RICKON PETROV- ARMED AND EXTREMELY DANGEROUS
SHOOT ON SIGHT AUTHORIZATION IN EFFECT
"Shoot on sight?" My voice came out strangled, barely recognizable. "They're authorized to execute us without trial... and they made us Russian?"
"Not just authorized. Encouraged, and they made you Uzbekistan, not Russian," Cullen scrolled down, revealing more text, each line worse than the last. "Presidential order. Signed by your double. You're designated as aclear and present danger to national security. Anyone who aids or shelters you faces federal charges. Treason."
He turned from the monitor, his expression grim, lines deepening in his weathered face. "Whoever is behind this, they're not taking chances, Ellie. They want you dead."
I sank into the nearest chair, the weight of it crushing down on me, pressing the air from my lungs. "What are you saying? That there's nothing we can do? That we just... give up?"
"I'm saying you're not going to stop this by storming the White House." Cullen's voice softened slightly. "I'm saying we need to be smart. Strategic. You can't fight this head-on, Ellie. Not when they control the narrative, the military, and apparently your own face."
He pulled up another image. The press conference again, my double smiling that perfect smile that made me want to scream.
"We need to figure out who or what that thing is," he continued, pacing now. "And we need proof. Real, undeniableproof that you've been replaced. Something so damning that even a complicit Congress can't ignore it."
"I know who it is," I groused, frowning, feeling anger rising to replace despair. I glanced at Rickon, and his faint nod told me he agreed wholeheartedly. "And I know who can help us."
"Who?" Cullen demanded, his tone skeptical but not dismissive, leaning forward with sudden interest.
I took a deep breath, bracing myself. "You're going to want to sit down for this, and you have to promise not to freak out and start shooting."
Cullen's eyes darted to where his rifle leaned against the doorframe, but he nodded curtly in agreement.
I glanced at Rickon. He met my gaze, and I saw the question there—are you sure?
I nodded, my heart pounding so hard I felt it in my throat.
Rickon reached up and touched the device at his belt. The air around him shimmered, like heat rising off asphalt in summer, distorting the space around him. And then the illusion fell away like a curtain dropping.
His body expanded, muscles and bones revealing themselves as something wholly other, wholly alien. Wings unfurled with a sound like canvas snapping in wind, membranes stretched, translucent and veined. His copper skin caught the light from the monitors, reflecting it back in shades of bronze and gold. The temperature in the room seemed to rise as if Rickon's true form generated its own heat, waves of warmth rolling off him.
The entire transformation took maybe five seconds.
To his credit, Cullen didn't reach for his weapon. Didn't scramble backward. Didn't even shout. He just stood there, coffee mug frozen halfway to his mouth, eyes wide, jaw slack,face cycling through shock, disbelief, and then—incredibly—wonder.
Then, slowly, a grin spread across his face, crinkling the corners of his eyes.
"I knew it." He set the mug down carefully, never taking his eyes off Rickon, drinking in every detail of his form. "I goddamn knew you fuckers existed."
Chapter 14
Rickon
Ellie leaned forward across the table, her voice low and urgent. "Declan Hewes. That's who's behind this."
Cullen's jaw tightened at the name. "I've heard of him. Tech billionaire. Word is he's embedded deep in several governments."
"It's worse than that," Ellie said. She recounted everything we'd learned. Declan's network of shell companies, his private military force, and how he was behind the trading of human slaves across the universe. Cullen listened, nodding grimly, then began filling in the gaps. He told us about military intelligence tying Hewes to weapons shipments, government bribes, the way Declan had his fingers in conflicts on three continents.
When Cullen finally sat back, he rubbed his temples. "But what's his endgame? He's already rich beyond measure. He has armies. What more does he want?"
Ellie's expression darkened. "Control. He bragged about it. He told me he was already in control of the US, that I just didn't realize it yet."
"It's bigger than that," I said, watching the calculation flicker in Cullen's eyes. "He's not just accumulating wealth or influence, he's building an empire. With support from some ofthe Alliance planets, Declan could set himself up to rule over Earth."
Cullen's fist came down on the table, rattling the mugs. "Then we stop him."
