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CY

I was sweating, and it wasn’t just the heat of this fucking disintegrating power relay.

Eon had been under too long. She’d never done xVR before.

Maddox could barely take a few minutes. I could handle more, so I knew she had the potential—but fifteen minutes?

Way too much for a first time. I’d felt her Flux spike multiple times, like she was in unimaginable pain.

Maddox had held me back when I thought her heart would give out.

What the hell was happening to her in there?

Then the lid of that glass coffin lifted, and I watched her eyes flutter like she was waking up from a dream. Her body twitched violently from the xVR aftershock, and the nearby agent let her crash violently to the floor as the casket released her.

Levi watched it all with that polished indifference. He offered her a hand. She smacked it away and scrambled backward. His perfect smile warped.

He let out a dramatic sigh, rubbing his forehead with a hint of theatrical weariness. “I didn’t want to have to play this card, but you’ve given me no choice.”

He waved a hand, and a holoscreen flared to life beside him. On it, Tex held a gun to a woman’s head.

Eon’s entire body seized.

The woman looked half-dead. Probably not much older than forty, but the years had not been kind to her.

Her skin was mottled with sunspots and wrinkles, the left side of her face slack.

And beneath her dark hair was a blotchy scar along her temple.

I realized she couldn’t move that side of her face, like she’d suffered a stroke, her left eye trailing behind the right. Both eyes were laced with terror.

“Mama!” Eon screamed, lunging toward the screen like she could tear it down with her bare hands. “Mama, mama!”

Her mother. Not killed by a gunshot, as I’d assumed, but broken. Broken, then hidden away by a little girl who threw away everything to support her.

I wanted to run to her, but Maddox held me back.

“That’s quite enough of that. Chuck, if you would,” Levi said—though he gave Tex’s first name a strange pronunciation, more like Chalk . Onscreen, Tex tightened his grip on the woman’s arm, pressing his gun harder against her temple.

But I’d seen it—before he moved, he hesitated. It was barely noticeable. Most would’ve missed it. But I knew Tex, knew his robotic obedience. And for the first time ever, he’d hesitated.

The woman started moaning incoherently, her eyes rolling.

Eon’s face was streaked with tears now, and between sobs she called out, “Mama, it’s all right. It’s me. You’re all right. You’re all right.”

“She can’t hear you, Eon,” Levi said, brushing nonexistent dirt off his shoulder.

Eon spun to him. “Stop it! Can’t you see she can’t handle this, she—”

Levi cut her off. “Well then, let’s not drag this out, shall we?

You know what you have to do. Sign the contract.

Join our team, and you’ll have more than you ever dreamed.

Your mother will be transferred to the best medical facility on the planet—no longer hidden away at some ramshackle clinic.

You’ll have all the resources you’ve ever wanted.

Not to mention the salary…” He grinned, and it was all menace.

“Sign the contract and have it all—or your mother and friends can all die. It’s your choice.”

A contract? He wanted to…hire her?

I clenched my fists. He wanted her.

She hesitated—but looking at the woman on the screen, I knew she’d give in. How could she not? She’d already given everything she had to protect this woman who barely recognized her. There wasn’t a choice here at all.

“I’ll do it,” she said, barely a whisper.

“Excellent!” Levi snapped back into C-suite charm. He waved his hand causally, like he wasn’t blackmailing her in front of dozens of people. Not that it mattered.

“Now, you’ll see this isn’t a standard contract. Code of conduct has been modified to show the extended repercussions of any actions that would harm POM Enterprises.” He gestured toward the sorry group of rebels at my feet. “Feel free to take your time reviewing it.”

She didn’t. She already knew the truth: POM owned her now, just like it owned the rest of us.

She placed her hand on the contract, and her biometrics were scanned, sealing her fate.

“Welcome to the family, Eon Ibarra. Now, this isn’t standard procedure, but I think you understand, given the circumstances. A little test of loyalty. Asset Hoshina, if you would.”

I didn’t let my shock show. Instead, I stepped up behind her, my hands on her arms. I didn’t see a move yet, but being next to her was better than being separated. I gave her the smallest pulse. She didn’t return it. Just stood there, unmoving.

“What do you want me to do?”

“What you and your friends came here to do in the first place.”

What the hell was this guy on?

Eon’s expression must’ve reflected my thoughts, because Levi added, “Go ahead. Release the data your little band uncovered. It won’t matter.

