Chapter 16 · Rift Protocol - Chapter 16: Pull the Trigger

"Put it down."

Dalen's hand won't move. The gun stays leveled at my chest. His fingers are white on the grip.

"I said put it down," I repeat. My voice cracks. "You don't want to do this."

"You think I have a choice?" His jaw clenches. "Fifty-eight minutes, Kess. That's what we've got."

The countdown burns on the wall behind him. Red numbers ticking down. Yael's voice still echoes in the core chamber—smooth, clinical, victorious.

"There's always a choice," I say.

"Not when someone else is holding the wheel." He takes a step closer. The muzzle doesn't waver. "You felt it back there. When he made me move. I couldn't stop it."

I did feel it. Watched his body jerk forward like a puppet on strings. Watched the panic flood his eyes when his own legs wouldn't obey.

"So we find another way," I say.

"There is no other way." His voice drops. "He built the anchor into my spine. Into my brain stem. Every reset, it gets deeper. You think I can fight that for an hour?"

"You fought it before."

"For ten seconds. Maybe twenty." He shakes his head. "I'm not strong enough.