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The input screen flickered. A new label blinked beside the thumbprint icons. CONFIRMATION ONLY.

“Fuck this.” Leo dropped Korolov and slammed Eldridge’s thumb against the glass.

The tablet screeched—ACCESS DENIED.

A red glare swept his hands, the floor, Kat’s face. She raised her Glock a fraction toward Eldridge.

Leo blinked, heart thudding.

Realization hit.

The digits kept devouring seconds.

They hadn’t stopped Nightshade.

They’d authenticated it.

His chest locked, something inside him fracturing.

He’d handed it the keys.

All the blood, all the pain—and he’d made it worse.

Eldridge’s lip curled. “Korolov is many things, but careless isn’t one of them. The moment that clock started, the system stopped asking for permission. It’s only looking for proof. And you just gave it.”

She tipped her head, her eyes too bright,wrongbright.

Leo’s pulse bruised his ribs. “There’s always a kill switch.”

“Not anymore.” Eldridge struggled upright, but didn’t try to crawl away. Just stared at the tablet like it was already too late. “You’ve less than twelve minutes to watch the world change—give or take.”

Kat drew closer, her aim rock-steady at Eldridge. “Then we cut the power.” Her jaw lifted. “Whatever it takes.”

Pride flared within him—she had steel to match his own.

Red numerals washed their faces in hell-light. Somewhere overhead, a relay bank kicked to life—low and hungry, inexorable. Leo’s skin prickled as electromagnetic fields strengthened around them, the fine hairs on his arms standing at attention.

Kat was right.

There was always another move.

46

Kat suckedin a breath of dry air and glanced at the tablet. The same countdown she hadn’t been fast enough to kill. Red light pulsed from the hallway, striping the walls like open wounds. Electricity saturated the air, making her skin buzz.

Her shoulders dropped.

A little over ten minutes left.

Each heartbeat in her chest hit like a fist—fast and insistent. “Leo?—”

Static crackled through her earpiece.

Abe’s voice cut through, clipped and urgent. “Leo? Status report.”

“Security’s down.” Leo took the tablet from her, his mouth little more than a dark line. “Countdown’s still live—we can’t over-ride it from here.”

“Well, that’s unfortunate,” Fox drawled onto the comms, bone-dry. “But I’ve got you covered. Charges are now primed across the foundation grid.”