Chapter 2 - The Override
I stared at the black barrel of the gun pointing directly at my heart.
The man I had trusted with my life for a decade was suddenly ready to end it.
Ethan screamed and buried his face into my heavy winter coat.
I instinctively wrapped my arms around the boy to shield him from the weapon.
"Who is paying you to do this, Thomas?" I asked, trying to keep my voice steady.
Thomas simply shook his head without a single ounce of remorse.
"It is strictly business, sir," he replied, his finger tightening slowly on the trigger.
He did not realize that I had personally designed the security software for this specific vehicle.
My tech company specialized in advanced defensive systems for military contractors.
I slowly slid my right hand into my coat pocket and gripped my encrypted smartphone.
Without looking at the screen, I pressed the panic button sequence I had programmed myself.
The car's internal defensive system activated instantly with a deafening screech.
The driver's side airbag deployed with explosive force, smashing directly into Thomas's face.
His gun fired wildly into the reinforced ceiling of the SUV.
I kicked the partition glass hard, breaking the magnetic seal on the rear doors.
I grabbed Ethan by the collar and dragged him out into the freezing rain.
We sprinted blindly down the crowded Chicago sidewalk, shoving past confused pedestrians.
I did not stop running until we ducked into a dark, abandoned subway entrance.
We huddled behind a concrete pillar in the shadows, gasping for breath.
"Why is your driver trying to kill us?" Ethan cried, wiping rain from his eyes.
"I don't know yet, but we are going to find out," I promised him.
I looked down at the boy and realized I didn't even know his true connection to my wife.
"Ethan, why did those uniformed men want you so badly?" I asked quietly.
Ethan hesitated for a moment before slowly unzipping the collar of his jacket.
He turned his neck to show me the skin just below his right ear.
There was a series of numbers and a thick barcode permanently tattooed into his flesh.
I felt a sickening wave of horror wash over my entire body.
That specific barcode format belonged to my company's most controversial, top-secret genetic project.
It was a project I had personally ordered destroyed five years ago because it was deemed highly unethical.
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Someone had secretly continued my illegal research, and they had tested it on this innocent child.
Suddenly, a bright flashlight beam cut through the darkness of the subway tunnel, landing directly on Ethan's face.
