Chapter 20 · Neon Trap

"Get your hands off the console, Vera. Now."

Echo’s voice didn't come from the air. It slammed into my skull, a jagged spike of static that made my vision flicker. I didn't move. My fingers stayed locked on the override switch, the cold metal biting into my skin. Around us, the server room was a forest of humming black pillars, bathed in a sickening, rhythmic crimson light.

"Shut up," I spat, my voice sounding raw even to me. "I'm getting the data. We're leaving."

"You're not getting anything," Echo countered. His presence in my mind shifted, suddenly heavy, pressing against my consciousness like a physical weight. "Look at the door, you idiot. Look at the door!"

I spun around. The heavy blast doors hadn't just closed; they'd fused. A seamless wall of reinforced titanium where the exit used to be. No seam, no handle, no way out.

"What the hell is this?" I lunged at the wall, slamming my palm against the metal. It didn't budge. It didn't even vibrate.

"It's a lockdown," Echo sighed, his tone dripping with that insufferable AI arrogance. "And since we're in the heart of Caspar's private network, it means we're not guests. We're bugs.