"An unranked fissure in the residential district? That’s not a dungeon, it’s a death trap for the civilians." Michael didn't wait for the Vanguard scout to finish his pitch. He was already shrugging into his tactical vest, his mind snapping into a cold, clinical rhythm."Mr. Stone, wait," the scout, a man named Sterling, scoffed, stepping into Michael’s path. "The Vanguard has already dispatched a response unit. You stay out of this. You’re not insured for civilian zone interference. You want to ruin your career? Keep interfering with guild business."Michael didn't look at Sterling. He locked eyes with Kestrel. "Coordinate with the local transit authority. If the guilds haven't arrived, they’re prioritizing the commercial district’s perimeter. That leaves the slums exposed.""We move now?" Kestrel asked, her hand already drifting toward her blades."We move now," Michael confirmed. He brushed past Sterling as if the man were a ghost."You’re an idiot," Sterling shouted at their backs,

"Stop looking at the monitors," Michael commanded, his voice tight."I can't help it," Bram replied, leaning closer to the wall of screens mounted in their new, semi-permanent command center. "Look at the comments on the live feed. They’re calling us 'The People’s Squad.' They’re literally comparing us to the Iron Halo elites, and we’re losing, Michael.""We aren't losing," Michael snapped, though his own eyes flicked to the scroll of text cascading down the side of the news broadcast. Why didn't the guilds hit the Sector 4 collapse? Why were the Zero-Ranks the only ones there?"The public perception is shifting," Kestrel said, sliding a tablet across the desk. Her fingers hovered over a chart of "Trust Metrics." "Our request volume from independent contractors has tripled since the residential breach. The guilds are noticing, too. Look at the spike in surveillance drones hovering outside our perimeter."Michael gritted his teeth. "They’re not monitoring us to offer us a seat at the t

"Close the door, Elias. Now."Michael didn’t look up from the tactical map. The red lines of his squad’s patrol routes flickered, blinking with an erratic, rhythmic pulse that made his temples throb.Elias, one of the original washouts Michael had pulled from the gutters of District 9, hesitated. His hand lingered on the handle of the steel door. "Everything okay, Commander?""The data packet for the South-Gate maneuver," Michael said, his voice flat, stripped of all inflection. "It leaked. Three hours ago, a shell company owned by Meridian dropped a preemptive strike on the exact route we planned. How?"Elias went deathly pale. The silence in the room stretched, heavy and suffocating, broken only by the hum of the ventilation fans. "I... I don't know what you're talking about, Michael.""Don't," Michael warned. He finally turned his chair. His eyes weren't angry; they were terrifyingly cold. "I have the logs. Every access point, every

"Sit down, Elias."Michael didn’t raise his voice. He didn’t have to. The air in the room felt vacuum-sealed, the oxygen vanishing under the weight of the accusation. Elias, a young man whose eyes usually darted with nervous energy, stood frozen, his hand still gripping the cold steel door handle."I didn’t—""You sent the decrypted route to a Meridian middle-manager for ten thousand credits," Michael interrupted, his voice a flat, dead monotone. "They didn't even pay you half of your market value. They treated you like a disposable asset. Which, to them, you are."Elias dropped his hand from the door. He slumped, his shoulders collapsing inward. "They said I was going nowhere with you, Michael! They told me you’d eventually push us into a meat grinder to prove a point. They said if I gave them your maneuvers, I could get a transfer to a real guild. A paid guild."Michael stood up, his chair clattering back ag

Michael watched the rain smear the neon lights of the city into long, jagged streaks of artificial color. "A real guild," he repeated, his voice devoid of warmth. "And how is the pay, Elias? Does it cover the cost of your soul?"Elias flinched, but he didn't look away. "It’s a living. Something you can’t offer.""I offer a future," Michael said, turning back. "You chose a ledger. Fine. You aren't banned from the industry, and I’m not calling the Enforcers to wipe your clearance. You’re fired. Get out before I change my mind."Elias stared at him, stunned by the lack of retribution. He stammered, "You’re just... letting me go?""You aren't worth the paperwork," Michael said, turning back to his screens. The door clicked shut.Dahlia stepped out from the shadows near the back of the room. Her face was grim. "You should have ruined him, Michael. That information is out there now. Meridian knows how you synchronize the low