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"Tell me what you injected, or I cut the wire and let your heart quit." Vesper's monoblade rested against my throat, cold enough to make my pulse stutter.
I kept both hands spread on the concrete. The crimson core under my ribs pulsed once. The glowing neural filament between us tightened, running from my chest to the thin black device locked around her wrist.
Her eyes dropped to it for half a second.
That was all I needed.
"Funny," I said. "You sound scared."
Her blade pressed harder. A bright line of blood crawled down my neck.
"You should be scared."
"I was. Then you showed up and made it personal."
She grabbed my collar and slammed me against a stack of broken coolant panels. Metal cracked behind my shoulders. My vision jumped, but I kept looking at her face.
Vesper Croft had the kind of face corporate ads used to sell expensive security systems. Sharp cheekbones. Silver eyes. Black hair pulled tight enough to hurt. Her coat was clean except for the blood on one sleeve.
My blood.
"You stole a military core from a secured convoy," she said. "You killed three retrieval agents. You injected it after your organs started failing. Now it's connected to me."
"I didn't kill anybody."
"You want to try that again?"
"Sure. You missed the part where your people shot first."
Her jaw tightened. The blade moved a fraction closer.
"Who sold you the core?"
"A guy with a bad attitude."
"Name."
"He didn't introduce himself. We were busy running from each other."
She drove her knee into my thigh. Pain flashed hot through the leg the core had barely repaired. I bit down hard enough to taste iron.
"Name, Rex."
The way she said it made my stomach drop.
I had not told her my name.
"You already know who I am," I said.
"I know everything worth knowing."
"Then you know I don't answer to people pointing knives at me."
"You answer when I make the alternative worse."
She twisted the blade. Not enough to cut deep. Enough to remind me she could.
The neural wire between us flickered.
Vesper froze.
I felt the change in my chest before she did. A sharp tug pulled through my nerves, and her fingers tightened around the handle. Her pupils narrowed as the same pain crossed her face.
"What did you do?" she snapped.
"Me? You're the one stabbing me."
"The tether reacted to your pulse."
"Maybe it hates you."
"Maybe it knows you belong in a morgue."
The core throbbed again. My left hand jerked against the floor. Vesper's wrist twitched at the same time.
Her blade dropped two inches.
I kicked her knee.
She went sideways, but not far. Corporate assassins apparently came with reinforced joints. She caught herself on one palm and whipped the monoblade toward my ribs.
I rolled beneath it. The blade cut through my jacket and kissed skin. I grabbed her ankle and yanked.
She hit the floor hard.
"Stay down," I said.
"You first."
She swept my legs. I landed on my back, and she was over me before I could breathe. Her forearm pinned my throat. Her face hovered inches from mine.
Her breath smelled faintly of mint and blood.
"You really don't know when to stop," she said.
"People keep telling me that."
"They were right."
"You keep getting closer to prove them wrong?"
For one second, her gaze dropped to my mouth.
Then she pressed harder.
"Don't flirt with me."
"That was flirting? I need better lines."
"You need a working liver."
"I had one. Your company sold it for parts."
Her arm went still.
There it was.
Not fear. Not anger. Recognition.
I smiled through the pressure on my throat. "Right. That's the face. You know my district."
"I know the file."
"The file says what? That gutter trash deserves to die when a corporate lab needs fresh tissue?"
"The file says the district was condemned after a biohazard breach."
"The file lied."
"You expect me to take your word over a sealed Directorate report?"
"No. I expect you to check the scar behind your left ear."
Her eyes sharpened.
"What about it?"
"Your tracker isn't under the skin. It's inside the old interface port. Whoever installed it didn't want you finding it."
She stared at me.
I had seen the tiny metallic glint when she grabbed me. Most people would have missed it. I made a living finding things other people threw away.
"You scanned me," she said.
"You were on top of me. Hard to miss."
"Who told you about the port?"
"Nobody."
"Liar."
She raised the monoblade and angled it under my chin.
I caught her wrist.
The moment our skin touched, the tether flared white. Pain slammed through both of us. Vesper gasped and leaned closer instead of pulling away. Her weight pressed against my chest. Her hair brushed my cheek.
The core showed me a red outline of her nervous system.
I saw the implant buried behind her ear. I saw the encrypted signal leaving it. I saw the command label.
