Kade’s blood runs cold.
‘Disposal extraction.That’s why they dropped HVAC.’
‘What?’
‘They waited for us to dump bodies into disposal, killed HVAC to access the extraction system, then came up through the chute.Holy shit.’
‘That’s fucking crazy.’
‘We don’t monitor the incinerator,’ Finn says quietly.‘It’s smart.’
‘Cole, you ready to flash them?’
The shadow turns a corner, following the curve.
Cole types and then taps with flourish.
The screen whites out fully.
Several other screens capture the image in high-resolution in all different modes.Kade scans them as they form.
Ultraviolet, thermal, night vision and three versions of enhanced optical.
It seems to be a man with one arm thrown up in front of his face against the blinding light, but Kade clocks plenty.
Long, dark hair tied back.Full mil-spec rig.Three long guns across his back, twin sidearms at his thighs, steel strapped everywhere worth protecting.That alone would be concerning, but Kade sees more in the stills.The holsters sit exactly where he wears his own.The blades are positioned for either hand.The spare magazines are seated for reload speed, not frontal ease.
It’s a professional.That much is clear.
Kade dips his chin, taking in everything the exposed skin gives away.Military build, no question, but he’s bare-armed, no armour, no plates, not even on the chest.A few tattoos are visible but nothing to identify which, if any, syndicate he belongs to.
‘He’s exposed,’ Cole says quietly, sounds astonished.‘No armour, nothing.’
‘Has to be aBreacher,right?’
Kade shakes his head slowly.‘Where is he holding it then?’
‘Could be internal.’
‘You think heswallowedsix pounds of C4?’
‘We can’t rule anything out.’
‘Then why is he carrying so many weapons?’
‘He must want to make sure he gets central before he blows.’
‘Those guns are tactical, not wide spray and who gives aBreacherknives?No.’Kade stares.‘This one just thinks he’s too good to get hit.’
‘Or doesn’t care if he does,’ Finn suggests.
‘Shall we stream devices for hive vision?’Cole suggests.
‘Yes, good idea.’
A larger screen on Finn’s side bubbles immediately with dozens of smaller green and black screens, showing every unit’s night vision scope as a streamed camera.Live feed from the Mesh in the tunnels shows the man moving confidently through the maze.Kade frowns deeply.The man drops low, feeling the base of the tunnel wall with his fingers.
Cole and Finn clocked it too.‘Did he just…?’
