Reese’s calm cracked—just for a second.
“Yes,” he said. “Because someone I loved died when a split-second human choice failed. Because watching you break under the blame proved the point I needed.”
His voice dropped low.
“We are not built for morality.”
Julia’s voice was quiet steel. “Then why do you sound like a man begging for justification?”
Reese’s eyes snapped to her—cold fury there now.
And something else.
Fear.
“You shouldn’t be here,” he said.
“Why?” she asked.
“Because he—” Reese’s voice wavered. “Because Lucas cannot choose both of you.”
The entire room seemed to stop breathing.
Hawk spoke first, voice a low rumble.
“I already chose.”
Reese’s eyes widened.
“No. Lucas, don’t be naïve. Echo is designed on choice architecture. On sacrifice calculation. There is always a cost. To stop Echo Core completely… one of you has to interface.”
“Define interface,” I said tightly.
Reese hesitated.
Hawk’s voice dropped. “Say it.”
Reese exhaled.
“It will kill the person who enters the manual override chamber. Echo requires a neural match strong enough to rewrite its decision-making matrix. That’s why I built the system from my own patterns. That’s why the only viable matches are me…”
His eyes moved to Hawk.
“…and you.”
A cold silence fell.
Hawk spoke first. “Then I go.”
“No,” Reese snapped. “I need you alive. Echo’s next stage—”
“I’m ending Echo,” Hawk said.
Julia grabbed his arm. Hard. “Hawk—no.”
He didn’t look at me. Not yet.
Reese stepped forward. “Lucas, listen to me—”
