Chapter 9 · The Man Behind Glass

"Don't trust her."

The voice came through the glass before I even got close. My own voice. Same flat tone I used when I wanted someone to know I wasn't bluffing.

I stopped three feet from the panel. Behind it stood another Victor Kane. Same scar on the jaw. Same eyes. He had his palm pressed flat to the glass, and when I moved left, he didn't mirror me. He just stood there, watching.

"What the hell is this?" I said.

He didn't blink. "Ada Frost dies in thirty-seven minutes. You can stop it, or you can let her bleed out in Loop Eight. Your choice."

My pulse kicked up. "How do you know that name?"

"Because I already lived it." He tapped the glass twice. "Kill her now. Before she kills you."

I stepped closer. The air smelled like burnt metal and cold stone. The status screen on the wall behind him blinked: INSTANCE-00008 / RUNTIME 00:14:22. Fourteen minutes into this loop. I'd spent the first ten trying to find Ada after she split off to check the west corridor. Now I had this.

"You're not me," I said.

"No.