Chapter 20 · Ground Zero Protocol

"Move, Vera!" Kane slammed me behind a dead transit pillar as a chrome-plated heavy tore through the wall where my head had been.

Concrete dust burst across my face. My spine lit up with a hot blue warning.

"That was my head!" I shouted.

"You noticed. Good. Stay low."

The lights died across the underground depot. Every holo sign blinked out. My combat UI stuttered, threw a wall of red errors across my vision, then went black.

No comms. No target lock. No clean little system telling me how badly I was about to get killed.

Only the heavy's metal boots pounding closer.

Kane crouched beside me, one hand braced against the pillar. His shoulder pressed against mine. Heat from his body cut through the cold metal at my back, and his breath brushed my ear when he spoke.

"EMP blackout. Your core is running blind."

"You say that like it's my fault."

"It usually is."

"You shoved the core into my spine."

"You stole it."

"I stole a delivery crate. You were the one who decided to turn me into a walking weapons platform.