15 Miles: The Heist
By Rapwizzy Debaron
Episode 51: Shadows of the Past
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The cold night air bit sharply at Julian's skin as he leaned against the crumbling wall of the battered safehouse. Around him, the city hummed—a restless beast barely held in check by flickering streetlights and distant sirens. The hum of helicopters overhead sounded like a constant reminder that the noose was tightening.
Eve was seated beside him, her breathing shallow but steady. A dark bruise marred her temple, but her eyes burned with the same fierce determination Julian had come to rely on.
"We can't keep running," Eve whispered, her voice tight with exhaustion and something deeper—fear, perhaps. "Lucian's planning something. Something worse than Lazarus. This isn't just about control anymore. It's about domination."
Julian's gaze hardened as he stared into the dark horizon. The skyline was a jagged silhouette, broken by the flickering glow of fires and the ominous spires of Nexus Tower, now reduced to smoldering ruins. "Then we stop him. No matter what. No more running, no more hiding. We bring the fight to him."
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Deep in the Forest
Hours later, the team moved silently through thick underbrush, shadows stretching long in the moonlight. The data drive felt like a burning coal in Eve's palm, its importance heavier than any weapon.
Julian led the group, every sense on high alert. The distant thud of military vehicles echoed faintly, a grim reminder that Lucian's forces were never far behind.
"We're close," Reese whispered, raising a hand to signal. Ahead, through the dense trees, they spotted the hulking shapes of rusted steel and barbed wire—remnants of a long-abandoned military installation.
Max's voice crackled over their comms, breaking the tense silence. "I hacked into the city's underground network. There's a facility here—Project Echo. Lucian's secret lab. It's worse than we thought."
Julian's throat tightened. "Echo? What's the target this time?"
Max's voice lowered, heavy with dread. "It's a mind control program. Not just soldiers, but entire populations. Turning people into weapons, puppets for Lucian's war machine. Lazarus was just the prototype."
The weight of the revelation settled over them like a shroud.
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Inside the Compound
They slipped past cracked gates and rotting barriers, the crunch of gravel underfoot the only sound in the stillness. The air inside the compound was cold, sterile—filled with the scent of old machinery and chemical agents long since dried.
Rows of pods lined the vast chamber ahead, each one empty and silent but ominous in their purpose. The faint hum of dormant power suggested they had only recently been abandoned.
Eve swallowed hard, voice barely above a whisper. "This is where they build monsters… soldiers without will, controlled by Lucian's tech. We're too late to stop the first batch."
Suddenly, red emergency lights bathed the hallway in a harsh glow, and alarms shattered the silence.
Lucian's cold, mocking voice echoed through the compound's intercom system: "Welcome to your final act, D7. You've run far enough."
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Fight or Flight
Bullets tore through the air as heavily armed Ghost Net operatives poured into the compound, their movements precise and ruthless. Reese dropped into a defensive stance, covering their retreat as Julian and Eve darted toward the main control room.
Max's voice crackled through, urgent and strained. "You have to upload that data. It's the only way to shut Echo down for good. I'm hacking the system from here, but it won't hold much longer."
Julian's jaw clenched, muscles burning from the adrenaline-fueled sprint. "Eve, cover me. I'm going in."
As Julian plugged the drive into the console, the screen flickered, data streaming faster than he could read—blueprints, code, encrypted files outlining the mind-control project in terrifying detail.
Memories flooded back—his childhood, the betrayals, the losses that had led him here. His hands trembled as he hit the 'Upload' command, sending the explosive truth out to the world.
But before he could move, the heavy steel door slammed open.
Lucian stepped into the control room, his eyes cold as ice and a cruel smirk twisting his lips. He held a gun, steady and aimed.
"You're too late, Julian. This ends now."
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To be continued…
🔥 The city's fate hangs by a thread. Will D7's courage be enough to expose Lucian's dark empire?
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