“I know how to get what I want.” He let the words linger, then added, “That’s why I’m sure she’ll move if you’re broadcast at the Si-ID forger. With an exact location, she’ll believe you’re trying to run.”
Emerson turned toward the table, fully waking the tablet. The Tolusa grid expanded outward in concentric layers. Datanodes lit up like veins. Audrey moved to stand beside him. “Walk me through it,” she said.
“If we flag you at the Si-ID forger,” he said, fingers already moving, “the broadcast routes through the Aggregate relay.”
“How visible?”
“To anyone monitoring unauthorized movement.”
“Which includes?”
“The Separatists. Other rogue cells. Internal auditors.”
“And you’re comfortable lighting that flare?” she asked, trying to discern if he truly grasped the risk his plan posed to her safety. Her intent was both to challenge and to test his conscience.
His mouth curved slightly. “Comfortable isn’t the metric.” He expanded another layer in the mapping. A permissions tree opened, requiring authorization codes. Several nodes flashed amber.
“They’ll see you,” she said.
“They’ll seeyou,” he corrected. “But I’ll be attached to the access request.”
She glanced at him. “You’ll burn yourself.”
“If necessary.”
There it was. Emerson didn’t strike her as reckless. Yet something raw glinted in his eyes—his obsessive commitment to this hunt edged into desperation. He must have loved his family deeply, for even now, pain tightened his jaw at their loss.
They moved toward the door as he holstered his weapon with one hand and handed her one of hers. “Safety’s here,” Emerson said, flicking the lever with his thumb. “Point and pull. Don’t overthink it.”
Audrey stared at the gun, her hands uncertain. She had never used one before. Although heavy, it felt oddly comforting. She slid it into its holster, slinging it over her shoulder the way he did.
Emerson shrugged his coat on with one hand while managing system permissions on the tablet with the other. The motion was fluid, practiced.
A flare of worry pulsed in her aura. “Do you have a plan if this backfires?”
“It won’t.” A pause. “But worst case, if Sophia escapes, I’m recalled, and you’re extracted with me as a strategic asset.”
“Recalled where?”
He didn’t answer, but silence said enough. It didn’t bode well for their freedom. They stepped into the hallway, and Emerson pressed a button for the elevator.
“And Ryker? Will he come, too, since this involves Sophia?”
The name subtly changed his demeanor. “No. He wants Sophia, but this isn’t enough to draw him out. He trusts Mihail for operations like this, while he keeps building his empire.” The elevator continued descending.
“And even though he’s a ghost, you still chase him?”
“Of course. He’s a fucking monster. And monsters need to answer for their actions.”
“Well, I think this might draw him out. I told you I saw him.”
“I think you thought you saw him.”
“It was him,” she grated, anger heating her hands. “In my backyard, before my family was killed, he was there. And recently, I saw him at the club. I’ll never forget those eyes.”
“You’d better hope you’re wrong. We’re not ready to confront him today. He’s even more unhinged than Sophia.”
“How do you know? The crimes in his file seem pretty similar to hers.”
