Chapter 23 · Blackout Ledger - Chapter 23: The Signature Lie

"You signed the order."

Kael didn't flinch. He stood in the center of Jon's shop with his hands loose at his sides, like he'd been waiting for me to say it.

"I did," he said.

I raised the gun. My wrist burned where the chip sat, hot enough I thought it might split the skin. The system flashed red across my vision.

**THREAT LOCKED. VITALS SYNCED. DISCHARGE WILL TERMINATE HOST.**

"You're lying," I said.

"I'm not."

Jon was pressed against the wall near the counter, one hand hovering over the plasma cutter he kept under the register. He didn't move. Smart. The air in the shop tasted like burnt circuitry and old metal, and my pulse hammered so hard I could hear it in my jaw.

"Then why," I said, and my voice came out flat, "are you still breathing?"

Kael's eyes didn't leave mine. "Because you need the truth more than you need me dead."

"Try me."

He took a step forward. I didn't lower the gun.

"Stop," I said.

He stopped. The distance between us was maybe eight feet.