Location: Mirage HQ – Archive Vault B
Time: 11:43 PM
Vashti stood over the terminal, her pulse hammering. She'd knocked out three guards, disabled the camera feed, and hacked into the biometric lock using Arya's bypass tool.
She had five minutes.
The screen buzzed to life.
ACCESSING ARCHIVED FILES
> SUBJECT: VASHTI DHIMAN
CLEARANCE LEVEL: RESTRICTED
STATUS: ACTIVE – CLASSIFIED
Shabd's voice whispered urgently in her comm:
> "Vashti, don't do this alone—wait for us."
She stared at the screen.
> "I've waited my whole life for this, Shabd."
And she pressed Enter.
---
FILE LOG – SUBJECT: VASHTI DHIMAN
Name given at birth: Vashti Dhiman
Code name: VI
Test Category: Emotional Supremacy + Neural Resistance
Age of Recruitment: 6
Guardian Assigned: Agent X (now rogue)
Memory Rewrites: 12
Skill Implant Trials: Success – Phase Alpha
Purpose:
> Project Revenant – Neurological Assassin Unit.
To be programmed with emotional pain triggers to stimulate hyper-focus and aggression in target elimination.
To be emotionally attached to Subject S. Heer – used as a stabilizer variable.
Vashti gasped.
"They used Shabd… as my emotional leash."
Her hands trembled.
She scrolled further.
Incident Report 701B:
Subject attempted escape at age 12. Injured Agent X.
Demanded to become a "real doctor" instead of a "killer."
Result: Partial wipe. Emotional ties preserved for control.
Subject retained desire to become a neurosurgeon.
Manipulated into believing it was her dream.
Her whole body felt like fire and ice.
Her rage had a source now. So did her dreams.
They weren't fully hers.
She was shaped. Modified. Broken. Then rebuilt.
---
Meanwhile – Surveillance Room, Mirage
The man from before—Agent Riaan—watched the footage.
"She knows now," he smirked.
"She's going to burn this place down."
Another agent asked, "Should we activate Subject S. Heer's file as backup?"
Riaan grinned wider.
"No. Let's see what the girl becomes… when she knows love was engineered to control her."
---
Back in the Vault
Vashti grabbed every file, chip, and document she could.
Then she looked at the surveillance camera.
And stared directly into it.
"Your mistake," she said coldly,
"was thinking I wouldn't find out who I am."
She raised a small charge. Arya's signature explosive.
And blew the whole archive to hell.
---