Chapter 26 · The Deadline Deal

"Get your hand off the console, Kai. Now." Vala's pistol pressed against the base of my skull before I could finish the upload.

"You always interrupt right before the fun part."

"I interrupt right before you kill us."

"That too."

Her fingers caught the back of my jacket and yanked me away from the terminal. My shoulder slammed into the armored wall. The gun never left my neck.

The screen flashed red.

TRANSFER: 00:47:12.

Forty-seven minutes. That was all the time left before the stolen mind inside my head tore through the city's central grid. If the countdown hit zero, Aurora City would lose every shield, every medical network, every civilian implant tied to the corporate system.

And maybe my brain along with it.

Vala leaned close enough that I felt the heat of her breath near my ear. She smelled like cold metal, burnt powder, and the sharp citrus soap she used when she wanted to pretend she wasn't covered in blood.

"What did you upload?" she asked.

"A way out."

"Try again."

"A way out with a terrible user interface."

She twisted my arm behind my back. Pain snapped through my shoulder.

"Kai."

Her voice went flat.