“No, you don’t get it! This isn’t about whatyouwant. It’s about ending this thing before it ends Lyric and whoever else the fuck it wants off the planet!”
“Stop!”
Lyric’s voice cut through the chaos.
He was between us before I could blink, his hand pressing flat to my chest. Not pushing. Just there. Steady. Warm.
“Breathe, Rio,” he said, fierce and quiet. “I need you calm, not tearing this place apart.”
I looked down at him, my chest heaving. His eyes met mine without flinching. And for a second, all the noise in my head dulled to a low thrum.
“I can get to Kessler somehow,” Lyric added. “Hand myself over, and I’ll do it because it’s the only way.”
“You’re not going in alone?—”
“He won’t be going in alone,” Jamie interrupted. “Caleb came up with the idea that I take the contract on Lyric and walk him in the front door.”
My vision snapped to him, rage detonating as if aswitch had been thrown. “What the fuck did you just say?”
Jamie held up both hands, calm but firm. “Fake it, Rio. Someone takes the contract, gets close, plays it out. You pretend. Head out of your ass, please.”
I was still seething, but part of my brain snagged on the idea. Not because I liked it—but because it was the kind of desperate move that might work and a plan I could be part of.
Lyric watched me, his expression unreadable. But he didn’t say no. I exhaled hard. My pulse still thundered in my ears.
Then Lyric spoke again. “He’s got a point. A fulfilled contract would stop the AI from assessing me as a risk and bringing all of this here. I just thought I had more time. I have to go in sooner than I planned—get closer, take the risk, pull it apart from the inside before he figures out I’m still in the game.”
I blinked at him. “Inside where?”
He couldn’t meet my gaze. “Inside his data core. The one place he’d built to be untouchable—physically off-grid, air-gapped, and buried under layers of deception and hardware. It’s where the AI lives now, where it thinks. Learns. Evolves.”
“Lyric,” I said, still trying to catch up, still hoping I was wrong about what he was implying. But he metmy eyes, steady and serious, and yeah—he was sayingexactlywhat I thought he was saying.
“I need to get inside for a face-to-face with Kessler. Someone walks me in, makes it look real, and if they play it right, they collect the money.”
My stomach dropped. “Me. I’ll do it,” I said without hesitation.
“No,” Jamie cut in. “I’m going in.”
I didn’t even think—I shoved him, hard. “Me.”
Jamie stumbled, caught himself, and glared at me. “You think this is about who gets to play the fucking hero?”
“I’m not playing anything! I’m the one who brought Lyric in—I won’t let him walk in there alone.”
“And I’m the one who understands the system, the code, the security! You walking him in gets us all killed.”
I stepped up into his space, fists tight, rage on a hair trigger. “Say that again.”
“Fuck! Stop!” Lyric snapped. His voice cracked through the tension.
We both turned, breathing hard. Lyric looked between us, jaw clenched.
“He’s right,” Lyric said, quieter now, but no less firm, and I stiffened. If he was going to stop me frombeing by his side, then I would fucking lose my shit right here. He stared at Jamie, steady and focused. “Jamie, I need you with Caleb on the outside. Running the ops. This doesn’t work without you holding the failsafe. Let Rio take me in.” I exhaled in relief as he took that drive out of his pocket and held it in his palm. “If I could have twenty-four hours to work on this, then we’ll go in.”
Jamie nodded. “I’ll head to the Cave. Caleb and I can run logistics from there. We’ll be ready when you move.”
“The body?” I asked.
