Page 443 of Scars of Fate

Behind us, Minser collapsed.

Wynn and I lowered him to the floor.

Blood poured through his fingers.

Too much.

I pressed both hands against the wound.

“Hawk will stop the destruction sequence.”

Minser looked at the countdown.

One minute and twenty seconds.

“You have more faith than I do.”

“You’re not dying here.”

“Yes.”

He struggled to breathe.

“I am.”

Wynn knelt beside him.

“Kane’s registry.”

Minser looked toward Kane’s body.

“Take it.”

“It contains Meridian’s identities?” she asked.

“All of them.”

“Can anyone rebuild Fate?”

“No.”

“What about the drive Kane left at Garrison Eighteen?”

“A decoy. It contains a tracking beacon and a wipe routine. No source code.”

“And the remaining research?”

“Destroyed.”

“How do you know?”

Minser’s gaze found mine.

“Because I eliminated every surviving backup before I went to the roof.”

The explosions.

The black van.