RONAN The machine did not react the way anything human would. It did not stumble or slow down. The bullet struck it and the force simply twisted its body, spinning it once in place. That motion helped it recover. It straightened itself and kept running. Its focus shifted away from me and locked onto the gunman ahead of it. The distance between them vanished almost instantly. I rolled hard to the side just in time. One massive foot slammed down where my chest should have been. The ground dented under the impact, cracked and crushed. The machine launched itself again, lifting clean off the road. It crashed down on the would be soldier and drove a metal fist straight into his face as it landed. The rest of the paramilitaries poured out from behind cars on all sides. Rifles came up. Gunfire exploded. The machine moved fast, almost fluid, vaulting over hoods and sliding between vehicles as bullets chased it. There was no reason to stay and watch how that ended. The bike was still half on top of me. It got shoved away and I dragged myself up. A limp slowed every step, but stopping was not an option. Staying low felt like instinct now. Cars became cover as I moved, one to the next, keeping metal between myself and the chaos behind me. Glass burst above my head. Bullets slammed into doors and trunks, punching through steel. The sound followed me. The median was straight ahead. Trees and brush promised cover. As I reached the edge of it, a pine trunk exploded beside my head. Wood splinters sprayed outward. My body dropped even lower. A quick look back showed at least half the squad charging toward me. Rifles were up. They were done with the drone. Now they wanted me. Helping them meet it had earned me that much. The brush swallowed me. Branches clawed at my clothes and tore into my skin. I forced speed I did not have, crashing through without care. Panic crept in and tightened its grip. There was no plan left. No exit in sight. I had traded one killing machine for several human ones. When this strip of trees ended, there would be nothing but open road. Buildings sat far beyond that, too far. Even reaching them would mean nothing. My body was breaking down. The men behind me were already in the trees. They would catch me. They would kill me. My virtual vision flashed to life. A message alert cut through the noise. For a second, shock froze me. Then my hand rose into view. The lenses tracked it. The message opened. It was a broad notice sent across the area network. United States Army units were operating nearby. All NSA personnel were ordered to move to designated rally points. The words hit hard. Hope surged. Systems powered up immediately. Hiding no longer mattered. A distress call went out, raw and desperate. The connection died almost as soon as it began. Diagnostics filled my vision. A powerful jamming signal flooded the spectrum. No local network access was possible without stronger hardware. The people chasing me knew how to blind secure systems. Hope drained away. Energy followed it. What little strength I had left felt like it was leaking out of me with every step. A bush rose ahead. I tried to jump it. My body failed. I crashed straight through. Branches ripped into my skin, carving burning lines across my brown flesh. I landed on the far side and nearly collapsed. How I was still moving made no sense. Nothing in my life had pushed me like this. Pain stacked on exhaustion. The blow to my head from the machine still rang inside my skull. Breathing burned. Muscles screamed. They were close now. Too close. The gunfire had stopped. That scared me more than the bullets. They were saving ammunition. They wanted a clean shot. The road had to be near. I could not see it yet. There was no plan for when I reached it. Every muscle begged to quit. My lungs demanded air. My heart felt like it was tearing itself apart. A thick bush stood ahead. For one brief moment, hiding felt tempting. Curl up inside it. Disappear.The thought died fast. If they could jam my systems, they likely had infrared gear. Leaves and branches would not matter. They would see me. They would end me. So the body kept moving. Arms and legs worked on instinct alone. Thoughts drifted as a way to survive. Why did they want me dead? How did they even know who I was? Why had both the drone and these men tried to kill me when they clearly were not on the same side? One truth remained. People with real power wanted me gone. The brush ended without warning. The open space hit like a wall. I staggered onto the roadside and stopped. A laugh burst out of me, wild and broken, as my knees hit the ground.Two armored vehicles waited ahead. Their turrets followed every small movement I made. Around them stood two dozen soldiers. Heavy armor hid their faces. Rifles were already trained on me. My limbs turned heavy. Too heavy to lift. The world dimmed at the edges. I pitched forward. Gunfire erupted. The last sensations were the sharp cracks of rifles and my head striking the hard earth beside the road.