Chapter 39 - The Bloodline Protocol
The storm conduit terminated behind a cascade of frozen mountain runoff that opened directly onto the dizzying drop of the northern gorge.
A hundred feet below, black water roared through jagged boulders, foaming white in the moonlight. Across the chasm, the rusting iron skeletons of the abandoned railway bridge jutted into the fog like broken ribs. Suspended beneath it, hanging by frayed steel cables, was a narrow maintenance catwalk made of corrugated steel.
Above them, the twin rotors of a hovering stealth transport banked hard over the treeline. A searchlight swept across the rock face, cutting through the swirling rain in a stark, blinding blade of illumination.
"Drones incoming!" Vance warned, pushing Valentina back under the lip of the stone overhang.
A high-pitched, insectoid whine buzzed from the brush above. Two quadcopter reconnaissance units descended through the drizzle, their red sensor arrays scanning the rock face.
Owen suddenly lifted his head from Valentina’s shoulder. His large, dark eyes didn't look at the light. They locked onto the scanning drones.
A faint, high-frequency chime hummed in the air.
Valentina felt a strange, static charge ripple across the boy’s skin—a dry heat that contradicted the freezing rain. On the console of the nearest drone, the red optical light abruptly flickered to a rapid, erratic violet. The drone spasmed violently mid-air, its stabilization rotors locking up before it tumbled end-over-end into the roaring gorge below.
Matteo gasped, his mouth hanging open. "Did you see that? The cipher's biometric pulse. It’s interfering with their remote frequencies!"
"The cipher is an active telemetry scrambler," Vance said grimly, pulling his tactical hood low. "Victoria didn't just store family trust accounts in his DNA. She encoded the master override keys to the entire Overwatch satellite defense grid. He isn't just an heir. He’s an walking EMP kill-switch."
"Shut it down," Valentina said fiercely. "If it sends out pulses, Richter will pinpoint our exact coordinates!"
"He can't control it!" Matteo shouted above the wind. "It’s an involuntary neurological response to acute threat levels! When his heart rate hits one-forty, the bio-implant broadcasts!"
The second drone pivoted toward them, its optics locking onto Owen. A burst of submachine gunfire erupted from the ridge above, chipping the stone inches from Valentina's boot.
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"Go! Onto the catwalk!" Vance ordered, unholstering his weapon and dropping to one knee to return fire up into the tree line. "I'll cover the approach!"
Valentina took a deep breath, wrapped her left arm tightly around Owen, gripped the rusted guide cable with her right hand, and stepped out onto the trembling catwalk suspended over the void.
