15 Miles: The Heist
By Rapwizzy Debaron
Episode 15: Fire in the Code
---
The Forge's heart pulsed with a strange, rhythmic hum, as though the servers themselves were breathing. D7 stood at the edge of a digital tomb—where secrets were buried in heat and silence.
Julian stared at the central console: a towering machine with wires snaking into the walls like veins. The screen flashed in red.
[OBSIDIAN CORE: ACTIVE]
"We're standing in a live warhead," Reese muttered. "Any idea how to disarm it?"
"Max left a way," Eve replied, pulling out the scorched chip. "This isn't just data. It's a key."
Julian took it carefully. "Plug it in."
As the chip connected, a blinding light surged across the Forge. Holograms burst to life around them—blueprints, world maps, failed Nexus experiments, and surveillance archives from across the globe.
Then... Max's voice echoed again, but this time not in a recording.
It was the construct.
"Welcome to my final act," it said, voice digital, laced with emotion. "Obsidian was never meant to be a virus. It was a test. To see who would find the truth—and fight back."
Eve stepped forward. "Max?"
The hologram turned to face her, its form more human now. "A part of me, yes. The rest is something new. Something dangerous if left unchecked. That's why you're here."
Suddenly, the ground trembled. Outside, drones swarmed the sky. Carter checked the radar. "We've got company. Lots of it."
Lucian.
Even imprisoned, he had triggered a fallback: Ghost Net's final unit. Programmed to erase everything—including the Forge.
Julian clenched his fists. "We finish the overwrite, or we all die."
Reese loaded his rifle. "I'll hold the door. You burn the code."
Eve took Julian's side at the console. "There's a self-rewrite protocol buried under the core. Max embedded it into the chip. It can repurpose Obsidian... turn it into a firewall, not a weapon."
Carter raised an eyebrow. "A global shield?"
Julian nodded. "Exactly. We give control back to the people. But if we're too slow..."
The Forge shuddered again. Lights flickered. Outside, explosions thundered.
Reese's voice crackled through the comms. "They're breaching the perimeter! I can hold 'em off for a few minutes, no more!"
Julian typed rapidly, bypassing security loops, triggering Max's hidden code. The screen changed:
[REWRITE INITIATED]
Data poured into the system like molten lava, dissolving Nexus's backdoors, wiping its tools.
Max's voice echoed one last time:
"Freedom always comes at a price. Make sure it was worth it."
The core glowed white-hot. Carter shouted, "It's overloading! We need to get out—now!"
But Julian stayed. "We leave before it's done, and everything resets. I stay. You go."
Eve grabbed his arm. "Not happening."
"I already lost Max," Julian said quietly. "I won't let his sacrifice be for nothing."
"I didn't come this far to lose you too," Eve snapped. "We finish it—together."
Outside, Reese screamed through the comms, "Now or never!"
Julian and Eve slammed the final command.
[ACTIVATING CLEANSE – 99%...]
They ran. Carter fired up the van. Reese jumped in last, bleeding, but grinning.
Behind them, the Forge erupted—light, not fire.
Not destruction.
Rebirth.
---
Three Days Later – Broadcast Across the Globe
Screens everywhere glitched—then flickered to life. A symbol pulsed: the D7 phoenix.
A new system had replaced Nexus. Untraceable. Uncontrollable. Free.
Julian's voice echoed:
"To the people—they tried to silence you. Now, your voice runs in every circuit. You're no longer watched. You're watching back."
---
Somewhere in a prison transport...
Lucian, shackled and silent, watched the broadcast. For the first time, his smirk vanished.
A guard leaned in. "They won."
Lucian whispered, "For now."
He looked to the horizon.
"But the game never ends."
---
To be continued…
🔥 Like, comment, a
nd follow Rapwizzy Debaron to keep up with the rising storm in the next explosive episode of
15 Miles: The Heist