The city’s underground hummed like a living thing. Echoes dripped from the vaulted ceiling as Evan, Travis, and the woman — who finally said her name was Mara — pressed deeper into the subway maze. The disabled mimic lay behind them, its sparks guttering, but Evan could feel the weight of what came next like a stone in his gut.“Someone’s already sent word,” Mara hissed, peering into the darkness. “They’ll know we used the transit sensors. The splinter faction doesn’t forgive mistakes.”Evan’s jaw tightened. “So killing or disabling one of them just bought us minutes, not freedom.”Travis rubbed his temple. “Minutes are something, but they’re also bait. Whoever’s hunting us will move faster now. We need an exit plan, safehouses, and someone who can burn our trail.”Mara’s laugh was bitter. “I can burn trails. For a price. But there’s a catch: the only person with the network keys is inside the Mirevault vaults downtown. You want me to ghost you out of the city clean? Be willing to bre

The one-hour countdown hammered through Evan’s nerves like a second heartbeat. Outside the Orion Tower, sirens flared in the distance; inside, the guests had been herded into an unnatural hush punctured by shouted orders. Screens that had once shown tasteless sponsorship slides now displayed emergency overlays and rotating maps.“We’ve got sixty minutes,” Travis said, voice flat. “Lysander activated the Purge protocol. They’ll hit high-value nodes first—communications, transport rails, then any house that resists. If we don’t move, the city will be carved up by panic.”Evan paced, shoulders tight. “So now he plays with crowds. He wants the public screaming before he makes a power play.”Mara checked her comm quietly. “It’s not just noise. He’s trying to fracture alliances. When people are scared, they make bargains they’d never make sober. Lysander’s going to use terror to force houses to surrender their safeties—and that’s when he takes control.”A new voice cut through the command c

Evan slammed his palm down on the console. “What does dispersal mean? Gas? EM? Something kinetic?”Travis’s voice, when it came back, was not his. It was small, far. “It’s not explosives. It’s a broadcast payload… a directed energy—no, that’s wrong. It’s—”Static swallowed him.Evan’s stomach turned to ice. “Travis? Travis, answer me! What is it?”Silence. Then a frantic voice: “Travis—respond! You there?”On the rooftop feed, a figure—too small in the frame—stumbled, and then another shadow fell across it. The camera tilted, and for a heartbeat Evan thought he saw the silhouette of a person reaching for something.Mara’s fingers flew again. “I’m trying to re-open the uplink—gotta patch—come on—” Her voice shredded like rope.Evan’s heart thudded in his throat so hard he could hear it. “Travis, if whatever they set is a dispersal and it’s active—what happens to the block? Tell me! Tell me now!”Static hummed, then, impossibly, Travis’ voice came back through the crackle, weaker but cl

The corridor smelled of dust and cold metal. Evan crouched behind a service pillar, Mara pressed against his side, breath shallow. The operative — the masked silhouette who had stolen the Arlen files — stood by the archive door, the secure briefcase clutched like a promise. Red digits on a nearby wall ticked down: 00:00:27.“Thirty seconds doesn’t feel negotiable,” Mara hissed. “They built this for coercion.”Evan’s jaw was tight. “We can’t give them that data. If they erase houses’ records, people die in streets and hospitals. But if we attack and fail, they blow it to paralyze the net.”The operative’s voice drifted through the corridor, calm and mocking. “Decisions define you, Mr. Caelum. Give me the files peacefully and I’ll walk away. Refuse and you’ll watch controlled collapse.”Evan stood, forcing his hands to steady. “You won’t get away with this. Someone will stop you—houses, the city, whoever you answer to. This will come back on you.”A soft, metallic chuckle. “Maybe. Or ma

Rain hammered the city like a drum. Evan clung to the edge of the Orion Tower’s rooftop, water streaming down his face, heart hammering. Below, the streets glimmered wet and chaotic, headlights slicing through the night. The operative’s shadow moved across the roof, sleek, predatory, each step calculated.“Thought you could escape?” the operative hissed, voice low and venomous.Evan didn’t answer. Instead, he crouched, eyeing the narrow catwalk leading to the adjacent building. “I won’t let you take the files!” he shouted, rain masking his words, adrenaline cutting through fear.“You think this is about files? Child, this is about power—and how far you’re willing to go,” the operative replied.Kieran’s voice echoed in his earpiece. “Evan, don’t let him box you in. Find leverage, or he’ll corner you before you can act. There’s a drone overhead—I can provide cover, but only if you move fast.”Mara’s voice joined, frantic: “Evan, the override is stabilizing the pulse, but not fully. If t