Chapter 11 · Blackout Ledger - Chapter 11: The Kill Order

"Access denied." The voice didn't come from a speaker. It came from everywhere, like the walls were talking. "State purpose."

Kael didn't move. His hand stayed on my shoulder, pushing me back half a step.

"Archive recovery," he said. "Authorization Voss-Seven-Black."

Silence. Then a click, low and metallic, like something unlocking deep in the floor.

"That code's dead," I said. "You said they wiped you."

"They wiped my access. They didn't wipe the log." He stepped through the doorway, pulling me with him. "It'll buy us thirty seconds before the system realizes I'm not supposed to be here."

The room was smaller than I expected. No windows. No exits except the door we just came through. A single terminal sat in the center, old enough that it had a physical keyboard. The kind you had to touch. The walls were lined with server racks, their lights blinking in patterns I didn't recognize.

Kael moved to the terminal, fingers already on the keys.

"What are we looking for?" I asked.

"Your file. The real one." He typed fast, didn't look up. "The one they didn't want anyone to find."

I stayed by the door, watching the hallway.