Chapter 4 The Unlikely Savior

Aria came to the scent of salt and old oil. Her head pounded, the pain pulsing behind her eyes in rhythm.

She was in a chair, wrists bound behind her by zip ties. The room was dimly lit, with only one bulb hanging from the ceiling.

"She's awake."

A man moved into the light. He was wearing a tactical vest, no mask. He looked professional, clean-cut, and unremarkable.

"Who are you?" Aria croaked. "If it's money you want"

"I don't want your money, Miss Hale. I want the decryption key. The one that your mother hid in the 2014 archives."

Aria blinked. 2014 again. "I don't know what you're talking about."

The man stepped forward and backhanded her. The strength sent her head snapping to the side. The metallic taste of blood filled her mouth.

"Don't lie. The Veridians think they're the only ones looking. But we know you have it. The drive."

A door behind them kicked open with the sound of a gunshot.

Luca Veridian stepped into view. He wasn't wearing his tuxedo jacket. His white shirt was unbuttoned at the collar, stained with someone else's blood. He held a suppressed pistol with the steady hand of someone who had done this before.

"Step away from my wife," Luca said. The 'wife' sounded like a threat.

The kidnapper laughed, reaching for a weapon on the table. Luca didn't hesitate. He fired.

The man slumped over without a sound.

Luca was at Aria's side in seconds, a knife appearing in his hand. He sliced through the zip-ties.

"Are you hurt?" he asked, his voice insistent. He reached out, grasping her chin to turn her face towards the light to examine the bruise forming on her cheek. His eyes narrowed into ice. "Who else was here?"

Aria pushed him away, her breathing coming in harsh gasps. "You... you killed him."

"He was going to kill you," Luca said, his voice emotionless. He stood up, surveying the room. "We have to get out of here. More are coming."

"Why did you save me?" she demanded, rubbing her wrists. "You want me in jail. You said it yourself."

Luca turned back to her. He looked at her for a long moment, the silence between them stretched thin. "I want you in jail for the crimes you committed, Aria. Not dead at the hands of some two-bit mercenary in a dingy basement. You're my responsibility."

I'm your mark," she corrected.

"Get in the car," he ordered, grabbing her hand. They ran through the rain to a black SUV idling in the alley. Luca drove like a madman, racing through the midnight traffic of the city. "They wanted to know about 2014. They wanted to know about a decryption key. What's going on, Luca? What have our families done?" Aria stared at her reflection in the dark glass. "My father died trying to find that key. He thought your mother stole it. He thought your mother used it to bankrupt our research and development division." "And you think I have it." "I know you have it. I saw you with the drive in the boardroom." Aria turned to him, her mind cold. "The drive doesn't contain a key. It's my mother's diary. That's all I have left of her."

Luca looked at her, his brow furrowing. "A diary? Aria, that drive contains the source code for the Hale-Veridian infrastructure. If it gets into the wrong hands, the whole grid comes crashing down."

"It's a diary, Luca! I've read it! It's her talking about her research, about how she was scared of someone named 'The Architect'."

Luca slammed on the brakes, and the car screeched to a halt in the middle of an empty bridge.

"The Architect?"

"Yes. Why?"

Luca opened his glove compartment and pulled out a file. He tossed it into her lap. It was a crime scene photo of his father's office the night he died.

Scrawled across the desk in blood was the word: ARCHITECT.