DIRECTORATE OVERRIDE: ASSET VESPER CROFT.
My grip tightened.
"You were right," I said. "You do have a leash."
Her expression changed so fast it almost looked like a glitch.
She head-butted me.
My nose burst hot. I let go. She rolled away and came up on one knee, blade shaking in her hand.
"Say that again," she said.
Blood ran over my lips. "You heard me."
"Say it."
"You're not an enforcer. You're an owned weapon."
She lunged.
I grabbed a broken panel and blocked the blade. The monoblade sliced through the panel and stopped a breath from my eye. I shoved upward with both hands.
Vesper's arm trembled. Her face twisted with effort.
"You think you know me?" she hissed.
"I know someone put a command implant in your skull."
"You know nothing."
"I know your handler can shut you down."
Her blade shook harder.
"Stop talking."
"I know he sent you here to kill me before you ever saw the core."
"Stop."
"And I know he didn't tell you the core had a bond fail-safe."
She pushed down.
The blade moved toward my eye.
I turned my head, but there was nowhere to go. My elbows scraped the floor. The core burned beneath my ribs, hungry and unstable.
"What happens if you kill me?" I asked.
"Your heart stops."
"Wrong answer."
Her eyes flicked to mine.
"What?"
"If you kill me, the core uses your nervous system as a backup host. It won't care if you survive."
"You're guessing."
"Then test it."
The blade stopped.
I smiled. It hurt.
"Go on. Push."
"Shut up."
"You wanted the truth. Here's more. The tether isn't just carrying pain. It's copying signals. Every time you touch me, it maps you deeper."
"You don't know that."
"I can see it."
"See what?"
"The implant behind your ear. The override path. The kill command waiting in your spine."
She stared at me like I had become a bomb with a face.
Then she spat blood onto my jacket.
"You're bluffing."
"Your right hand is numb."
Her fingers flexed around the handle.
Nothing happened.
The color drained from her face.
"Your left eye keeps trying to refocus," I said. "And your pulse jumps every time I say the word kill."
"I said shut up."
"You can't feel two fingers."
Her breathing broke.
The blade dipped.
I twisted hard, knocked her wrist aside, and drove my shoulder into her chest. We crashed into the wall. Her head struck metal. The monoblade clattered away.
I pinned both her wrists above her head.
For a second, neither of us moved.
Her body was warm against mine. Mine was shaking from the core. Our linked nerves pulled tight between us, turning every breath into a shared warning.
Vesper looked up at me.
"Get off."
"Give me one reason."
"I can still break your jaw."
"That isn't a reason. That's a promise."
"You want a reason? Fine. If you stay that close, I might bite you."
"You're welcome to try."
Her eyes flashed.
"You really are suicidal."
"Not today."
She jerked one knee upward. I shifted just in time, and the strike missed anything important. I pressed closer to keep her trapped.
Her breath caught.
Mine did too.
She noticed. Of course she noticed.
"Move," she whispered.
"Say please."
"I'd rather bleed out."
"You already tried that. Didn't work."
"Rex."
My name sounded different in her mouth. Less like a threat. More like a warning she hated needing.
The tether pulsed between us.
A burst of pain hit my chest. Vesper cried out under me. Her fingers curled against my palms.
I released one wrist.
She slapped me.
The sound cracked across the dock.
"That was for pinning me."
"Fair."
She slapped me again.
"That was for calling me owned."
"Also fair."
Her hand lifted a third time.
I caught it inches from my face.
"That one isn't free."
Her lips parted. Her gaze held mine.
"You don't get to set rules."
"I just did."
"You're lying on stolen tech with a military core eating your organs."
"And you're under my hand because you lost your knife. Looks like we're both having a bad night."
A metallic click sounded from the far end of the dock.
Vesper heard it too.
Her head turned.
Three security drones rolled from behind a collapsed cargo hauler, their camera clusters glowing blue. Corporate patrol units. Heavy armor. Shock rounds. Signal jammers.
The tether snapped tight as the first jammer powered up.
Pain punched through my skull.
Vesper shoved me away and stumbled to one knee.
"How many?" I asked.
"Three. Maybe more behind them."
"Can you fight?"
"Can you stop asking stupid questions?"
She reached for the monoblade.
I kicked it away.
Her eyes cut toward me. "What the hell was that?"
