A flaw slipped into the loop—small, elegant, devastating.
Sentinel frowned.
For the first time.
“You think you’re clever,” he said.
“I think you’re predictable,” I replied. “You escalate pressure and expect collapse.”
“And instead?”
“I bend the system,” I said softly. “Until it bends you back.”
The alarms didn’t sound.
Not yet.
But somewhere—far away, quiet, deliberate—
I knew Logan would feel it.
I stepped back from the console, heart steady, pulse even.
“I made my choice,” I said into the room.
Sentinel’s voice dropped, cold now. “And what did it cost you?”
I didn’t hesitate.
“Everything you thought you controlled.”
The lights dimmed.
The feeds froze.
And deep in the facility, something tripped that Sentinel hadn’t planned for.
This time, I hadn’t left a whisper.
I’d left alever.
And Logan Carter was about to pull it.
11
Logan
The system stuttered.
Not crashed.
Not alarmed.
Stuttered.
I froze mid-step, one hand braced against the edge of the table as Boone’s screens refreshed themselves without being prompted.
“Did you touch that?” Boone asked.
