**Chapter 9: Whispers in Static**
**Echo's Hive Mind — 8:17 AM**
The code was a storm. Tania floated in the maelstrom, her mother's voice threading through the chaos. *"You were always meant to lead them, sweetheart. Not destroy. *Ascend*."*
But another presence pulsed—warmer, fiercer. *Clifford.* His consciousness flickered at the edge of the hive, a rogue signal fighting its way in.
**Queens Safehouse — Reality**
Clifford dragged Tania's limp body into a crumbling supply closet, barricading the door. Her skin burned against his, feverish. "Wake up," he begged, fingers brushing her cheek. "*Please*."
**The Hive**
Tania recoiled as her mother's echo morphed, its edges sharpening into Eleanor's smirk. *"Pathetic. You'll always be the girl he used, never the one he—"*
A memory detonated.
**Flashback: The Lab — Three Years Earlier**
*Clifford, younger, his tie askew, cornered her in NeuroTech's archives. "You shouldn't be here," Tania hissed, clutching her mother's research.
"Neither should you." He stepped closer, the air crackling. "But here we are."
His thumb grazed her wrist, and for a heartbeat, the world narrowed to his storm-gray eyes. Then alarms blared. Crowe's men breached the doors.
He shoved her into a vent. "Stay alive, Marlowe."*
**The Closet — 8:29 AM**
Tania gasped awake, her hand tangled in Clifford's shirt. "You saved me. Back then. Why?"
His breath hitched. "You think I didn't *see* you? The barista who memorized every regular's order. The woman who fought for scraps but still tipped double." His knuckles brushed her jaw. "You were the only real thing in this godforsaken city."
The barricade splintered. Infected fists pounded.
**The Hive**
Eleanor's laugh curdled. *"How poetic. The liar falls for his own con."*
Tania lashed out, shredding the code with a scream. *"You don't get to have him!"*
**The Closet — 8:31 AM**
Clifford's lips found hers in the dark.
The kiss was salt and fury, a collision of what they'd lost and every lie they'd told. Tania's fingers dug into his shoulders, pulling him closer as the door shattered.
"Enough," she breathed, breaking away. Blue static arced from her palms. "Time to end this."
**Echo's Core — 8:32 AM**
She rewrote the code with a lover's touch, weaving Clifford's heartbeat into the firewall. The hive imploded, infected civilians collapsing like marionettes.
**Rooftop — 8:45 AM**
Eleanor aimed at Tania's back. "You don't win, little bird."
Daniel's bullet found her first.
**The Aftermath — 9:00 AM**
Tania knelt beside Clifford, his blood seeping through her hands. "Why?" she whispered.
He smiled, dimples faint. "Told you. Only real thing."
**End of Chapter 9**