"If you die holding that, I die too."
"You said the tether needs contact."
"I said it copies signals through contact. I never said distance breaks it."
"You were going to mention that when?"
"After you stopped trying to murder me."
The lead drone raised a shock cannon.
A red targeting line slid over my chest.
Vesper grabbed the front of my jacket and pulled me behind a steel support. The cannon fired. Blue energy tore through the space where my ribs had been and blew chunks from the wall.
"You could've warned me," she snapped.
"You were busy being owned."
"Keep saying that and I'll use your spine as a coat rack."
She leaned around the support and fired a compact pistol. One shot. The lead drone's camera burst.
The other two opened fire.
I grabbed her waist and dragged her down. Bolts punched through the support above us.
Her elbow hit my ribs.
"Hands off."
"You want to stand up and get shot?"
"I want you to stop touching me."
"Then stop making me save you."
"I saved you first."
"You pulled me behind cover because you needed me alive."
"Same thing."
"Not even close."
The drones advanced, metal feet grinding over concrete.
Vesper checked her pistol. Empty.
She looked at me. "How long until the core burns through you?"
"Long enough."
"That's not a number."
"You want a number? Six minutes, maybe."
Her mouth tightened. "And me?"
"If the tether is copying your signal, you get the same six minutes."
"You could've led with that."
"You had a blade at my throat. I figured we were past introductions."
She shoved her wrist in my face. The black device had grown thin red lines across its surface. They reached up her forearm like cracks in glass.
"Get it off."
"I can't."
"You scavenged it."
"I scavenged the core. This thing grew out of it."
"Then make it stop growing."
"I need access to the command layer."
"And how do you get that?"
"By syncing with you."
She laughed once. It had no humor in it.
"Absolutely not."
"Then we both die under a dock while your company turns us into evidence."
"You don't get inside my head."
"I already saw the implant."
Her stare went flat.
"You saw the hardware. Not me."
"Good. Keep it that way."
"You don't sound disappointed."
"I don't like surprises."
A drone slammed into the steel support. The whole beam shook.
Vesper lost her balance. I caught her by the arm. Her palm landed against my chest, right over the core.
The crimson light flared between my fingers.
Her eyes widened.
"Rex."
"Don't move."
"I'm not moving. You're the one holding me."
"Because the tether is reacting."
"To what?"
I looked down.
A narrow ring of black metal had formed around my wrist. The same material covered the device on hers. Tiny symbols crawled across both surfaces.
"That's not a limiter," she said.
"No."
"What is it?"
"A control lock."
"For who?"
The core answered before I could.
A line of red text burned across my vision.
NEURAL PAIRING REQUIRED. PRIMARY HOST: REX VANE. SECONDARY HOST: VESPER CROFT. COMPLIANCE CONDITION: BOTH SURVIVE.
Vesper saw the reflection in my eye. Her face went pale.
"You made me secondary?"
"I didn't make anything."
"Remove it."
"I can't."
"Remove it now."
She shoved the pistol against my ribs. The empty weapon still made a convincing threat.
I lowered my gaze to it. "You know that's empty."
"I know you don't."
"You just told me."
"I can still pull the trigger and break something."
"That attitude is almost charming."
"Try me."
The drones circled the support. Their red sensors brightened.
Vesper pressed the useless pistol harder against me, but her other hand stayed on my chest. She couldn't pull it away without making the core flare again.
Our faces were close. Her breath brushed my mouth. I could feel her pulse through the tether, fast and furious, matching mine beat for beat.
"Listen carefully," I said. "The lock will keep your implant from receiving external commands."
Her eyes narrowed. "You can block Directorate control?"
"For now."
"And the price?"
"You stay alive."
"That's not a price."
"You stay close to me."
Her gaze dropped to the space between us.
"How close?"
"Close enough for the link to stabilize."
"Define close."
"You'll know when it hurts."
She gave me a look that could have cut steel.
"You enjoy this."
"I enjoy not dying."
"Liar."
The word came out softer than it should have.
A drone fired again. I pulled her against me and rolled us behind a stack of sealed crates. The shot scorched the floor where her head had been.
She landed on top of me, one hand braced beside my face.
"If you make one joke—"
"You landed on me."
"I swear—"
"You're welcome."
She punched my shoulder.
