Chapter 23 · You have the key

We were breathing too loud. Both of us. The vent fan rattled overhead. Footsteps thudded somewhere above us. Boots. A whole squad.

She froze. I froze.

"Quiet," she mouthed.

We listened. The boots passed. Faded.

Her shoulders dropped a fraction. But she didn't step back. If anything the quiet made it worse. Made the space smaller.

"You have the key," she whispered. "Let me see it."

"Why? So you can take it and leave me here?"

"So I know you didn't fry it when you panicked."

I pulled the drive from my pocket. Small. Black. Still warm from the server. The Lethe key. Worth more than both our lives.

She reached for it. I pulled it back.

"Uh-uh," I said. "My turn to ask questions."

"Kai—"

"You knew they'd be sweeping this sector. You picked this closet. Why?" I held the drive up. Out of reach. "You said it was random. It wasn't."

Her jaw tightened.

"Answer me," I said. "Who else knows we're here?"

"No one."

"Try again."

"I told you. No one."

I activated my Reaper Plugin. Just a flick. My eyes flared. Data flooded my vision.

Heart rate. Micro-expressions. Pupil dilation.