Glitch in the God Complex (AmpCore #1)

65 - Worst Kept Secrets

Arrow watched, fear creeping across their skin as Piper, Toran, Odiye and Ferra set off, leaving them alone with Holly.

The one person they really did not want to be alone with. Ever since their suspicions had rocketed to the fore, they'd been replaying everything in their mind, combing back through every step they'd taken since they'd met Piper, and the conclusion was unavoidable.

Holly Lockley was not on their side.

The question now, Arrow supposed, was whether Holly had put the pieces together in reverse.

"So," they croaked. "Gonna help me or what?"

Holly didn't reply, though she aimed her amplifier at the deep gouge in Arrow's torso. They felt the fingers of energy reach out, probing and examining their wound. The footsteps of their companions receded into the halls beyond, and soon all they could here was the distant throb of the facility alarms deeper inside.

Sitting here right now, Arrow couldn't help wondering if they could have been a little more subtle in their approach.

"Nasty," Holly commented blandly, rocking back onto her haunches. The tendrils of force unwound from Arrow's gut and they looked up at her. Holly's face was tight with discomfort, her wand twitching between her fingers?

"Can you fix it?" Arrow forced out. Probably not a good idea to accuse Holly of treachery while they were lying here cut open.

"I could." Holly's expression drifted into sadness. "It would take a while, and hurt like hell, but I could."

"Will you?"

"I wish it were that easy." Arrow felt the dread wash over them like an icebath as Holly shook her head. "I know you too well, Arrow. You're too smart for your own good. I know you know."

"Know what?"

"You really want to spend your last breaths lying to me?"

Shit.

Arrow grimaced, shuffling up into a straighter sitting position. More blood leaked between their fingers and a jolt of pain shot through their torso.

"I don't get it."

"I wish you'd stayed at AmpCore. Maybe then I could have convinced them to go easy on you. But now?" Holly made a gesture to their surroundings. "After all this? The people I work for aren't going to let that go."

"And who do you work for, exactly?"

"Gammaton."

"And?"

"And a lot of other people." A faint smirk crossed Holly's face. "You know it was funny, listening to to Mattise. All that shit about the corps working together, about what AmpCore was supposed to be. If only he knew what was going on right under his nose. Half the corps in the city working together for the common good."

"Common good?" Arrow spluttered. "You're making codewraiths. AI machines. And they're killing people."

"I know that."

"Well then-,"

"There are prices to be paid for everything, Arrow."

"And what are you paying for right now?"

"The future."

Those last two words hit Arrow in the heart and almost let them forget about the pain for a moment. The sheer believe with which Holly said them was frightening.

"So you're going to kill me?"

"Better than leaving you here to bleed to death, wouldn't you think?"