Chapter 12 · The Third Name

Kade's standing in the hatch when I pull the helmet off. Doesn't knock. Doesn't wait.

"You need to wipe it," she says. Flat. No preamble.

I'm still dripping cold sweat from the suit. My hands won't stop shaking. That woman's face is burned into my head. Gray hair. Cold eyes. Sable. She called me Sable like she owned the name.

"Wipe what," I say. I know what.

"The relay. The file. Whatever the hell you pulled when you jacked the dock." Kade steps in. She's got her left hand behind her back. "It's still live. I can see the handshake."

I drop the helmet. It clangs. "I didn't pull anything. It pulled me."

"Then you got hooked. Doesn't matter. You need to kill it before it pings back."

Briar's leaning against the bulkhead outside the lock. Arms crossed. Gun visible. She doesn't look at Kade. Just me.

"What's in the file?" I ask.

Kade's jaw tightens. "Nothing you want active."

"That's not an answer."

"It's the only one you're getting. Wipe it or I do."

I wipe my hands on my knees. The suit's half off. I'm stuck in the damn underlay. "You can't. It's keyed to me.