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Hands shaking with exhaustion, Root jammed the thumb drive into the computer. It was a way in, the only one, one she’d spent every conscious moment of the last year hunting for. She would have mere moments to make it count, to exploit this sliver of vulnerability in a beast that otherwise had none. It was David to a digital Goliath, and Root could only hope her aim would be true.
The device connected and Root opened the single folder onboard, her fingers dancing over the keyboard with nails freshly painted black for the occasion. She hadn’t bothered with such things for a long time now. Not since Shaw. Not since this war had gotten more personal than Root could have ever imagined.
Root brought up the lone file, labeled with one simple name that made the back of her throat tighten in anguish.
Sameen.
The virus was the most lethal she’d ever built. The most dark. The most efficient. Anything less would have dishonored the memory of the woman she’d named it after. Sameen Shaw had made a habit of coming to her rescue, and now her namesake would save the world. It was Root’s last gasp, and Shaw’s final revenge.
An alarm sounded from somewhere in the facility. Root ignored it. She still had time.
Crafted like a sniper’s bullet, Root savored the intense satisfaction of firing the virus right at Samaritan’s virtual heart. She could have chosen its brain, but this was more poetic for her tastes. Shaw would have been pleased to see the virus find its mark, to penetrate its target and begin to wreak havoc.
“Go get ‘em, sweetie.” Root imagined Shaw charging toward an army, taking every soldier in her path down one by one. A tear slipped down Root’s cheek, even as a fond smile shaped her lips.
If Shaw was still out there, somewhere, maybe Root’s last act would set her free. Maybe somehow Shaw would know. And if Shaw wasn’t…
Root dragged in a painful breath, feeling it tear at her lungs as she tasted smoke on the back of her tongue. If Shaw really was gone, maybe what Root was doing now was enough to balance the scales that she might see her again somehow, somewhere. Maybe they were never meant to be angels, but Root was damn sure they’d have a time together in hell.
An explosion behind her didn’t even make Root flinch. Quaking with fatigue and adrenaline, she kept her eyes intent on the computer screen, watching as Decima and Samaritan realized they’d been invaded by an unstoppable force. Their efforts to stop Sameen would only supercharge the virus. Some small, bitter part of her, however, hoped like hell Martine had been the one to try to come through the door she’d rigged with just enough C-4 to slow them down.
Gunfire erupted in the hall. Reese protecting her flank and giving her the few precious moments she needed to end this. This was his last stand as much as it was hers, and she was grateful he’d chosen to be here now, even if she knew he really had no choice.
A goodbye was whispered softly in her ear, full of pride and sorrow. In order to stop Samaritan, Root had to stop it all, destroy ever corner of the Internet. Devastate ever computer. Man would rebuild it all someday, but it meant sacrificing all she had left: her god.
The Machine knew and understood and even now helped Root spread the virus even as She was corrupted by it. One last mission together, one last chess move to make. Root smiled through her tears, the screen before her blurring for a long moment.
“Thank you.” Root said in a choked voice.
When the first bullet entered her, Root kept typing, pushing the virus further, faster. All over the globe, computers went off-line, cars that ran on them were grinding to a halt, doors powered by them wouldn’t open. She was taking the world down with her for its own salvation and her desperate need for revenge. For a fleeting moment, Root was grateful Harold hadn’t lived to see this moment.
Another bullet followed the first and Root grunted this time, trying to ignore the pain and blood spilling down the flat plane of her stomach. Reese’s weapon had gone silent now. She was all that was left.
Two more shots ripped through Root’s upper chest, and she felt something detach inside her, as if her soul was untethering from her body. Her legs gave way, buckling beneath her, but even as she fell, Root kept her eyes on the cracked but still working screen. The lights went out overhead, and as Root struck the tile floor, the computer screen finally flickered and died.
The world suddenly sounded so quiet and peaceful even as blood roared in Root’s ears. She smiled, feeling no pain now.
“See you soon, sweetie,” she whispered.
Finally, Root could rest.
- The End