Page 99 of Neon Flux

“Caution: countermeasure detected. Immediate evacuation of device advised.”

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

I pulled up the search code on my Vysor—everything was red. Every single query was being flagged and bounced back. I watched what little data we had downloaded begin to erase in real time.

I tapped faster, ignoring the surrounding stares. I managed to halt the deletion, but more and more countermeasure warnings popped up.

The most common defense against a device like this was to overload it until it burned out. I could already feel it heating inside me. The time for subtly was over.

“Is there a little girls’ room around here?” I asked the nearest guard, batting my lashes.

Cy’s hand on my hip tightened—practically screaming at me to not get separated—but I didn’t have time to explain.

The guard nodded, but before I could move, a voice behind me spoke in a low, calm tone.

“No, I think you will stay right here and explain exactly how it is you’ve breached our security.”

I turned back. The older man’s Vysor was lit up with alerts—he knew what we were doing.

The device was so hot now I could feel it burning my flesh, and all thoughts of what was going to happen next vanished.Instead, I reached up my skirt, grabbed the makeshift tab I’d attached, and flung the device out of me and onto the floor.

The entire room went silent as the small silver rod rolled across the floor until it hit the toe of Hinokawa’s dress shoe, its surface glistening. Then, with a soft pop, smoke burst from the chrome shell, breaking the silence.

“Seize them.”

Cy shoved himself between me and the guard lunging in my direction. I stumbled back as he moved like the demon he was. He didn’t need his Flux or a weapon.

He was the weapon.

His body moved like something out of one of those ridiculous martial arts movies I’d watched as a kid that I always thought looked so exaggerated. But there was nothing exaggerated here. He smashed his palm into the oncoming man’s nose with a sickening crunch. Blood sprayed, and the man collapsed in a heap.

Another attacker came from the side, a glint of steel flashing in the dim light. Cy ducked the knife with ease, stepping inside the man’s reach. He drove an elbow into his ribs, thecrackreverberating like a gunshot in the narrow space. Then a quick, brutal sweep of Cy’s leg sent the guard sprawling, the knife clattering harmlessly away.

I backed into a corner, trying to keep out of the fray. Cy was a whirlwind of fists and fury, dropping anyone who got close, but more were pouring in. Shouts mixed with the dullthudof bodies hitting the ground.

“Cy!” I called out, but he didn’t glance back. His focus was razor-sharp, every movement precise.

But it wasn’t enough.

Hands latched onto my upper arm, yanking me off balance. I twisted, instinctively reaching for my Flux. Pain flared at the base of my skull—white-hot and blinding—as the embeddeddevice blocked it. My Flux fizzled and died before it could even manifest, leaving me defenseless.

I wasn’t like Cy. I wasn’t a fighter. Without my Flux, I was weak. Useless.

A bitter laugh echoed in my ears as the grip tightened on my arm and jerked me backward.

“Got the girl!” the man holding me shouted.

Cy’s head whipped around at the sound. His eyes zeroed in on me—dark and wild—and for a moment, the sheer ferocity in his gaze made even the thug holding me falter.

“Let her go.” Cy snarled, his voice a low growl that sent chills down my spine.

He surged forward, slamming into the nearest guard with a force that sent them both crashing into the wall. Another man swung a baton at him, but Cy caught it mid-swing, ripping it from the attacker’s grip and using it to strike him down with brutal efficiency.

But for every one Cy took down, two more seemed to take their place.

The man holding me dragged me backward, using me as a shield. “Back off, or she gets it!”

Cy hesitated, his fists clenched at his sides, his chest heaving. “You don’t wanna do that,” he said, his voice low and dangerous.