Page 36

EON

T he great monolith stretched into the sky, blocking the sun. POM Enterprises—the temple to technology and all its wonders. A looming reminder of the powers that be, who either blessed us or cursed us, depending on their whims.

Air-cars flew overhead, the morning commute bustling.

People walking in streamed around me, entering the building for their daily grind.

Suits and fine blouses avoided me with a wide berth.

I’d worn my most street-trash outfit that still covered all the naughty bits: baggy pants lined with pockets and straps, a neon pink bodysuit, and a cropped vintage shirt that said, Eat the Rich .

I couldn’t turn back now. My fate was sealed. Despite that, my feet stayed glued to the floor. That great looming presence stared back at me. The hum of electric lights and Stellarium was everywhere. Everything was so bright, so loud. I hated it. You can still run , I lied to myself.

“The fuck are you wearing?” Behind me, Cy’s voice cut through the din of the early morning rush. “Now’s the time you decide to go full street rat?”

I turned to him with my most sarcastic grin. “It’s called fashion, corpo.”

He was about to respond when a large hand landed on his shoulder. I looked up into Maddox’s dark Vysor, his face completely unreadable.

“Meeting starts in ten. We should get moving.”

Cy scraped Maddox’s hand off his shoulder and pushed past me, grabbing my upper arm. His fingers dug into my bicep. “Don’t you dare embarrass me again.” His eye shone with power, and static traced across my skin, along with the threat.

I yanked my arm free. “Don’t worry, corpo. You’ll get your report.”

He slunk away without another look.

Maddox gestured, and I followed silently.

The great glass coffin that was the front atrium of the building swallowed me whole.

Sunlight streamed through tall windows, mixing with the sterile florescence of modern fixtures suspended from the ceiling.

Cy led us toward the elevators on the far side of the lobby.

He shoved me into the first one that opened, ignoring the line of people waiting.

No one complained. No one tried to join us, even as the queue stretched back several bodies deep.

The doors slid shut with a whisper of air, and the elevator descended.

“This a perk of being in security? No waiting in line?” I asked. Neither responded. I glanced at the panel. B6 was the lowest level, and something about that calmed my racing heart.

The elevator slowed, and a feminine voice chimed, “Basement Six.” The doors opened.

It was all very…corporate. Rows of cubicles filled the floor, broken up by a few closed office doors. The drop ceiling sagged slightly in places, lit by solar-spectrum rectangular fixtures. It was clean, orderly, but nothing fancy.

I opened my mouth for another snarky comment when a man with deep olive skin and long dark hair, braided over one shoulder, approached. His serious gaze and aquiline nose shut me up instantly.

“So this is her, the contractor?”

Both Cy and Maddox nodded. Cy looked deadly serious—something that didn’t suit him.

This had to be the “big boss” he’d mentioned.

Not that it was hard to guess. The man exuded authority: his tetracarbon suit was all sharp lines and pressed seams, not a hair out of place.

The POM logo glowed above his right breast pocket, and the high collar emphasized his long neck.

A tingle went up my spine as I thought about all the hours I had spent combing through the POM Security database, and I had never ever seen this man.

“My name is Chuck Texcucano. Please follow me.” He spun on the heels of his dress shoes, and I didn’t dare delay.

He led us into a large conference room. Several people had called in remotely, their faces glowing across the wall of screens at the front of the space.

I seethed but summoned DITA to connect to the presentation system.

“Maddox, perhaps you could introduce—”

I waved my hand, and data popped up on the screen. They might’ve dragged me in here, but I wasn’t about to play their corpo games.

“The Green data center explosion occurred at 2:34:58, but Neo Stellaris monitoring beacons caught a different signal 14.79 seconds earlier.” I spoke over Tex. I glanced between him and Cy. Cy’s face was tight, but to my surprise, Tex—though visibly annoyed—nodded for me to continue.

“At first, I thought the signals might be part of the explosion—maybe an earlier or smaller attack. But each one came in at a different amplitude than the blast itself, suggesting they originated elsewhere. If the explosion hadn’t immediately followed, your systems would’ve flagged them.”

Tex’s frown disappeared. “An anomaly, perhaps from the signal that triggered the explosion?”

“That was my theory, but the amplitude variation didn’t make sense.”

