“Amateur?” Valerius gasped, his face turning a bruised shade of purple. “He called me an amateur?”“He’s got the watch, Val,” Lex muttered, glancing down at his own expensive, yet suddenly inadequate, timepiece. “In this building, the watch makes the man. And right now, he’s the only man in the room.”Lois nodded slowly, his eyes fixed on the doors where Tinny had disappeared. “We need to find out who his sister is. If Miss Blackwood is as high-profile as he’s hinting, we aren't just dealing with a student. We’re dealing with a takeover.”Valerius didn't respond. He simply stared at the swinging doors, the mocking glint of the Chronos-0 still burned into his retinas.“A takeover?” Valerius’s voice cracked like a whip in the quiet hall. He turned on Lois, his eyes bloodshot and wide with a frantic, dangerous energy. “Is that what you think this is? You think I’m going to sit here and let some shadow-born brat crawl out of whatever hole he was hiding in to take my seat? And your bri

"Blackwood," Valerius said, his voice a strained, artificial cheer. "I was thinking about what you said earlier. About vigilance. It’s been bothering me. I think we got off on the wrong foot."Tinny stopped. He remained casually linked with Lileas, looking at Valerius as if he were a minor clerical error in need of correction."Did we? I hadn't noticed."Valerius’s grin faltered for a fraction of a second before widening into something even more unnatural. "I have a proposal. Something that might interest a man of your... unique background. Why don't we step into the gallery? Just the two of us. I think it’s time we had a real talk about how things work in this city." He leaned in, his voice dropping to a low, predatory hum. "A talk you really won't want to miss, Tinny."Tinny glanced down at Valerius’s hand, then back up at his face. He let out a small, dry chuckle that sounded like dead leaves skittering across pavement."No," Tinny said simply.Valerius blinked, his smile free

“Let’s be honest. Valerius didn't hire you because you’re the best. He hired you because you’re the loudest,” Tinny said, his eyes flashing in the dark and catching a stray glint of light from high above. “He wants a show. He wants me to scream so he can feel like a big man again.”Tinny’s voice dropped into a dangerous, melodic hum.“But here’s the problem with your plan: you think you’ve cornered me. In reality, I chose this elevator shaft. It’s a closed system. There are no witnesses, high-density walls... and most importantly, it’s well within the 'No-Fly' zone of the Academy’s acoustic sensors.”“What the hell are you babbling about?” the second thug spat, lunging forward with a localized jammer.Tinny didn't move; he just looked up. “I’m saying that in thirty seconds, your comms are going to go dead, your batons are going to short-circuit, and you’re going to realize that the rich kid you’re hunting was actually the bait.”The red-eyed leader laughed, a hollow, dry sound. “Ba

"Confirmation?" Valerius scoffed, turning around with a manic glint in his eyes that made Lex instinctively take a step back. "Lex, the Iron-Street Syndicate doesn't fail on a three-to-one hit inside an isolated bypass.”He looked insufferably smug. “Right now, your Blackwood is probably lying in a heap of rusted coolant crates, begging them not to scratch his precious watch.A slight smile appeared on his face. “He was so arrogant in the lecture hall... so untouchable. I can practically see his face now, covered in grease and absolute regret."Valerius took a long, satisfied sip of his drink, the amber liquid burning down his throat like victory itself."By tomorrow morning, he’ll be nursing shattered bones. He’ll slink back to whatever deep-sector hole he crawled out of, and his terrifying sister will be too busy cleaning up his broken teeth to even look in the direction of the Vance name. I told you, he was just an amateur with a big bank account and a borrowed watch. He didn't ha

Valerius stared.His jaw went slack, his flushed face instantly turning a sickly shade of gray. His eyes darted down, tracing the length of Tinny’s body. He looked at his shoulders, no tears in the liquid-silk blazer. He looked at his hands, no split knuckles, no bandages, no blood. He looked up at Tinny's face, no bruises, no swelling, not a single scratch.And then, his eyes locked onto Tinny’s left wrist.There it was. The Chronos-0. The custom lunar-grade finish caught the warm light of the paper lanterns, ticking flawlessly, completely unblemished."Y-You..." Valerius stammered, his voice dropping into a breathless wheeze. He staggered back a half-step, nearly tripping over Lois, who peeked over his shoulder with a look of pure horror. "How... how are you here?"Tinny took a slow, deliberate sip of his tea, swallowed, and set the porcelain cup back down on the dark lacquer tray with a soft, echoing clink. He looked up, his shark-like grin stretching across his face, entire