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"Stay down, Jesse." Valerie's boot pressed between his shoulder blades as the tunnel ceiling buckled above them. "If you move, I break your spine before the drones do."
"You say that like it's a choice."
"It is."
A blast punched through the street overhead. Dust and hot rainwater dropped from the cracked sewer roof. Jesse bit down on a grunt as Valerie shoved him flat against the concrete. His ribs felt loose. Every breath dragged a knife through his side, and black static crawled across the Wraith Deck burned into his palm.
Three cards hovered above his hand.
Two were cracked.
The third kept whispering.
RUN.
Jesse spat blood onto the floor. "Your people are bombing the tunnel."
"Not my people."
"You wore their badge when you shot my crew."
Valerie crouched beside him, one knee touching the filthy water. Her silver coat was torn at the shoulder, and rain ran from her dark hair onto her cheek. She didn't bother wiping it away. Her pistol stayed aimed at his chest.
"Your crew opened fire on a Board inspection team," she said. "You killed six auditors."
"They weren't auditors."
"You expect me to believe that while you're bleeding through your shirt?"
"I expect you to stop asking stupid questions and look up."
Another drone swept across the broken street above them. Red targeting light slid through the grate, cutting a thin line over Valerie's face.
She glanced up.
Jesse rolled his shoulder and tried to pull his hand free. The deck burned hotter. A warning flashed across his vision.
SOUL INTEGRITY: 19%
CARD CONSUMPTION: UNSTABLE
"Don't," Valerie snapped.
"Don't what? Die?"
"Don't trigger another card. The last one nearly cooked your heart."
"You sound worried."
Her gaze dropped to his mouth for half a second. Then it hardened again. "I'm worried the blast will bring the drones straight down on us."
"Sure. That's what your face says."
She grabbed his jaw and turned his head toward her. Her glove was cold. Her fingers were not.
"Listen carefully," she said. "I have two rounds left. One goes into your skull if you lie. The other goes into the drone's core when it comes through the grate. You get one chance to tell me who sold our route."
Jesse smiled, though his side screamed. "You still think I sold it?"
"Someone did. The strike team knew the alley, the sewer entrance, and the exact time we'd reach this tunnel. They also knew you were carrying a live Wraith Deck."
"Then maybe ask your fancy Board who wanted us boxed in."
"I am asking you."
"You're interrogating a man with a hole in him while explosives fall on your head. That's not asking. That's panic with a gun."
Valerie's thumb pressed under his jaw. Her face moved close enough for him to feel her breath against his wet skin.
"Give me a name."
"Give me a reason."
"You want a reason? Fine. If I don't get that name, your deck burns through the rest of you. I can hear it eating you from here."
The whisper in Jesse's palm sharpened.
OPEN.
He clenched his fingers.
Valerie saw it. "What did it show you?"
"Nothing."
"You lie badly."
"You shoot badly. We're both full of surprises."
Her eyes narrowed. She struck him across the mouth with the back of her glove. Not hard enough to knock him out. Just hard enough to remind him who had the weapon.
Jesse tasted fresh blood. "There she is. I was starting to miss the charming auditor."
"Who sold the route?"
"The man who gave you the order."
"Name."
"I don't have one."
"Then give me a card."
That made him pause.
Valerie leaned closer. "Your deck knows things. It pulled the killer's core out of his body. It showed us the false route. Use it. Find the leak."
"The deck doesn't find leaks. It eats people."
"Then feed it someone."
"You volunteering?"
Her grip tightened on his jaw. "Try me."
For one ugly second, the tunnel disappeared. There was only her hand, her heat through the glove, and the narrow space between their faces. Jesse could smell gun oil, wet leather, and the sharp citrus soap she used to pretend she wasn't scared.
He wanted to turn his head.
He didn't.
"You keep getting this close," he murmured, "and people are going to talk."
"People already talk. Mostly about how many bodies you leave behind."
"Not about that."
Her eyes flicked to his again. "You think flirting will save you?"
"No. But it might make you miss."
Valerie shoved his face away. "You're disgusting."
"And you're still here."
A heavy mechanical whine rolled through the tunnel. The drone was descending.
Valerie rose in one smooth motion and pulled Jesse up by the collar. His knees nearly folded. She caught him before he hit the wall, then pinned him against the curved brick with her forearm across his chest.
"Stand."
"My leg's broken."
"Then lean."
"That was almost kind."
"Don't ruin it."
The drone's search beam passed over the grate. Red light crawled through the gaps. Its speaker crackled.
"TARGET CONFIRMED. WRAITH SIGNATURE PRESENT. EXECUTION AUTHORIZED."
Jesse's deck pulsed.
Valerie's pistol lifted. "Can you kill it?"
"Maybe."
"Maybe gets us both buried."
"Then uncuff me."
"You don't have cuffs."
"Exactly."
She stared at him. "What do you need?"
"A clean line. Ten seconds."
"You get three."
"Four."
"Two."
"You're terrible at negotiation."
