“Okay…”
“But lately? New contracts. Helios Combine tech. They call them compliance regulators. Harmless. Supposedly.”
I narrow my eyes. “Supposedly?”
“They override biofeedback. Keep soldiers calm. Docile. Even off-duty. Problem is, they interfere with synaptic response. Soldiers blank out. Freeze. Some die in sims.”
“Simulations?”
He nods. “One in every ten doesn’t wake up. It’s chalked up to faulty equipment. No one asks too many questions. Helios gets paid either way.”
My stomach turns. “That’s mass murder.”
“It’s collateral.”
I reach out. Touch his arm. Not out of sympathy—out of necessity. I need him to see I get it now. The scale. The stakes. His warmth pulses beneath my palm, hot through the fabric of his sleeve.
He doesn’t flinch.
He doesn’t pull away.
He just looks at me. Eyes heavy with weight I can’t name.
I say nothing.
Neither does he.
And for a second, there’s no file. No danger. No history.
Just this moment.
Then it’s gone.
But not really.
CHAPTER 5
VALTRON
The tunnels breathe stale metal and lost time, and then spit us out into the crush of the Dextra hover market like we’re a secret they meant to keep buried. The light stings. Not sunlight—this sector never sees that—but the artificial burn of xenon floodlamps that hover overhead, painting everything in a sterile, gray-blue wash. People move like ants on uppers, everyone yelling over each other. Smells clash—grease, ozone, hot oil, boiled fungi, someone cooking meat that definitely doesn’t come from anything farmed legally.
Rhea shuffles close to me, shoulders hunched. I can feel the vibration of her body against mine. She’s trying to act casual, but her breathing’s tight and shallow. I don’t blame her.
I clock the threat before my second inhale.
Odex.
“Don’t look now,” I murmur, just low enough for her to hear. “We’ve got a tail.”
“What kind of tail?”
“The kind that ends with your organs on a collector’s shelf.”
She stiffens beside me. “Lovely.”
“Odex mercenary. Lone operator. Shatterweave coat, mirrored optics, shaved scalp. See him by the insect vendor, ten meters back?”
She fakes a yawn and glances. “Oh, shit.”
