The roof of the control room crashes down right in front of us, kicking up a huge cloud of gray dust that chokes my throat.I cough, waving my hand in front of my face to clear the air. The heavy slab of concrete blocks the entire hallway, trapping the Syndicate guards on the other side. For now, we are safe from their weapons. But the air in the underground chamber grows hot very fast, and the red emergency lights flash on the walls, casting a bright warning glow across the floor."Is everyone okay?" Chidi asks, dropping to one knee beside me. He checks my arms and shoulders, making sure no falling debris hit me."I am fine," I say, pushing myself up. My head still aches from the data drain, but the roaring sound inside my skull is completely gone. The connection to the master terminal is broken.Zainab stands a few feet away, brushing dust off her jacket. She looks down at the heavy iron wrench in her hand, then points toward a narrow maintenance ladder built into the side of the co

The heavy metal door of the central broadcast tower opens with a quiet click as I press Jade's keycard against the reader. I step inside the dark service corridor, pulling Zainab in right behind me before the security scanner can reset itself. The air inside the tower is cool and smells of ozone and burning computer parts. Above us, through the hollow concrete core of the building, we can hear the heavy thud of guard boots marching across the upper observation decks. "The tower security is tied directly into the city's main power grid," Zainab says, keeping her voice low as she checks her notebook by the faint green light of the keypad. "If the Syndicate realizes we bypassed the biometric gates, they will lock down every elevator shaft in the building." "We are not taking th

The massive turbine engines roar outside the broken window, blowing a fierce, freezing wind directly into the studio. I throw my arm up across my face to block the flying glass and dust. The dark military aircraft hovers right outside the seventy-fifth floor, its red weapon systems locked firmly onto our position. The wind tears papers off the desks and scatters them into the dark night sky. "Get down!" Jade shouts over the deafening noise of the engines. She pulls Zainab behind a heavy steel control console just as a burst of warning laser fire hits the outer wall, melting the metal frame of the window into glowing orange liquid. I grab Chidi by the jacket and yank him down behind the raised stage platform with me.

The laughter echoing up the dark stairwell sends a cold shiver straight down my spine. It is not the voice of the man in the gray suit, and it does not belong to any Syndicate guard we have faced before. It sounds deeper, older, and completely hollow, bouncing off the concrete walls like a recording played on a broken machine. "Stay back," Jade says, stepping in front of us. She pulls a charged energy blaster from her tactical belt, her eyes scanning the pitch-black steps below. "We are walking into an active zone. Keep your weapons ready." "Who is down there?" Chidi asks, his voice shaking slightly as he grips the metal handrail. "Someone who has been waiting for us," Uncle Emeka replies, rubbing his bruised should

The red laser sights of a dozen automated drones lock onto Chidi's chest, casting small, glowing dots across his jacket. Dr. Amarachi Okafor stands by the central platform, her finger resting lightly over the silver data drive. Her face is completely calm, showing no pity for the friends trapped with me inside the underground vault. "You don't have to do this," I say, taking a slow step forward while keeping my hands open and visible. "If you want the network to broadcast the true history files across Neo-Prague, use the automated backup drives in the wall. You don't need a human vessel to do the work." "Backups are static files, Kelechi," Amarachi replies, her voice echoing off the damp concrete walls. "They lack the emotional resonance required to bypass the high command's