I know what’s buried there before he speaks.
“The crystal’s real,” he says. “I’ve had it scanned three times. Clean. Untouched. Behavioral command-line access acrossObol’s primary net. Not a duplicate. Not a copy. The source string.”
My heart hammers once, hard.
He has it.
Jax Ren has the key.
And now I know why he called me.
He doesn’t want to be a hero.
He wants to make a deal.
“I thought you believed in the mission,” I say, quietly.
“I did,” he says, equally quiet. “Until I learned the mission doesn’t believe in us.”
He shifts his weight, jacket swaying slightly. The crystal’s about the size of a matchbook. Thin. Unassuming.
The thing that could tear Obol’s entire system down.
If I had it.
But he’s not offering.
“I didn’t bring a trade,” I say.
“I know.”
His eyes flick over me like he’s assessing risk. Not threat. Just value. Like I’m already currency and he’s calculating interest.
“What do you want, Jax?”
His smile returns. This time, it’s slower. Meaner. There’s something behind it I don’t recognize.
“Immunity.”
I narrow my eyes. “From who?”
He gives me a look like I’m stupid. “From them. The Coalition. You think I’ve survived this long without learning when to play both sides?”
I take a step back. “You want to sell them the override key.”
He raises a brow. “No. I want totradeit.”
“For what?” My voice is sharper now, jagged at the edges. “A shuttle? A safehouse?”
He shakes his head. “No, Mara. You.”
Silence slams between us.
I stare at him. My hands are at my sides, but I can feel my fingers twitching, curling.
He doesn’t flinch.
“I turn you over,” Jax says smoothly, “they wipe you, maybe. More likely, they keep you quiet, locked. Either way, I get my clean slate. No more black marks. No more hiding. Just... freedom.”
