Chapter 30 · Then stop feeding it!

"Then stop feeding it!"

The words cracked through the lab.

I stepped closer. "You put him in this tank."

"I found him in this tank."

"You brought him here."

"Because the street team was going to cut him open for the signal inside him!"

"You could have taken him somewhere safe."

"There is no safe place in Ashport for a kid who makes corporate sensors scream."

"There is always a choice."

Mira's expression twisted. "That's easy for you to say. You woke up with power strong enough to tear through a squad. I had to climb every rung of this rotten system with my hands bleeding, and the second I tried to pull someone out, they put a target on my back."

"You still wear their badge."

She tore the silver insignia from her collar and threw it across the room.

"Not anymore."

The tank flashed.

Leo's restraints tightened with a mechanical whine. His mouth moved behind the mask.

Mira turned back to the console. "Hold him steady."

"How?"

"Talk to him, but don't push. Keep your Current quiet."

"You want me calm?"

"No. I want you controlled. There's a difference.