Chapter 5 - THE FIRST ELENA
The rifle log contained forty-three missions.
Every one attributed to Officer Elena Carter.
Dates showed I had been in high school during the earliest operations.
Another woman had carried my identity.
Her name was Claire Dawson.
A military orphan selected for resemblance and trained under my future file.
The program assigned names before recruits even entered service.
When I enlisted, I did not create the Elena Carter profile.
I inherited it.
Claire completed classified shots under my name.
Some commendations in my record were hers.
Some investigations too.
Ryan had met Claire while imprisoned.
She believed I replaced her.
The system fed both of us the same lie:
Only one Elena could remain legally active.
The analog line in the bunker connected for twelve seconds.
Enough for Dylan to transmit coordinates and a partial warning.
Then the line cut.
A monitor switched on.
Claire appeared.
Same brown hair tied back.
Same uniform.
Same face with older scars.
She held a sniper rifle against Ryan’s replacement target.
“Elena,” she said, “Marcus didn’t load the bullet that killed your brother.”
“Who did?”
“You did.”
I had never fired it.
Claire smiled.
May you like
“Not this version of you.”
Read Chapter 6 to discover how the program created a second Elena’s memories.
