Chapter 22 THE CITADEL ASSAULT

Chapter 22 THE CITADEL ASSAULT
Sera's POV

We had ninety minutes before 10,000 people started dying.

Nova's defectors met us at the Genesis Center's armory. Thirty Wardens total. All of them armed. All of them knowing this was probably suicide.

Kade stood at the front addressing them like the Commander he was.

"The Citadel is fortified," he said. "Thorne has maybe 150 loyal guards inside. They're trained. They're armed. And they know we're coming."

"So we're outnumbered five to one," one of the Wardens said. "Great odds."

"We have something they don't," Kade replied. "We're fighting for something that matters. They're just following orders."

Damon checked his weapons. "How do we get inside?"

Nova pulled up schematics on a holographic display. "There are three entry points. Main gate, service entrance, and emergency evacuation tunnels. I suggest we split into teams. Hit all three at once. Divide their forces."

"I'll take main gate," Kade said immediately. "Draw the most fire. Keep attention on the front."

"I'll take service entrance with ten Wardens," Nova added. "Get inside fast and quiet."

"That leaves the tunnels for me," Damon said. He looked at me. "And you're staying here where it's safe."

"Not a chance," I replied.

"Sera, this is a war zone," Ryker said. His scientific mind was clearly uncomfortable with the violence ahead. "You're not trained for combat."

"I survived three years in the Fringe," I shot back. "I can handle myself."

Lila stepped forward. "I'm going too. Someone needs to operate the tech systems once we're inside. Disable security. Stop the plague dispersal remotely if possible."

All three men started to protest.

"Stop," I said. My voice came out hard. "We don't have time to argue. Lila and I are coming. We stay behind the fighters. We support from back positions. But we're not sitting here while you all die."

Kade looked like he wanted to order me to stay. But he'd learned something over these weeks. Control wasn't the same as protection.

"Fine," he said. "But you follow my orders exactly. No heroics. No risks. Understood?"

"Understood," I lied.

We moved out twenty minutes later.

The city was chaos. Fires burned in the Production Districts. People flooded the streets demanding answers. Freed Breeders from other Genesis Centers joined the crowds.

The revolution had started.

We just needed to finish it.

The Citadel loomed ahead. Massive walls. Guard towers. The seat of Tribunal power for thirty years.

Tonight we were going to tear it down.

Kade's team split off toward the main gate. I watched him go, his broad shoulders carrying weapons and determination.

Nova took her people toward the service entrance.

That left Damon, Ryker, Lila, me, and eight Wardens heading for the underground tunnels.

"This way," Damon said. He knew these tunnels from his exile years. "The entrance is hidden in the old metro station."

We descended into darkness. Emergency lights flickered. The tunnels smelled like mold and decay.

"How much time?" I asked Ryker.

He checked his tablet. "Sixty-two minutes until the plague reaches lethal concentration."

My stomach twisted. 10,000 people. All of them dying because I chose to fight.

All of them dying unless we stopped Thorne.

"There," Damon said. He pointed to a sealed door. "Citadel access. It'll be locked."

Lila pulled out her portable hacking device. "Give me thirty seconds."

She worked fast. Fingers flying over the interface.

The door clicked open.

"Twenty seconds," Lila said smugly. "I'm getting faster."

We entered the Citadel's lower levels. Storage areas. Maintenance corridors. Empty.

Too empty.

"This feels wrong," one of the Wardens said.

Damon raised his weapon. "Agreed. Stay alert."

We moved through the corridors in tactical formation. Ryker stayed close to me and Lila. Not a fighter but ready to protect us if needed.

Then we heard it.

Footsteps. Dozens of them. Coming from ahead.

"Ambush," Damon said.

The corridor ahead filled with Tribunal guards. Maybe twenty of them. All armed.

"Fire!" someone shouted.

Gunfire erupted.

The Wardens with us returned fire. Bodies dropped on both sides.

"Fall back!" Damon ordered.

We retreated down a side corridor. More guards appeared behind us.

We were trapped.

"Lila, is there another way out?" I asked.

She checked her device. "Ventilation shaft. Thirty meters ahead on the right. It leads to the upper levels."

"Go!" Damon shouted.

We ran. Bullets hit the walls around us. One of our Wardens went down. Then another.

The ventilation shaft was barely big enough to crawl through. Lila went first. Then me. Ryker followed.

Damon stayed behind with the remaining Wardens. Covering our escape.

"Damon, come on!" I screamed.

"Get Lila to the dispersal controls," he shouted back. "I'll hold them here."

"No, I'm not leaving you!"

"You don't have a choice," Damon replied. He was still firing. Still fighting. "This is what I'm good at, Sera. Let me do it."

The shaft sealed behind us. Some automatic security protocol.

I pounded on the metal. "Damon!"

No response.

Just gunfire echoing below.

"We have to keep moving," Ryker said gently. "He bought us time. Don't waste it."

Tears burned my eyes but I crawled forward.

