Chapter 6 · Blackout Ledger - Chapter 6: Map of the Owed

"Your brother's in Blackwall."

I jerked my head up. Kael was standing three feet away, blood still seeping through the burn hole in his coat sleeve. The chip sat between us on the cracked tile floor, screen flickering with that buried map.

"You don't know that."

"His name's right there." He pointed at the end marker. "Ezra Holt. Timestamp puts him past the checkpoint six weeks ago."

Six weeks. The last time I'd scraped together enough credits for his med top-up. He'd said he was fine. He'd said he'd stay in the hospice ward.

"He can't walk," I said. "The infection—"

"Then someone carried him."

I wanted to punch him. Instead I grabbed the chip off the floor and shoved it in my pocket. The system chirped, happy as a drunk puppy.

[RECOVERY COMPLETE. NEW ROUTE UNLOCKED: BLACKWALL PERIMETER ACCESS.]

[BONUS APPLIED: +2 COGNITION, +1 ENDURANCE.]

"Tell it to shut up," Kael said.

"I can't."

"Then learn."

He turned and started walking toward the emergency stairwell. I stayed where I was, pulse hammering in my ears. The chip was warm against my hip.