Chapter 10 · Blackout on the Steel Desk

Chapter 10: Blackout on the Steel Desk

"Tighter," he said again, and the lights died before I could answer.

Not a flicker. A full drop — cage floods gone, hall sconces gone, even the red exit signs swallowed. For one second there was nothing but his pulse jumping against the wire looped around his throat, hot under my knuckles, and his hands still spread wide on my inner thighs like he owned the bone underneath.

Then the klaxon.

"Grid breach," Kane said, voice flat even with blood tracking down his collarbone. "That's not storm. That's hands on a fence."

He peeled the wire off his own neck — didn't flinch, didn't let me do it — and hauled me up by the wrist into the dark corridor. Emergency amber kicked on halfway down, enough to see the breach map glowing on the bunker wall when he shoved the door open with his shoulder.

Three red dots crawling the east intake tunnel. Advance scouts.