"I'm excellent at it. You just have no leverage."
The drone punched through the grate.
Valerie fired first. Her round struck the machine's front plate and spun it sideways. The tunnel filled with sparks. A second turret opened under its metal shell.
Jesse slammed his palm against the wall.
"Deck," he growled. "Burner Three."
The card tore free.
Pain ripped from his hand to his shoulder. His vision flashed white. A black flame crawled over his fingers and jumped into the air, forming a crooked blade of heat.
The drone locked on.
"Jesse!"
"Cover me!"
"You have two seconds!"
He pushed off the wall. His bad leg buckled, but Valerie caught his belt and yanked him forward. Her body hit his back. Her arm locked around his waist, keeping him upright while he drove the burning card into the drone's exposed core.
The machine screamed.
Not a human scream. Worse. Metal grinding against metal, speakers shredding themselves as the Wraith card drank the power inside it.
Jesse's fingers went numb.
"Pull it out!" Valerie shouted.
"Can't!"
"Pull it out, damn you!"
"The deck's hungry!"
"Then starve it!"
She hooked two fingers under his wrist. Her grip was hard enough to hurt. Her chest pressed against his back through both their soaked coats, and her breath hit the side of his neck.
"Look at me," she said.
"Busy."
"Look at me, Jesse."
He turned his head.
Her face was inches from his. Rainwater dripped from her lashes. Her eyes didn't move from his.
"You pull that card now," she said, "or I cut your hand off."
"You'd do it?"
"Try me."
The drone's core cracked.
Jesse ripped the card free.
The explosion threw them both across the tunnel. Valerie landed on top of him. Her pistol skidded into the water. For a moment, neither moved.
Her palm was planted beside his head. A lock of wet hair brushed his cheek. Her knee pressed against his thigh, keeping him pinned without meaning to.
Jesse breathed, "You can get off me anytime."
"You can stop staring anytime."
"I'm checking for injuries."
"My eyes are up here."
"I know. That's the problem."
A distant boom shook the sewer again.
Valerie pushed away and snatched up her pistol. "Move."
Jesse dragged himself upright. The burned card collapsed into ash over his palm. A system notice blinked in the corner of his vision.
BURNER THREE CONSUMED.
SOUL INTEGRITY: 11%
"You look awful," Valerie said.
"You always know what to say."
"Can you walk?"
"Can you apologize?"
"No."
"Then no."
She grabbed the back of his jacket and hauled him toward the maintenance ladder. Jesse stumbled after her, one hand pressed to his ribs.
"The blast team won't stop," she said. "They'll sweep every access point."
"They won't find us."
"You sound sure."
"I built this sewer route."
"You built a route under a Board district?"
"I used to move things for people who didn't like paying taxes."
"Weapons?"
"Cards. Mostly."
"Mostly?"
"You want the full criminal history now?"
"I want to know how many ways you can get me killed."
"Fourteen. Fifteen if you keep talking."
She stopped at the ladder and turned on him. "You think this is funny?"
"No. I think if I stop joking, I'll start screaming."
That wiped the edge off her face.
Jesse hated that she noticed. He hated more that she didn't mock him for it.
Valerie stepped in close again. Her hand slid beneath his arm, steadying him. "Put your weight on me."
"I weigh more than you."
"I can handle it."
"That's not what I meant."
Her fingers dug into his side, right below the wound. Jesse sucked in a breath.
"Keep talking," she said. "Maybe the pain will distract you."
"You keep touching me like that, and I might think you care."
"I care about the mission."
"The mission has a name now?"
"It has a pulse. Unlike your chances."
She forced him up the ladder. Every rung sent fire through his ribs. Above them, the street shook under another drone pass.
Jesse reached the top and kicked the hatch open. He rolled onto the pavement. Valerie climbed out after him and pulled the hatch shut just as a missile struck the block behind them.
Heat slapped their backs.
Valerie grabbed his wrist. "Run."
"You said lean."
"I changed my mind."
They cut through an alley between two shuttered card parlors. Neon signs flashed over the puddles, turning the rain red, then blue, then red again. Jesse's boots slipped twice. Valerie never let go.
A sniper round punched through the brick beside his head.
He pulled her down. They hit the ground together.
"That was not one of your people?" he asked.
"No."
"Good. I was worried we were bonding."
She shoved herself up on one elbow and peered over the drainpipe. "Three drones. Maybe four."
"You count fast."
"I was trained."
"By the same idiots who put a target on your back?"
Her jaw tightened. "Don't talk about things you don't understand."
"I understand betrayal."
"Do you? You ran from your syndicate."
"They tried to bury me alive."
"And you still carry their deck."
Jesse looked down at his palm. The black mark had spread past his wrist.
"It carries me," he said.
Valerie's expression changed. Not pity. She was too disciplined for that. Something sharper. Calculation mixed with fear.
"How long?"
"Until it finishes eating me."
"How long, Jesse?"
"A day. Maybe less."
Her hand found the front of his coat and twisted the fabric tight. "You knew."
