Chapter 30 · Walk In With Cuffs

Mara's staring at the screen when the decision stops being a choice.

Her brother's face, pixelated and washed out under the camp's sodium lights. The collar around his neck, matte black composite with a blinking yellow diode. Behind him, the elevator doors, half-open. Someone's moving him. Someone's pulling him deeper.

She's got maybe an hour.

She shuts down the clinic's back terminal, yanks the data stick, and pockets it. Her hands don't shake. They did, five minutes ago, when she watched Kade's tracker blink out under her pliers and wondered if she'd just killed the only lead she had. Now they're steady. Now she's got a job.

Juno's leaning in the doorway, arms crossed. "You're doing the stupid thing."

"Yeah."

"You're walking into Oryx Dominion with your wrists out."

"That's the job."

Juno doesn't move. "You think they're gonna let you see him? You think Silas Grave's gonna sit you down in a nice room and answer your questions?"

Mara pulls her jacket on. The leather's cold, still damp from the rain two hours ago. "I think Kade knows something. I think my brother's running out of time. And I think if I don't go now, I lose both.