Page 55

CY

I was about to knock on his open door when I noticed he wasn’t alone. Seated across from him was a figure I rarely saw on our floor—Levi himself, his tailored black suit a stark contrast to the drab office environment. Tex’s posture was different than usual, slightly less rigid, almost deferential.

I knocked, and they both looked up. Tex straightened immediately.

“Cyanos,” Tex acknowledged. “Come in.”

I walked in but remained standing, acutely aware of Levi’s presence. His eyes tracked me with unsettling precision, as if cataloging every movement.

“We were just discussing your investigation,” Levi said, his voice smooth and cultured. “Tex speaks highly of your progress.”

I glanced at Tex, who gave a slight nod. “Still a lot of unknowns, sir. Mission down in the Den wasn’t as successful as I would’ve liked. Eon wants access to speed up data recovery for what we got.”

Levi leaned forward slightly, his interest visibly piqued. “Ms. Ibarra. Yes, I’ve reviewed her file. Impressive data reconstruction portfolio—before she left university, of course. And an electroteknik. Quite rare indeed.”

Something cold slid down my spine at his mention of Eon’s Flux. Most execs wouldn’t bother with that level of detail about a contractor.

Tex tapped his fingers on his desk. “She’s a known security risk. Do you think it’s worthwhile?”

“Honestly, if our tech guys can’t keep her out, that’s on us,” I replied, addressing Tex but aware of Levi’s unwavering attention.

“A good point,” Levi said before Tex could respond. “I believe we should grant her the access.”

Tex inclined his head in agreement. “I’ll arrange it immediately.”

“However,” Levi continued, standing with fluid grace, “I’d like to speak with Ms. Ibarra personally before proceeding. Is she here now?”

I stiffened. “What about?”

Tex shot me a warning glance, but Levi merely smiled—a perfect, practiced expression that never reached his eyes.

“Curiosity, primarily,” Levi replied. “It’s not often we encounter someone with her particular…talents.”

I did not like that. I didn’t like Levi getting near her, seeing her. It was obvious to anyone with half a brain that Eon was exceptional—and POM had a tendency to sink its claws into people like that. Especially Levi, whose interest in Flux and its applications was well-known.

I remembered the feeling of her hands on me, how our Flux had synchronized so easily. The way she’d looked at me, so worried. How she’d saved me. My life had always been brutality and violence, but she was soft. Levi would want her.

But the problem was, I wanted her more.

“I can brief her,” I offered, trying to sound casual. “Save you the time. I hear it’s pretty valuable.”

Levi’s gaze remained fixed on me, and for a second I could’ve sworn his eyes reflected something that wasn’t in the room. It reminded me of Tex.

“Concerned for your partner?” Levi asked, his tone light but penetrating.

“She’s not my partner.” Even if she took away my pain when I’d only ever deserved more of it.

Tex hadn’t taken his bottomless gaze off me either, and it felt like needles pricking all over my skin, inside my lungs.

“Is there a problem, Cyanos?” Tex asked, his tone carrying a clear warning.

I shrugged, keeping my voice even. “I thought my job was doing this stuff for you. I can handle her.”

Levi smiled again—smaller this time, but somehow more genuine. And infinitely more unsettling. “And how exactly have you been handling Ms. Ibarra?”

I clenched my jaw. “Like the professional she is.”

“Then you understand why I’d like to speak with her myself,” Levi said, moving toward the door with deliberate steps. “Her approach to reconstruction in cyberspace is…unique. I’ve had my eye on her work since the Kinetic Shield incident.”

I froze. How did he know about that? I’d buried those connections, erased any documents that linked her to it. Because of our deal. Not to protect her.

Levi paused at the door. “Tex, please complete the access authorization while I speak with Ms. Ibarra.”

“Of course,” Tex answered, already reaching for his terminal.

Levi turned back to me. “Where might I find her?”