"I suspected."
"You lied to me."
"You were pointing a gun at me. It felt rude to overshare."
"If you die, the tether takes me with you."
Jesse went still.
Valerie's eyes held his. "You didn't know that?"
"The tether shouldn't have formed."
"It did."
"Then we have something in common. We both got screwed by people smarter than us."
"Don't make this cute."
"I'm not the one holding my collar."
She released him with a sharp shove. "Where's the safehouse?"
"Two blocks east. Under the old pump station."
"Is it secure?"
"It was."
"That's not an answer."
"It's the only one I've got."
A drone beam swept across the alley mouth. Valerie raised her pistol, but Jesse caught her wrist.
"Don't shoot," he whispered.
"They already know we're here."
"The beam's a decoy. The strike team is behind us."
She stared at his hand around her wrist. His thumb rested over her pulse. He felt it jump once before she yanked free.
"You could warn me without grabbing me."
"You could stop being so grabable."
"That line worked better in your head."
"Everything works better in my head."
She almost smiled.
Then the alley wall exploded.
Valerie slammed Jesse down and covered him with her body as shards of brick and metal tore through the rain. Her coat spread over his shoulders. Her mouth was beside his ear.
"Say one word about this and I'll shoot you myself."
"You keep promising."
"I mean it now."
"That's what makes it romantic."
She lifted her head. "Run. Now."
They sprinted for the pump station. Jesse's leg dragged, but Valerie stayed beside him, firing over her shoulder. Each shot cracked close to his ear. He could feel her shoulder brush his with every stride.
The station door appeared ahead.
Jesse reached for the hidden latch.
A hand caught his coat from behind.
He spun and drove his elbow back. The attacker grunted. Valerie fired past Jesse's cheek and blew the man's core apart in a burst of red sparks.
Jesse stared at her.
"You missed my neck by an inch," he said.
"I didn't miss."
"That's not comforting."
"Get inside."
He found the latch and shoved the door open. They dropped into the service tunnel beneath the pump station. Valerie slammed the door behind them and locked three bolts.
For half a second, there was only their breathing.
Jesse leaned against the wall. Valerie stood in front of him, close enough that the barrel of her pistol touched his stomach.
"Last chance," she said. "Who sold the route?"
His deck whispered again.
NOT THE ROUTE.
Jesse's blood chilled.
Valerie watched his face. "What?"
"Your mission file."
"What about it?"
"The leak didn't sell our route. Someone changed your file before you received it."
"Who?"
"I don't know."
"You're lying again."
"I'm reading the card."
"Then read faster."
The deck's black mark crawled higher beneath his skin. Pain buckled his knees.
Valerie caught him by the shoulders. "Jesse. Stay with me."
"Don't say it like that."
"Like what?"
"Like you mean it."
Her grip tightened. "You want me to let go?"
He looked at her hand, then at her mouth. "No."
The answer hung between them.
A distant metallic clank echoed through the tunnel.
Valerie's eyes went cold. She released him and reached for the emergency hammer mounted beside the door. The heavy Board-issued tool came free with a hard scrape.
"Who is it?" Jesse whispered.
"You tell me."
The clank came again. Closer.
Jesse pushed away from the wall. "If it's a strike team, we need the lower channel."
"If it's your friend, you need to explain why he followed us."
"Jax doesn't follow. He runs away and complains afterward."
"Then he can complain quietly."
The passage ahead filled with a thin red glow.
Jesse's deck went silent.
That scared him more than the explosions.
Valerie raised the hammer. "Behind me."
"You just said you didn't trust me."
"I don't. Get behind me anyway."
"Bossy."
"Alive."
The glow moved closer. A shape stumbled through the water, one hand pressed to his chest. Jax Novak appeared beneath the emergency lights, soaked through and covered in soot.
"Don't shoot," Jax rasped. "It's me."
Valerie kept the hammer raised. "Name three things only Jax would know."
Jax blinked at her. "You have a terrible temper. Jesse has a death wish. And the coffee in this station tastes like boiled tar."
Jesse exhaled. "That's him."
"You sure?" Valerie asked.
"No. But if that's an impostor, he's studied the coffee."
Jax staggered closer. Blood darkened his sleeve.
Valerie's pistol lowered a fraction. "What happened?"
"They found the upper entrance."
"Who?"
"Board drones. Syndicate burners. I don't know. Everybody, maybe."
Jesse grabbed Jax before he fell. "The safehouse?"
Jax's eyes flicked toward Valerie, then back to Jesse.
"Say it," Jesse ordered.
Jax swallowed. "The safehouse is burned."
A red flare popped somewhere down the sewer.
Its light rolled through the tunnel, bright and wet, painting Jax's face the color of fresh blood.
Valerie lifted her pistol again. "How many followed you?"
Jax's mouth opened.
The tunnel behind him filled with footsteps.
"Jax," Jesse said, tightening his grip. "How many?"
Jax leaned close, his voice dropping to a whisper.
"All of them. And they know you're carrying the—"