Page 363 of Scars of Fate

“Hawk cached the first sequence before Kane’s men confiscated the drive. Ghost gave us a one-use copy of the second.”

Another pause.

Then Leyla’s voice hardened.

“The final authorization is a spoken command.”

“What phrase?”

“My father never told me.”

“Think.”

“I was twelve when he built Aegis. He didn’t discuss his work with me.”

“What did he believe?”

“What?”

“Your father designed a defense against the most dangerous weapon in the world. He would have chosen words he could remember. Something important. Something no one else would understand.”

Leyla went quiet.

The timer continued.

Twenty-six minutes.

Twenty-five.

Then she whispered, “Every life carries tomorrow.”

“What does that mean?”

“He said it whenever I asked why his work mattered.”

Hawk entered the Aegis command path.

A voice-authorization request appeared.

Lucas leaned toward the microphone.

“Every life carries tomorrow.”

The screen flashed red.

AUTHORIZATION DENIED.

My heart sank.

Leyla’s voice came through the radio.

“It requires both registered custodians.”

Lucas looked toward me.

General Kane had registered us deliberately.

Years of surveillance had given him our fingerprints.