Page 25

RIVERA

I crouched in the shadows near the north sector conduit access point, my fingers drumming silently against my thigh. Varek moved like liquid darkness ahead of me, neutralizing the guards with efficient, practiced movements. The night wrapped around us like a shroud, the silence broken only by the faint electrical hum of Hammond's shield generators.

My heart thumped against my ribs. Zara's intel had gotten us this far, but the most dangerous part lay ahead. I traced the outline of the access panel she'd identified in my mind, running through her instructions again.

Varek's hand signal cut through the darkness – clear.

I drew a deep breath and moved forward, keeping low. The access panel looked exactly as Zara had described: slightly newer than the others, with a hairline crack running diagonally across its lower quadrant.

Okay, Zara said this panel has a faulty sensor that won't trigger if approached from below.

I positioned myself beneath it, my fingers finding the recessed edge. The panel slid open with barely a whisper, revealing the complex array of circuits and conduits inside. Moonlight glinted off the control interface, and I allowed myself the briefest moment of satisfaction.

So far, so good.

My fingers flew across the interface, bypassing security layers with practiced precision. Each step matched Zara's instructions perfectly. The system responded more easily than expected – Zara must have tampered with the code already, giving us this window of opportunity. His body pressed close behind me as I finished the override. Not to crowd me. To shield me. And somehow, that made my pulse race more than any gunfire could.

A soft sound behind me made my heart stutter. Varek moved silently past, his body tense. An unexpected patrol. I forced my attention back to the panel, trusting him completely to handle the threat. The bond between us hummed with shared awareness – I could almost feel his movements without looking. We fought like a single entity. Every signal, every breath felt shared. I didn’t have to look to know he was covering me—I felt it like a second heartbeat

Focus, . Three more security protocols to bypass.

The code Zara provided unlocked each layer in sequence. My fingers tingled with anticipation as I reached the final barrier.

The bypass code worked!

Behind me, I heard nothing – which meant Varek had successfully dealt with the patrol. I didn't need to look to know he'd return to my side in moments, standing guard while I finished the job.

I reached the primary conduit relay, its power signature pulsing beneath my fingertips. This was the moment of truth. Either Zara's intel would prove accurate and we'd create our diversion, or we'd fail spectacularly and probably die in the attempt.

My markings responded to the energy flow, silver light dancing across my skin as I connected with the system. I used the technique Zara had suggested – not forcing the overload, but redirecting the existing power flow back upon itself, creating a cascade effect that would overwhelm the system.

The interface sparked beneath my touch. Heat built rapidly as the conduit began to overload.

"Got it," I whispered, pulling back just as the system reached critical mass.

A deafening alarm split the night. The shield section directly above us flickered once, twice, then vanished completely. We'd done it.

I turned to Varek, who materialized at my side like a shadow given form. His golden lifelines pulsed with anticipation, matching the rhythm of my silver markings.

"Shield section down! Zara's intel was perfect! Go! Go!" The words tumbled out in an urgent whisper, our bond carrying my meaning more clearly than speech ever could.

We sprinted toward the perimeter, following the route Zara had mapped out for us. Twenty meters of exposed ground, then the blind spot in the sensor grid where we could slip through undetected. Guards shouted in the distance, but they were running toward the failed shield section, not toward us.

Thank you, Zara. Hope you're okay.

The thought flashed through my mind as we reached the perimeter fence. No turning back now. Hammond's compound lay open before us, and somewhere inside, Claire waited – the key to stopping the catastrophe that threatened to destroy everything.

My markings thrummed with energy, responding to the chaos we'd created and the proximity of Varek's lifelines. Whatever happened next, we'd committed ourselves fully to this path. The bond between us carried equal measures of determination and dread as we breached the perimeter and slipped into Hammond's compound.