Chapter 25 · Traceless - Chapter 25: The Lock

The voice came through cracked speakers, low and deliberate. Not HQ standard. Not automated.

"You shut down the core," it said. "Good. That bought you maybe ten minutes before Vera reroutes through the secondary grid."

Layla pressed her back against the cold metal wall of the substation, her pulse hammering in her ears. Cole stood frozen in front of the terminal, one hand still on the kill switch he'd pulled. Blood dripped from his nose onto the console. The tracker under his skin hadn't stopped writhing since they'd entered the building.

"Who the hell are you?" Cole's voice came out rough. His free hand moved to his ribs, fingers digging in like he could tear the modification out through sheer will.

The speakers hissed. "Someone who's been watching the Null project longer than you've been alive. And right now, I'm the only reason Layla's not already in a bag on her way back to sub-level three."

Layla's stomach dropped. Sub-level three. The place Cole had mentioned once, the night he'd first told her about the program. The containment floor. Where they kept the ones who didn't take to reconditioning.

"Why help us?" she asked.