Chapter 18 · Echo Whispers

"You're not paying enough, Elara. Not for this," the voice crackled through the terminal, distorted and layered like a dying radio.

Elara didn't blink. She leaned over the console, her fingers flying across the holographic keys, trying to stabilize the flickering feed. "We agreed on the credits, Echo. Just decrypt the biometric lock on the vault and we're done."

"Agreed?" Echo let out a dry, glitchy laugh. "I don't care about credits. Credits are for people who still have a heartbeat. I want a sample. Five milliliters of the anomaly's blood. Fresh. Unfiltered."

I shifted my weight, leaning against the cold metal wall of the lab. My arm still throbbed from the last surge, the skin around my veins humming with that weird, hungry vibration. I looked at Elara. She looked back, her eyes sharp, her jaw tight. She didn't want me anywhere near this guy.

"No," Elara snapped. "He's unstable. If you trigger another surge while he's hooked into your network, you'll fry every server in the sector. I'm not risking the hardware."

"I'm not asking for a surge, sweetheart. I'm asking for a payment," Echo replied. The voice shifted, losing some of the distortion, becoming something smoother, colder.