They gave the rookie nurse the deaf Navy SEAL because they wanted to watch her fail.

The neural scanner hummed, a high-pitched, agonizing frequency that vibrated directly through the bones of Caleb’s skull. A sharp, burning white light erupted behind his eyelids as the machine began to force its way into his neural pathways, searching for the mapped biometric data of the Aegis network.

Caleb’s body shook violently against the leather straps, his teeth clenching so hard they bled, but he refused to scream. He kept his mind locked onto the image of the wooden sparrow carving, the smell of fresh cedar, and the sound of Lily’s laughter.

In the observation room, Lily’s despair transformed into a cold, lethal fury.

She looked at her hands, cuffed to the heavy metal table. The scars on her left wrist throbbed, not with fear, but with a sudden, powerful surge of survival instinct.

"Hey," Lily said, looking up at the guard on her left. Her voice was weak, her eyes downcast. "My chest... I can't breathe. I think I’m having an asthma attack... my inhaler... in my pocket..."

The guard, believing she was just a fragile civilian nurse, hesitated. He stepped forward, reaching down toward her pocket.

The moment his hand touched her hip, Lily’s eyes flashed with a brilliant, dangerous light.

With a fast, practiced motion, she slammed her cuffed hands upward, striking the guard’s throat with the heavy steel chain of her handcuffs. The guard gasped, clutching his neck as he stumbled backward.

Before the second guard could raise his rifle, Lily grabbed the first guard's sidearm from his holster, turning and firing two rapid, precise shots.

The second guard crumpled to the floor.

Lily immediately grabbed the security keys from the belt of the fallen guard, unlocking her handcuffs with a frantic, trembling speed. She snatched the security swipe card and ran to the heavy metal door separating the observation room from Room 12.

She slammed the card into the reader.

The heavy steel door slid open with a loud, metallic shriek.

General Cole, startled by the sudden intrusion, spun around, his hand reaching for his sidearm.

But Lily didn't hesitate. She raised her nine-millimeter pistol, aiming directly at the neural scanner in Cole’s hand.

"Step away from him!" Lily screamed, her voice ringing with an absolute, maternal authority.

She fired.

The bullet struck the neural scanner with a brilliant explosion of sparks and plastic debris. The sudden, violent feedback sent an electrical surge back through the machine, knocking General Cole off his feet, his body crashing hard against the concrete floor.

Lily ran to Caleb, her fingers flying over the heavy leather straps and the zip-ties, cutting them away with a small medical scalpel she had hidden in her boot.

"Caleb! Caleb, wake up!" she cried, holding his face in her hands.

Caleb gasped, his eyes flying open, his pale blue eyes bloodshot and wild. He looked at her, his breathing ragged, his body shivering from the neural trauma.

But as he saw her face, his gaze focused instantly.