“He’s building the government that replaces the one that fails.”
Silence settles across the parking lot.
The wind pushes through the trees.
The church steeple creaks softly above us.
And for the first time since this investigation started—
I realize the Architect might not think he’s the villain in this story.
He might think he’s the solution.
Adam finally speaks.
“Where is he?”
The prisoner shakes his head again.
“You won’t find him.”
“Why not?”
“Because the Architect doesn’t lead from one place.”
Russ frowns.
“What does that mean?”
The man looks up at the dark sky.
Then back at us.
“It means the system already runs itself.”
My radio crackles suddenly.
Wren’s voice cuts through the quiet.
“Boone.”
I grab the mic.
“Go ahead.”
“You need to come back to the cabin.”
“What did you find?”
A pause.
Then she says something that makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up.
“The system just activated Phase Two.”
Adam looks at me.
Russ swears under his breath.