I hated this. Hated standing there while Levi set his sights on her, decided what kind of tool she could be. Because that’s what this was—Levi didn’t waste time unless he saw something he could use.

But I’d long ago learned to avoid fights I couldn’t win. “Lab 42-B. She’s working on the data fragments.”

“Perfect,” Levi said, turning to leave.

Before he left the room, Tex spoke. “One more moment, sir.” He turned to me. “Your shoulder has improved.” It wasn't a question.

“Yeah, finally went and saw a doc.” It wasn’t a lie.

“Glad to hear it.” Tex’s eyes lingered on me a moment longer before returning to his terminal.

Levi studied our exchange with evident interest. “The implant malfunction? I wasn’t aware it had been resolved.”

Why Levi was aware of my medical file, I didn’t want to know.

“Recent development,” I replied stiffly.

Levi nodded, seemingly satisfied, though something in his expression told me he’d filed this information away for later.

“How unfortunate we cannot update those for you,” he said casually. “The skeletal models are rather…obsolete.”

He left without waiting for a response.

The air still felt charged after he was gone—and it wasn’t just Levi’s Flux.

I turned back to Tex, who was already absorbed in his work again, the moment dismissed.

Even though my shoulder hadn’t hurt nearly as much since whatever Eon had done, the ghost of pain never went away. And I felt it twinge now.

I practically ran to Maddox’s desk, where he looked as uncomfortable as I felt.

“What’s up?” I asked, throwing myself down into a spare chair.

“Eon sent me some of the data she’s reconstructed so far.”

“There a problem with it?”

“No…but she had her AI explaining it to me and—” He swiped his hand along the side of his Vysor so I could hear what he did.

“…AND another thing, I don’t like the way you were pushing E around with your rifle in the underground. You know she doesn’t like guns. You should be more respectful—” Maddox tapped his Vysor again, and the voice of Eon’s AI assistant muted.

“She’s been yelling at me for about ten minutes.”

I clapped his shoulder. “Women, huh?”

“DITA has informed me she is not a woman, but a digital being whose gender is influenced by her current desire and function.”

“Digital being? Don’t let the guys in legal hear you say that.”

Maddox huffed.

“What’s the data show?”

Maddox tapped the side of his Vysor again, and DITA’s voice returned. “Ask her yourself.”

“Is that Cy? I have some things to say to you as well!”

“Save it for later. Tell me about the data, and I’ll let you yell at me whenever you want.”

“I’ll hold you to that. E has only managed to recover a few files so far from your destroyed Vysors, but they showed a trail of high-value donations to the Church of Divine Light by a corporation called Aharut.”

“What the hell was so shady about that the Kitsune had to keep it under wraps?”

“I had to trace it through a couple other holdings, but it all leads back to Renard,” Maddox added, and DITA chirped approvingly.

“So at least some of what Renard was hiding was his connection to the Church,” I mused, leaning back in my chair.

“Didn’t you say Hinokawa said something? And Akira said he was with the Church now too.”

“‘Angels that are cast out of heaven become demons,’ or some shit like that. Think it means something? I thought he’d finally just gone senile.”

Maddox shrugged. “It seems like the Church is involved. POM’s had us keep tabs on them for a while, ever since they started gaining popularity. Maybe Renard had some dealings with them that he didn’t want the rest of the board to know about.”

“Fuck, another lead to investigate? We only have a few days left.”

“Why do you think I’m here so late? I’ve already got calls out to some informants, but nothing. You should do the same.”

“And here I thought you liked spending time with me, Maddox,” DITA purred, her voice a little too flirtatious.

“Don’t love being berated.”

“Could’ve fooled me,” she replied before I could, and we both laughed as Maddox crossed his arms.

“Could you tell your gi—” Maddox started before DITA made a series of angry beeps. “I mean, could you ask Eon when we can expect the recovery to be complete?”

I stood swiftly, ready to end whatever meeting she and Levi were having.