Chapter 26 · The Architect's Gambit

"Don't open that seal!" Jesse's pistol came up before the Syndicate boss finished lifting the black card.

Valerie caught his wrist and dragged the barrel toward the ceiling.

The gun fired.

The shot punched through a hanging light instead of the boss's skull. Glass burst over the arena floor. The crowd below screamed, then roared louder when the red betting boards flashed Jesse's face across every screen.

"Let go," Jesse growled.

"Not while your deck is chewing through your nerves." Valerie twisted his wrist until the pistol dipped. Her shoulder pressed into his chest. Her breath brushed his jaw, sharp and warm against the cold metal smell in the air. "You fire, the shield locks. You rush him, the floor traps you. So stop acting like an angry idiot for five seconds."

"He has my sister's Sanctuary Card."

"He has a card with her registry match. That's not the same thing."

"Ninety-nine point seven percent."

"Numbers can lie. People build careers on making them lie."

The boss smiled from the stage.

He had not moved. The transparent shield around him had swallowed the bullet's energy and scattered it into blue sparks.