We were still sitting in the dark when the tablet lit up by itself.Borealis had it hooked to all his equipment like always. Running scans and whatever else he does. The screen just turned on. No warning. No incoming call signal. Just a face appearing.A woman. Older. Maybe sixty. White hair cut short and neat. Sharp eyes behind glasses. She looked like somebody's grandmother if that grandmother ran a company that killed people."Good evening," she said. Her voice was calm and smooth. Like she was hosting a dinner party. "My name is Helena Voss. I believe you know my daughter."Elena stood up so fast her chair tipped over and hit the floor. "You.""Yes, dear. Me." The woman smiled. Small and polite. "I have been wanting to meet you properly. All of you, really. You have been impressive to watch."Caiman had his gun up. Kenji was on his feet. Leo pressed himself against the couch with his big eyes watching."Where is she?" Elena's voice was shaking. "Where is Evelyn?""Safe. She is unh

It hit me in the chest first.I was standing at the front of the boat, watching the water roll by, when Kenji grabbed the rail and said, “Something’s wrong.” Then his legs just folded under him.I turned and saw him on the deck. A second later my own chest lit up. It was not like a heart attack. It felt like something sharp and hot twisting inside me. I dropped too. Hit the deck hard. I heard Caiman go down behind me.Kenji was curled up a few feet away. His face had gone white. Sweat was running down his neck.Then the screaming started from below.Maja. Lars. Leo.All three of them.They were screaming like someone was tearing them apart slowly.Elena came running up from below. She looked at me. Then at Kenji. Then at Caiman.“What the hell is happening?”I tried to answer but my mouth felt thick.She grabbed my shoulder. “Jax. Talk to me.”“Signal,” I forced out. My voice sounded strange. “Kids.”Her eyes went to the hatch where the screaming was coming from. Then she ran back do

The bridge was old. It went across a deep valley somewhere in the mountains. I didn't even recognize where we were any longer.We were running. That was all we did anyway. Run and fight and watch people die.The attackers came out of nowhere. Black suits with corporate logos. The same kind we had been seeing for months. They came up the road fast in three trucks. A lot of them.Kenji saw them first. He was at the back with Leo. The kid was holding his hand. He still was not talking since the signal."Company," Kenji said.I looked back and saw the trucks. Saw the dust behind them."How many?" I asked."Too many," he said.We had the kids. We had Elena. We had Borealis and Caiman. We had nowhere to go but across that bridge."Move," I said. "Get them across."Elena grabbed Maja's hand and started running. Caiman picked up Lars. The kid was still weak. Borealis ran ahead to check the other side.Kenji did not move."There is no time.""Then go."He knelt down in front of Leo. Put his ha

We drove for two days straight.Caiman only stopped when the truck was about to run out of gas. We'd fill up at some small station, pay cash, and keep going. Nobody talked much. Leo sat in the back with his wrist wrapped in cloth. He stopped looking at it after a while.The mark was still there. Red. Small. We all knew what it meant.Elena was on her tablet most of the time. Going through files. Making calls on secure lines. Talking to people I didn't know.On the second night she came and sat next to me. We were pulled over at another gas station. Middle of nowhere. Caiman was filling up. Kids were asleep in the back."I got something," she said."What?""There's a commercial flight to Icarus. Leaves in two days. It's a supply run but they take passengers. Rich people. Scientists. The kind who pay for a weekend in space.""How do we get on it?"She was quiet for a minute."I have a contact. From before. When I was still working with my mother. His name is Kane. He runs a logistics com

The maintenance shaft was dark and narrow. We floated through it, pulling ourselves along hand over hand. No gravity. Just nothing under you. It messed with your head after a while.Leo held onto my arm tight. His face was pale."Father," he whispered. "I don't like this.""Me neither. Just keep moving."Elena was ahead of us. She moved carefully, grabbing rungs on the wall. Borealis floated behind her with his tablet. Caiman brought up the rear, his big frame barely fitting through.We'd been crawling for twenty minutes. The station schematics showed this shaft led to the lower levels. Away from the rich people. Away from the guards. Or so we thought.Borealis stopped. Held up his hand."Quiet," he whispered.We stopped moving. Listened.Footsteps. Or something like footsteps. Clanging on metal. Coming from below.Then voices."...section seven clear.""Copy. Moving to section eight."Two voices. Male. Flat. No emotion.Borealis pulled out his tablet. Tapped it. He showed me the scre