I nod.
“Yes.”
Blade exhales slowly.
“I really hate that.”
Boone looks back at the map.
“You said the Architect accelerated the cascade.”
“Yes.”
“Which means he’s pushing it somewhere.”
“Exactly.”
Adam leans over the table.
“Toward Los Angeles.”
“Why there?”
I pull up the infrastructure panel again.
Port logistics.
Fuel distribution.
Emergency command centers.
Communication hubs.
My eyes widen.
“Oh.”
“What?” Boone asks.
“This isn’t just a big city.”
“What is it?”
“It’s a control node.”
Russ raises an eyebrow.
“Meaning?”
“If you control Los Angeles infrastructure…”
“…you control response across most of the West Coast.”
Silence settles over the room.
Because suddenly the Architect’s plan makes sense.
Sentinel built the framework.