The shaft opened into the Citadel's upper research wing. Clean. Sterile. Empty.

We dropped down into a laboratory.

Lila immediately went to the nearest terminal. "I can access the dispersal controls from here. But I need time."

"How much time?" I asked.

"Ten minutes minimum."

Ryker checked his tablet. "We have forty-three minutes until lethal concentration."

"Then get started," I said.

Lila's fingers flew across the keyboard. Lines of code scrolled past.

Ryker stood guard at the door. Not much of a fighter but he had a weapon and determination.

I paced. Thinking about Damon fighting alone below. About Kade and Nova hitting the other entry points. About 10,000 people who had no idea their lives depended on a nineteen-year-old hacker.

"Got it," Lila said suddenly. "I'm in the dispersal system. I can see the release mechanism. It's automated. Counting down."

"Can you stop it?" Ryker asked.

"I can try. But Thorne put in failsafes. If I trigger them wrong, the system dumps everything at once. Kills people faster."

"So don't trigger them wrong," I said.

Lila shot me a look. "Helpful, sis."

She kept working. Sweat beaded on her forehead.

Five minutes passed.

Ten.

"Lila?" I asked.

"Almost there. Just need to bypass one more encryption layer."

The door exploded inward.

Guards flooded the lab. Ten of them. All weapons trained on us.

And walking through the door behind them was Councilor Marcus Thorne himself.

He looked exactly like his confession video. Old. Cold. Certain of his own superiority.

"Hello Sera," Thorne said pleasantly. "I've been waiting to meet you in person. The woman who thinks she can stop progress."

Ryker raised his weapon but a guard shot it from his hand. Another guard grabbed me.

Thorne walked to Lila's terminal. Looked at her work.

"Impressive hacking," he observed. "You almost broke my encryption. Almost."

He pulled out a small device. Pressed a button.

The terminal went dead.

"There," Thorne said. "Dispersal will continue as planned. In thirty-five minutes, everyone with your sister's genetic markers dies. Including her."

He smiled at me.

"You wanted to save humanity, Sera? Instead you've just killed thousands. How does that feel?"

I wanted to scream. To fight. To tear him apart with my bare hands.

But guards held me tight.

Thorne pulled out a weapon. Pointed it at Lila.

"Now you get to watch your sister die," he said. "Just like I watched my daughter die from the plague I created. Fair is fair."

His finger moved to the trigger.

That's when the wall exploded.

Kade came through it like a wrecking ball. Covered in blood and fury. His weapon firing before the dust settled.

Guards dropped.

Thorne turned to run but Kade was faster.

He grabbed the old man by the throat and slammed him against the wall.

"You want to kill people?" Kade growled. "Start with me."

Behind him, Nova and her team poured into the lab. All bloodied. All victorious.

"Dispersal controls?" Nova asked immediately.

"Dead," Lila said. Her voice was breaking. "Thorne locked me out. I can't stop it."

Kade's grip on Thorne tightened. "Give us the override code."

"No," Thorne replied. He was smiling despite being strangled. "I'd rather die knowing I won. Knowing my purge succeeded."

Ryker grabbed Thorne's device. The one he'd used to lock the terminal.

"This might have an access key," Ryker said. He connected it to Lila's computer.

"Twenty-eight minutes," someone said.

Lila worked frantically. "Come on, come on."

"Got it!" she shouted. "I'm back in. I can see the dispersal mechanism."

"Can you stop it?" I asked.

"I can slow it. Buy us maybe an hour. But I can't fully stop it without the master code. Only Thorne has that."

Everyone looked at Thorne.

Kade's hands were still around his throat. "Last chance. Give us the code or I crush your windpipe."

Thorne just smiled.

"Do it then," he whispered. "Kill me. Become a murderer. Prove you're no better than the system you hate."

Kade hesitated.

And Thorne pulled a hidden blade from his sleeve.

Drove it into Kade's side.

Kade stumbled back. Blood poured from the wound.

Thorne ran for the door but I was faster.

I grabbed a weapon from a fallen guard. Aimed. Fired.

The shot hit Thorne's leg. He went down screaming.

"The code," I said. I walked toward him with the weapon raised. "Give me the code now."

"Never," Thorne spat.

I pointed the gun at his head. "I've lost everything because of you. My parents. My freedom. Almost lost my sister. If you think I won't pull this trigger, you're wrong."

Thorne's eyes met mine.

He saw the truth there.

I would kill him.

"The code is in my office," he said finally. "Top floor. Secure terminal. But you'll never reach it in time. This building is surrounded. My remaining forces are sealing every exit. You're trapped."

Lila checked her device. "He's right. Twenty minutes until lethal dispersal. It would take fifteen just to reach the top floor through all those guards."

We were out of time.

Out of options.

And Kade was bleeding out on the floor while Ryker tried desperately to stop it.

I looked around at everyone. Nova. Lila. The surviving Wardens.

All of them waiting for me to decide.

Save Kade or save 10,000 people.

I couldn't do both.