Chapter 34 The Summit's Trap
ASHER'S POV
The programming screamed at me to kill them.
Kill Aria. Kill Kael. Kill Luna. Eliminate all threats.
I dug my fingernails into my palms until blood dripped. The pain helped. Gave me something real to focus on besides the voice in my head that wanted to turn me into a monster.
"Thirty minutes," I gasped as another wave of programming slammed through my brain. "That's all I have left."
Kael pulled our damaged car into an abandoned parking garage three blocks from the summit. Through the concrete pillars, I could see the massive convention center where Sienna was preparing to enhance five hundred students and control the world.
"We can still turn back," Aria said quietly. She gripped my hand so tight it hurt. "Find another way. We don't have to walk into her trap."
"Yes, we do." I forced the words out even though the programming fought me. "Those five hundred students are innocent. And if we don't stop Sienna now, millions more suffer."
Luna looked up from her laptop. Her eyes were red from crying over her father. "I've hacked the building's security feeds. Sienna's got enhanced subjects everywhere. At least two hundred. All strategically positioned to catch us the second we enter."
"What about the students?" Kael asked. "Can you see them?"
Luna pulled up video feeds. My stomach twisted.
The main auditorium was filled with enhancement tables arranged in a perfect circle. Each table held an unconscious student strapped down with IVs and electrodes attached to their heads. In the very center was the amplifier—a massive machine pulsing with blue light.
And right next to it, one table sat empty. Waiting.
My table.
"She really does want me specifically," I said. The implant in my chest pulsed faster, like it knew how close we were. "This whole thing is designed to force us to bring me to her."
"Then we don't bring you." Aria's voice was fierce. "I go in alone. Create a distraction while you three—"
"No." Kael, Luna, and I all spoke at once.
"Aria, you're an Omega," Kael said gently. "Sienna's enhanced subjects will smell you instantly. You won't make it past the entrance."
"He's right." Luna pulled up more schematics. "But there might be another way. The ventilation system connects to the auditorium. It's too small for enhanced subjects but normal-sized people could fit."
"How do we get to the vents without being seen?" I asked.
My body jerked. The programming surge was stronger this time. For ten full seconds, I wasn't me anymore. I was Subject 247, and my hands were reaching for Aria's throat before I could stop them.
Kael grabbed my wrists, slamming me against the car. "Asher! Fight it!"
I blinked. Saw Aria's terrified face. Realized what I'd almost done.
"I'm sorry," I choked out. "I'm so sorry. It's getting too strong. We need to move now before I—"
Before I hurt someone I love.
Luna's fingers flew across her keyboard. "Okay. New plan. There's a service entrance on the east side. Less security. We split up. Kael and I go through the vents to reach the amplifier. Aria stays with Asher and—"
"And brings me directly to Sienna." I met my sister's eyes. "That's what she wants. So we give it to her."
"Absolutely not," Aria said.
"It's the only way." The programming pulsed through me again. I had maybe twenty minutes before it won completely. "Sienna expects us to sneak in. To try being clever. She's prepared for that. But if we walk through the front door and surrender me... she'll be so focused on getting what she wants that Kael and Luna can destroy the amplifier."
"That's insane," Kael said flatly. "You'll be completely under her control."
"I'm going to be under her control anyway." I pulled up my shirt, showing the implant. "This thing is counting down. When it hits zero, I'm hers whether we're at the summit or not. At least this way, my surrender buys you time to save those students."
Luna wiped her eyes. "There's something else. My mother is in there. She's one of the scientists running the enhancement procedures."
We all stared at her.
"Your mother's alive?" Aria asked.
"And working for Sienna." Luna's voice was hollow. "My father lied to protect me. But now I have to face her. Have to stop her from helping Sienna control millions."
The pain in her voice made my chest ache. We'd all lost so much. Marcus was dead. Dr. Park was dead. Luna's mother had betrayed everything. My own mind was being stolen piece by piece.
But we were still fighting.
"Okay." Kael straightened despite his broken ribs. "Here's what we do. Asher and Aria go through the front entrance. Surrender to Sienna. Keep her distracted. Luna and I infiltrate through the vents, reach the amplifier, and plant Luna's remaining explosives. We set them on a timer—five minutes to get everyone out."
"But the feedback," Luna protested. "If we destroy the amplifier while students are connected—"
"We disconnect them first." Kael pulled up the schematics. "There's a manual override. Someone has to reach the control panel and release all five hundred students simultaneously before we blow the amplifier."
"Someone?" I asked.
"Me." Luna's voice was steady now. "I know my father's systems. I can override them faster than anyone."
Aria shook her head. "This plan requires perfect timing. If anything goes wrong—"
"Then we improvise." I managed a smile despite the programming screaming at me. "We're good at that."
My implant pulsed. Fifteen minutes left.
We moved fast. Kael and Luna headed for the service entrance, carrying what little explosives and equipment we had left. Aria and I walked toward the main entrance, where enhanced subjects waited.
"I'm scared," Aria whispered as we approached.
"Me too." I squeezed her hand. "But we do this together. Just like always."
The front doors opened before we reached them. Enhanced subjects poured out—twenty, thirty, forty of them. They surrounded us but didn't attack. Just formed a circle, trapping us.
Then Sienna emerged.
She looked perfect. Not a hair out of place despite everything she'd been through. She smiled like she'd already won.
"Asher Sinclair." She walked closer, heels clicking. "Right on time. And you brought your sister. How thoughtful."
"Let the students go," I said. "You want me? Fine. Take me. But release them."
"Oh, sweetie." Sienna laughed. "I'm not letting anyone go. Those five hundred students are just the beginning. Once I enhance them and complete your programming, I'll have an army powerful enough to control every Alpha on the planet."
My implant burned. Ten minutes.
"You're insane," Aria said.
"I'm visionary." Sienna gestured to her enhanced subjects. "Bring them inside. Gently. I want Asher conscious for what comes next."
They grabbed us. I didn't fight. Couldn't risk the programming taking over early.
They dragged us into the auditorium. The five hundred students lay unconscious on their tables, completely helpless. The amplifier pulsed in the center like a mechanical heart.
And standing next to it, wearing a white lab coat, was a woman who looked exactly like an older version of Luna.
Her mother.
"Everything's ready," Luna's mother said without emotion. "We can begin the mass enhancement in five minutes."
Sienna smiled. "Perfect. Strap Asher to the primary table. Once his programming completes, we'll use him to amplify the signal. His enhanced genetics will make the broadcast even stronger."
They forced me onto the table in the center. Strapped my wrists and ankles. Connected electrodes to my head. The implant in my chest pulsed faster.
Five minutes until I became Sienna's weapon.
I searched the ceiling for any sign of Kael and Luna. Nothing. They must still be in the vents, making their way toward the control panel.
Aria struggled against the enhanced subjects holding her. "Let him go!"
"No." Sienna leaned over me. "But don't worry. You'll get to watch your brother's transformation. Watch him become everything you feared."
The machines powered up. Energy crackled through the electrodes.
My implant hit zero.
The programming exploded through my brain like a nuclear bomb. Every memory, every emotion, every piece of who I was got buried under commands. Obey Sienna. Eliminate threats. Serve the cause.
I tried to fight it. Tried to remember Aria, Kael, Luna, Marcus. Tried to remember why I was here.
But the programming was too strong.
My eyes went blank.
I was Subject 247 now.
And somewhere in the vents above, Kael and Luna were running out of time to stop Sienna before I helped her enslave the world.
Through my fading consciousness, I heard Sienna laugh.
"Begin the mass enhancement. Let's make history."
The amplifier's pulse grew stronger.
And five hundred students began to scream.