Chapter 12 · Ghost Signal - Chapter 12: Off the Capture Order

The knife hits the ground before the body does.

I spin around. The attacker's face is half metal, half burned skin. Blood pools under his chest. Qin's shot went clean through his heart.

Qin lowers his gun. He's still standing at the exit, boots planted wide, tactical vest strapped tight. His face is blank. No triumph. No regret.

"You're welcome," he says.

I don't move. My hand's still on my sidearm. "You just saved me or you just wanted him off the job?"

"Does it matter?"

"Yeah. It does."

He exhales through his nose. His jaw tightens. For a second he looks like the Qin I knew three years ago. The one who used to cover my six without asking why.

Then his comm unit beeps.

He taps it off without looking. "They're sweeping the market. Old Yuan's building is on fire. You've got maybe two minutes before they lock down this whole sector."

"Then move."

"I can't."

I take a step forward. "You just shot one of them."

"He wasn't one of mine." Qin's voice is flat. "He was freelance. Someone paid him to take you alive. Or take your neural port. Whichever came first.