Chapter 3 Sky of Lies

Lena's mind burned as she sprinted through São Paulo's rain-slashed alleys, the Cipher implant's override sinking claws into her will. Directive: sabotage and surrender, it commanded, its voice a cold blade, forcing her lips to mutter, "I sabotage the world." Neon signs flickered in the distance, the airstrip's floodlights a faint beacon. Jace ran beside her, his Glock raised, his Syndicate tattoo a dark warning under his soaked sleeve. Mira's bloodied body haunted Lena-another life lost because she'd trusted too easily.

The Cipher's vision of Clara, throat slit in Vault 17, fueled her fight, but guilt over abandoning her sister to the CIA's labs was a heavier chain. Seventy-two hours to stop an economic collapse, and her implant was turning her into the Syndicate's weapon.

"Keep moving!" Jace shouted, dodging a drone's stun net that sparked against a wall. The airstrip loomed, a private jet idling on cracked tarmac, its engines a low roar. Syndicate operatives' radios crackled behind, their stun darts hissing through the rain. The Cipher sparked, pain searing her skull: Hostile team: eight operatives, 25 meters. Drones: three, 40 meters. Jet compromised: 70% probability.

"Compromised?" Lena rasped, clutching the jammer Mira had died for, its LEDs fading. The device dulled the override, but her hands still twitched, itching to smash the jet's controls. "Your plane's a trap, Jace."

"Not if we're fast," he growled, scanning the dark. "Pilot's clean. Get to Istanbul, find Clara."

"Clara," Lena whispered, the vision's blood-soaked image clawing her. The Cipher's claim-they were twins, engineered-shook her. She wasn't Clara's older sister, just a lab-crafted double, her memories a lie. The thought was a knife, but she ran, the airstrip's fence glinting ahead.

A dart grazed her shoulder, numbing her arm. Lena dove behind a rusted crate, Jace beside her. The Cipher buzzed: Anomaly detected: Syndicate signal, onboard jet. Source: pilot. Her stomach dropped. "Your pilot's dirty," she hissed, shoving Jace. "Your tattoo's live, or you're playing me."

Jace's eyes darkened, checking his inert tattoo. "I'm clean. Pilot's new-Syndicate must've flipped him." He fired at a drone, its net sparking as it crashed. "We take the jet anyway. No choice."

"No choice?" Lena's voice was ice, her free hand gripping the keycard Mira had given. The Cipher's override surged: Directive: destroy keycard. Her fingers tightened, bending the plastic. She screamed, forcing her hand open, the card intact. Clara's voice echoed: "They made us!" "I'm not their puppet," Lena snarled, her will fraying.

The jet's ramp was down, its interior dark. Operatives closed in, their flashlights slicing the rain. The Cipher hummed: Skill unavailable: Code Shift. Cipher Points: 0. New memory fragment: Berlin, 2023. Voss protocol. A vision hit-Lena and Clara, side by side in a sterile lab, their blood mixing in a vial, a scientist saying, "Twins sync the vault. One mind, one key." Lena gasped, her legs buckling. One mind? Was the Cipher linking their thoughts, controlling Clara too?

"Lena!" Jace yanked her toward the jet, gunfire erupting. She stumbled, the jammer's signal weakening, the override roaring: Confess and disable jet. Her voice leaked out, robotic: "I... crash... the markets." Holo-billboards flickered nearby, her face plastered, confessing live to millions.

They reached the ramp, Jace shoving her inside. The pilot-a wiry man with a Syndicate earpiece-spun, drawing a stun pistol. Jace tackled him, slamming his head against the console. "Stay down!" Jace growled, zip-tying him. Lena slammed the ramp shut, her hands shaking, the Cipher pushing her to unlock it.

The jet's engines whined, Jace sliding into the pilot's seat. "I can fly it," he said, flipping switches. "Buckle in."

Lena collapsed into a seat, the jammer clutched to her chest. The Cipher screamed: Override intensifying. Broadcast live: 'Voss is traitor.' Her vision blurred, her fingers clawing at her scalp. "It's... in my head," she gasped. Clara's death vision replayed-blood pooling, her sister's eyes empty. "Clara's dying because of me."

"You don't know that," Jace said, the jet lurching forward. Drones battered the hull, their nets tangling the wings. "Fight the implant. For her."

The Cipher sparked: New directive decrypted: 'Vault 17 requires dual blood. Clara Voss: primary key. Lena Voss: override.' Lena's heart stopped. Override? She wasn't just a key-she was the backup, designed to replace Clara. A new vision surged-Clara, in Vault 17, her mind hijacked, whispering, "Lena, they're in my head too." The twins' link wasn't just blood; the Cipher was syncing their minds, enslaving them both.

"Jace," Lena said, her voice hollow. "The Cipher's controlling Clara. We're not sisters-we're clones, built for this."

Jace's jaw clenched, the jet breaking free, climbing through the storm. "Clones or not, you're her only shot. Istanbul's 10 hours. Hold it together."

A thud rocked the cabin-a Syndicate operative, cloaked, uncloaking mid-air, knife flashing. Lena dove, the jammer skidding across the floor. The operative lunged, his blade grazing her ribs, pain flaring. Jace wrestled the controls, the jet tilting. "Handle him!" he shouted.

Lena kicked the operative's knee, grappling for his knife. The Cipher roared: Directive: aid Syndicate. Her arm froze, refusing to strike. The operative grinned, his earpiece crackling: "Voss, you're already ours." He slammed her against the bulkhead, her vision darkening.

Clara's voice cut through: "Fight, Lena!" She roared, breaking the override's grip, and drove her elbow into the operative's throat. He choked, collapsing. Lena grabbed his knife, panting, blood dripping from her side. The Cipher buzzed: Override paused. Syndicate alert: 'Voss resists. Escalate protocol.'

The jet leveled, São Paulo's neon fading below. Jace glanced back, his eyes sharp. "You okay?"

"No," Lena said, clutching the knife. The operative's earpiece crackled, a voice clear: "Clara's blood is failing. Lena's mind is the key. Istanbul, now."

Lena's breath hitched. Her mind? The Cipher wasn't just framing her-it was harvesting her thoughts to unlock Vault 17. A final vision flashed-Clara, convulsing, a scientist saying, "Her mind's breaking. Lena's sync is stronger." The jet shook, a drone's missile grazing the wing. The Cipher's voice returned, triumphant: Surrender, or Clara's mind burns. Seventy-two hours. A twin she'd failed. And an implant stealing her soul.