The tether flashed. Her pain hit me. Mine hit her. We both stopped.
"Don't do that," I said.
"Don't make me."
"We need to move."
"Then stop holding my coat."
I released the fabric.
She moved first, sliding behind the crates. I followed, the black ring on my wrist dragging a thin red line through the air. It connected to hers no matter how far we went.
Ten feet.
Twenty.
The line stretched, humming.
Thirty.
Vesper gasped and dropped to one knee.
I stopped before the pain could spike again.
"That's your limit," I said.
"I noticed."
"Forty feet. Maybe less if the drones keep jamming us."
"So we're chained."
"For the moment."
"You sound pleased."
"You sound worried."
"I'm deciding whether to kill you before the machines do."
"Get in line."
She rose, using the crate for support. Her face was tight, but she still lifted her chin.
"If I help you survive, you remove this."
"If you help me survive, I might remove it."
"That's not an agreement."
"It's the only offer you're getting."
"You need me more than I need you."
"You need my core more than you need your company."
Her eyes flashed.
"Careful."
"Touch the implant behind your ear."
She didn't move.
"Go on," I said. "Feel the little bump. The one they told you was scar tissue."
Her fingers rose slowly. They stopped before touching her skin.
The hesitation told me enough.
"You knew," I said.
"I suspected."
"And you still came for me?"
"Orders are orders."
"That's what owned weapons say."
She crossed the distance in two steps and caught my throat. Her fingers closed hard enough to hurt.
"Say it again."
I let her press me back against the crates.
"Owned weapon."
Her free hand snatched the monoblade from the floor. She raised it and shoved me down. The edge stopped inches from my eye.
Her hand shook.
Not from weakness.
From the tether.
The black ring around her wrist pulsed faster. Red symbols spread across the metal and climbed toward her palm.
"Take it off," she said.
"You know I can't."
"Then give me a way to cut it."
"If you cut the ring, the core treats the severed nerves as a hostile breach."
"Meaning?"
"It shuts down your heart first. Mine second."
Her lips pressed into a thin line.
"You're lying."
"You can check. Close your eyes. Follow the signal."
She did.
The drones rolled closer.
Vesper's blade stayed beside my eye while her breathing slowed. The tether carried her concentration into me, cold and precise. For one impossible second, I felt her mind brush mine.
Not memories. Not secrets.
Just the hard edge of her will.
She felt mine too. The core. The pain. The panic I refused to show.
Her eyes snapped open.
"You weren't supposed to survive the injection," she said.
"I know."
"The core chose you."
"Don't sound impressed."
"I'm not."
"Your hand is still shaking."
"Because I want to cut your eye out."
"Sure."
A deep mechanical thump rolled through the dock.
The drones split apart. Two climbed the walls while the third locked its cannon on us.
Vesper looked over her shoulder.
"We have seconds."
"Then choose."
"Choose what?"
"Trust me or die loyal."
She turned back. The blade hovered beside my eye. Her face was close enough that I felt the heat of her breath against my cheek.
"If I let you live, you take me off-grid."
"I don't take orders from assassins."
"You do now."
"You still have the knife."
"And you have the core."
"So we're both bluffing."
"No. I'm not."
She moved the blade away from my eye.
Then she drove it down.
I twisted. The monoblade punched through the crate beside my head and buried itself in the metal frame. Vesper's arm locked. I caught her wrist and slammed the black ring against the crate.
The control lock discharged.
Red light snapped around her wrist.
She sucked in a sharp breath.
"What did you do?"
"Made the choice for you."
"You arrogant—"
"Say the words."
"Go to hell."
"Not the words."
The drone cannon charged. Blue light filled the gap between the crates.
I pulled Vesper against my chest and covered her with my body.
She fought me for half a second, then stopped when the tether screamed a warning through both our nerves.
"Rex," she said, low and furious, "if I survive this, I will—"
The shot never came.
Every drone in the dock turned toward the ceiling.
Their scanners flashed red.
Two heavy patrol units dropped through the broken roof, armor plates unfolding as they fell. Their targeting systems swept down and painted twin red lasers across my forehead and Vesper's.
Vesper's fingers locked around my sleeve.
The control ring on her wrist clicked once.
Her eyes widened as the lock sealed tight.
"You just chained me to your heartbeat," she whispered, and the lead drone's cannon opened—