We have an army of data engineers ready to spin it into oblivion.

Your story will be buried within twenty-four hours.

A fleeting blip in the endless stream of data you flood your brain with every day. ”

He smiled like it was all inevitable. “Humans have always been easy to manipulate. Your brains evolved to outwit predators. Feed them properly, and they light up—dopamine flooding synapses. Feed them the right things, and they’re easier to program than the AIs you’re all so proud of.

You’ve been letting your leaders manipulate you into believing whatever they want for so long. ”

This guy was fucking insane. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised—you had to be to get where he was, with no pieces of your soul left. And that was saying something, coming from me.

She didn’t move. Levi’s face contorted in frustration.

“Cyanos, if you would.”

I gently guided her toward one of the server’s holographic terminals.

“Just do it. We’ll be out of here soon.”

She was shaking, and not just her body. I finally felt her Flux again, and it was nothing but static. Her fingers started moving across the holographic keyboard.

I leaned in as close as I dared, my voice barely audible.

“Doll, what happened in there?”

Did I really think she’d answer? I didn’t know. I’d never seen her like this, and I was desperate.

She hit a few more keys, and I watched as the data uploaded.

“Good,” Levi said, suddenly beside us again. “That will do, Asset Hoshina.” I let go of her. He looked at the holoscreen, frowning. “Now the rest of it.”

Her Flux spiked again, electromagnetic currents visible beneath her skin like violet lightning.

“You can’t mean—”

“Oh, I certainly do.” Levi’s smile didn’t reach his eyes. He gestured toward Taos, who lay semi-conscious among the captured rebels. “The consciousness transfer protocol. Use it on her.” He reached down, pulled a drive from the rebel’s front pocket, and swiftly attached it to the nearest node.

Eon’s gaze darted to the holographic interface, recognition dawning as she scanned the code that popped up. I watched her face transform as comprehension collapsed into horror.

“This code is…unstable,” she whispered. “If I initiate the transfer sequence, the outcome would be—”

“Not so different from what happened to Renard, I imagine.” Levi completed her thought with the calm satisfaction of someone who had calculated every variable. “Precisely.”

“It’s too much processing power. The Stellarium system here is already unstable. The overload it would cause—”

“Yes, and if I’m not mistaken, we should have seven minutes to reach the roof and clear the area. Plenty of time.” He adjusted his cuffs with practiced nonchalance. “This infrastructure was due for an upgrade anyway.”

“But thousands of people live within the blast radius.”

Levi said nothing, the silence more damning than any justification.

Eon’s eyes flicked to Taos, her dazed form representing yet another impossible choice.

“You can’t possibly mean to…” Her voice faltered as the color drained from her face. “No, I won’t—I can’t—”

“Chak,” Levi said, his voice carrying the bored certainty of absolute power, “Ms. Ibarra has reneged on her contract. Please execute the termination protocol.”

Tex’s hologram cocked his gun, the motion almost casual.

Eon screamed, “No!”

In an instant, Levi was on her, fingers digging into her cheeks, forcing her to her knees. I saw red, electromagnetic currents surging beneath my implants. I pulled up my Flux—when a deep voice sounded in my ear.

“Stand down, Cyanos.” Tex. Always Tex.

“No can do, boss. Not this time.” My implants burned as I channeled more current than they were designed to handle.

“I told you not to engage with her, but you never listen. You forced me to involve her in this, so deal with the consequences. She will survive this on her own. Make the wrong move, and neither of you will escape.” His voice carried the same emotionless certainty I’d trusted for years.

“I know your life means little to you—but what about hers?”

He saw right through me, like he always had.

“Stand down, before I must do something I will regret,” Tex ordered.

I let my Flux die down, leashed like the good dog I was. I watched Levi manhandle her, memorizing every part of him I would eventually tear apart.

“I’ve had enough of your self-pity, little girl,” Levi said coldly.

“Look at her.” He forced Eon’s face toward Taos.

“Your friend understood the risks. She built this code knowing its potential. She targeted this place, knowing the dangers. These people are already dead—by your hand. Own up and do your job.”

He released her, and she slammed to the floor.

Levi stepped back, straightening his impeccable suit. “You once asked me what a life was worth. Why don’t you tell me—your mother, or your…friend?”

Eon pushed up off the floor slowly, her arms shaking violently. Her hair fell around her face, but she turned and locked eyes with me.