Leo. Then at Jax.

"He's not really gone," she said. "He's in the sky. With the stars."

Leo looked up. His face was wet. But his eyes were different. Softer.

"Can we see him?" he asked.

Jax looked at the window. At the dark sky.

"Yeah," he said. "Every night."

Leo stood up. Walked to the window. Pressed his hand against the glass.

"Goodnight, Uncle Kenji," he whispered.

The room was quiet.

Elena called in.

"Did it work?" Jax asked.

Elena replied. "The virus is live. Every dose of therapy is a reset. Phoenix's own network did the work."

The room was quiet.

Then the lights flickered.

A voice came from the speakers.

"Zero Alpha. You thought you'd won."

Helena.

Jax walked to the speaker. His hands were tight. "Where are you?"

"Close. Far. Everywhere. Phoenix isn't a place, Jax. It's an idea."

Jax looked at the speaker.

"I can try."

Helena laughed. "You've already lost. Kenji is dead. Your team is broken. The reset doesn't matter. We have other plans."

"Like what?"

"Like the ones we've been planning for decades. The therapy was just the beginning."

The lights flickered.

"You'll never stop us, Jax."

The speakers went silent.

Jax stood there. His hands were shaking.

Then he heard the words. The words that would haunt him.

"Zero Alpha... You thought you'd won."

They hadn't won.

Not yet.

The hunt was just beginning.

Meanwhile, in Singapore

The streets were chaos.

Elena ran. Caiman was behind her. Mira was ahead. Rina was at the back.

The guards were everywhere.

Caiman grabbed Elena's arm. "This way."

They ducked into an alley. The guards ran past them.

Mira pressed her back against the wall. Her chest was heaving. "We need to get to the boat."

"The boat is gone," Rina said. "They found it."

Caiman looked at her. "Then let's find another way."

"There is no other way."

Mira pointed at a cargo ship at the end of the dock. "There. Let's hide there."

They ran.

The cargo ship was dark and quiet. No one was on deck.

Caiman climbed the ladder. His shoulder was bleeding. His hand was slick with blood.

Mira followed. Rina followed. Elena followed.

They found a storage locker. Small and dark. They climbed inside and closed the door.

The ship moved.

They were leaving Singapore.

Back to the safe house.

Jax sat in the corner. His hands were in his lap. His eyes were on the floor.

Leo was asleep on the couch. Maja was next to him. Lars was between them.

Elias walked over to Jax.

"We need to talk," she said.

He didn't look up.

"Jax."

He looked up.

She sat next to him. "The reset worked. The therapy is gone. But Phoenix is still out there. Helena is still out there."

"I know."

"What do we d

o now?"

Jax looked at the window and took a deep breath.

"We will find them," he said. "We will find all of them."

"And then?"

He looked at her. His eyes were cold.

"Then we finish it."

The room was quiet.

Outside, the wind picked up.

The hunt was just beginning.