I waved my hand again, and a new overlay appeared. “Using an advanced Fourier algorithm, I deconstructed each signal’s frequency signature and reconstructed the portion obscured by the blast. From there, I pinpointed the origin. Based on that, the signal had to have come from…”

“Renard’s apartment.” Tex’s lips twitched in what might have been a smile. “So, a secondary explosion? But there was no evidence of that.”

“I mean, the man was torn to shreds. But this signal doesn’t match a traditional explosive event, even one caused by Stellarium. It more closely resembles…”

I trailed off. This was the part that made the least sense.

Tex nodded. “Please. I would like to hear your theory.”

I flicked a glance at Cy. To my surprise, he didn’t look angry, just calculating.

“The signal resembles what I’d expect from an EMP.”

At that, something dark swirled in Tex’s eyes.

I pressed on. “Of course, that doesn’t explain Renard’s death. An EMP doesn’t damage flesh, but I believe this signal is the fingerprint of whatever really happened that night.”

Tex’s fingers drummed lightly on the table, his sharp gaze narrowing. “And what do you think that is?”

“I…don’t know. This signal doesn’t match anything in the databases I have access to. If I could access POM’s—”

“No. That will not be possible.” Tex’s tone was not harsh, but his statement was final.

“I thought this was urgent?”

Tex’s mouth twitched. “It is. But urgency alone is not reason enough to give an outsider unfiltered access to POM’s data repository.

” His gaze locked with mine, and I wanted to look away as those dark eyes surveyed me in a way I couldn’t fully understand.

“You are a smart woman. I am sure you’ll find other avenues. ”

“I want to go to Renard’s apartment.”

Cy groaned, louder this time. “You already have everything our guys pulled. I don’t see why—”

“Granted,” Tex interrupted. “Cyanos, you will accompany Ms. Ibarra. Immediately.”

This whole thing was almost worth it just to see Cy’s utter dismay, knowing I was seeing his corporate manager boss him around.

“I’ve got other leads to follow up on,” he said, crossing his arms like a petulant child.

“Then you had best make Ms. Ibarra’s work as efficient as possible,” Tex replied without missing a beat.

I smirked at Cy. Sparks danced faintly in his pupils, but he said nothing.

“Excellent work so far, Ms.Ibarra.” Tex’s face softened—barely.

But I felt a small pull in my chest at his praise.

I’d always thrived on it—from my teachers, from authority.

Just another high I’d been addicted to, working tirelessly through endless nights of studying to achieve it.

I’d tried to break that habit too, but Tex’s deep voice had me reeling with it.

I wanted to hear it again. My pinky twitched, and I shook it off.

That was another habit I’d worked hard to break.

Something buzzed behind me, and I turned to see a larger-than-life face flicker onto the wall.

“Good work, Ms. Ibarra.” Levi Ameré’s dark hair was combed back, but it didn’t hide the slight wave that offset a strong jaw and neatly trimmed beard.

A face everyone in Neo Stellaris knew —but very few had ever spoken to.

“It’s always nice to see a contractor with such drive.

Should your work continue with this diligence, I’m sure we could discuss bringing you on full-time. ”

A few months ago, I would’ve died for an opportunity like that.

But standing in a room full of POM’s deadliest operatives, it triggered the atrophied part of my brain most people never used.

The flight instinct of prey being hunted, left over from when we weren’t the dominant species on the planet.

Maybe those rebels had worn off on me, because no salary from a corporation came without a price, and I knew it was more than I was willing to pay.

“I think once we close out this contract, my work for POM will be done.” Yes, I would clear my name, get Security off my back for the Kinetic Shield. Then I would run and hide where they would never find me again. I glanced at Cy. Yeah, even him.

The corner of Levi’s eye twitched, but he gave me a warm smile.

“It must have been an appealing contract to pull you into our ranks, then. Perhaps I should review it personally?” At that, I heard Cy shift in his chair, and my pinky twitched again.

All the charm in the world couldn’t mask the threat I knew was buried underneath.

I needed to shift the focus away from me.

“The contract was generous. In fact, it was quite a lot of money for one life. Is it really worth it?”

His dark gaze held mine, his face unnaturally still as he considered his answer. “Maybe, by the end of this, you will be able to tell me the value of a single life, Ms. Ibarra.”

He blinked out of existence, and I turned back to the room.

“Cyanos, you will accompany Ms. Ibarra to Renard’s apartment immediately,” Tex said, his fingers laced together on the table in front of him.

Cy grumbled under his breath, but he pushed up out of his chair and walked over to me. “Let’s get going, Ms. Ibarra. ”