Override (Glitch)

good in the world without ever having to get your hands dirty. You have to promise me that when you’re a leader you’ll do what needs to be done.” Her eyes met mine in the mirror with a burning intensity.
    I swallowed. “I promise to do what I think is right.”
    Her mouth turned down at the edges, but she finally nodded. “I suppose in the end that’s all any of us can ever do.”
    “We can still turn back, General.” I leaned forward. “Adrien didn’t try to change his fate, he just walked right into it. You can’t do the same thing.”
    “You don’t understand. I don’t know if I believe in destiny, but I do believe that we must win this war if there is to be any hope for humanity. And I won’t hide from a fight or let someone else die the death that was meant for me. Battles are fought every day with the knowledge that it might be our last. And as confident as the Chancellor might be, I guarantee she will be underestimating me. Because there is nothing more dangerous than a soldier who knows they have nothing left to lose.”

Chapter 28
    I WATCHED THE OUTLINE of the city come into view. Tall skinny buildings were stacked beside one another like a cluster of claws reaching into the sky. Taylor didn’t say anything more.
    “How are we going to get close without detection?” I asked.
    “We’re cloaked from their digital image scans. We just have to hope we’re not spotted by the patrols.”
    She flew straight into the heart of the city and landed on the roof of a midsized building. I closed my eyes, letting my telek sense spread out. There was no movement below, and no army of Regs coming at us.
    Yet.
    I clicked my wrist coms. “Ginni, what is the Chancellor’s position?”
    “She hasn’t moved at all. Adrien either. It looks like they’re in adjoining rooms.”
    I met Taylor’s frowning eyes in the mirror.
    “Maybe you were right,” I said to her. “Maybe she is underestimating us,… or we haven’t sprung the trap yet.”
    I jumped over the side of the duo and hurried across the rooftop. The wind rushed against my suit. I spared a glance outward at the cityscape and felt dizzy. It was so high up, higher off the ground than I’d ever been in my life outside of being in a transport. I tried to watch only the concrete ground in front of me. I came to the door in the corner and, without wasting any time, cast out my telek and made the door open sideways in its tracks.
    I hurried down a staircase, and after a few more doors, I was out on the skywalk. The entire thing was made of glass, even the floor. The hundred-story drop spread out beneath my feet, but I barely glanced at it. I focused entirely on the building in front of me.
    I was close enough now that I could feel past the walls of the building. Ginni said Adrien and the Chancellor were on the twenty-third floor. If I could disable the Chancellor before I even got into the building …
    I tried to scan the floors, but quickly lost count. It appeared to be a housing unit of some kind. All the floors were laid out the same, and I could only push down about ten floors before my control started getting fuzzy around the edges. I could feel the prone shapes of people sleeping in each unit. None of them had the bulk of a Reg. I had no idea if they were soldiers or civilians or other glitchers, but there was no way I’d be able to locate the Chancellor among them. I could accidentally kill an innocent person. As much as I wanted Adrien back, I wasn’t willing to go that far. I’d just have to get closer.
    I pushed aside the door at the other end of the skywalk. No Regs. I wasn’t sure if I should feel lucky. My uneasiness grew as I crept forward. All I could do was keep my telek on call and try to detect any traps before the snare clapped shut.
    The door opened to a long white hallway. The lights were dim, probably still on nighttime settings. I jogged toward the elevator, all senses alert. Still no one was coming.
    I frowned, but waved the card the dark-haired techer boy had given me in front of the elevator sensor. A few moments later, the door pinged open.
    The cylindrical elevator pod felt extra small as I pushed the button for the twenty-third floor and waited as I dropped. I had the strangest sensation I was a mouse in a trap. I shook my head. Not hitting any resistance was just making me paranoid. Maybe by some miracle Adrien hadn’t had a vision of me coming.
    The elevator slowed and came to a halt. Before the door opened,