Max tilted his head slightly, the dim light glinting off the wet metal of his coat collar. His tone was steady, but the quiet authority beneath it was unmistakable.
"Alright, kid," he said, eyes narrowing. "Who the hell are you?"
The man straightened, trying to look composed, but his nerves betrayed him — the twitch of a hand, the shift of weight from one foot to the other. His voice came out fast, words tumbling over each other like he'd rehearsed a dozen introductions and forgot them all at once.
"I—uh—name's Kade. Kade Rilson. I'm—well, kind of your… fan?"
Max blinked once. "…My what?"
Kade exhaled sharply, running a hand through his rain-damp hair. "Yeah, I know how that sounds, choom, but it's true. I've followed your work since the Militech breach in '72 — the infiltration at Bering Node, the blackout job in San Morro, the way you ghosted the entire Tycho board without leaving a single packet trace—"
Max raised a brow. "You've been reading ghost stories."
"They're your stories!" Kade blurted out, stepping closer before catching himself. "I mean — you're the reason people like me even believe it's possible to take on corps like Militech and live to tell it. You proved the system can bleed."
Max didn't respond immediately. His silence stretched long enough that Kade started to fidget again, words spilling faster now.
"I wasn't trying to spook you with the signal. I thought maybe, if I spoofed your encryption — you'd notice. And you did! So it worked, right?" He laughed awkwardly, the sound thin against the hum of the servers. "I've got a small crew — mercs, mostly. Freelancers who run gigs for whoever pays. We… kind of modeled our setup after your old ops. Even call ourselves the Ghost Dogs."
Max sighed. "That's cute."
Kade blinked, not sure if it was sarcasm. "We're not some poser gang, alright? We do serious runs. Holo-heists, convoy hits, data extractions — nothing big yet, but we're getting there. I just thought… maybe we could work together. You could teach us. Or even—"
He hesitated, then blurted it out. "Let me join you."
That earned him a low, humorless chuckle. "You want to join me?"
"Yeah! I mean, I know I'm not on your level — not yet — but I've studied your code, your routing patterns, even your kinetic records. I get what you do. You're not just another merc — you're the guy who beat the corps at their own game. I wanna be that."
Max folded his arms, his expression unreadable. "You spoofed my encryption, hijacked a dormant Militech node, and pinged half the city's silent alarms just to… audition?"
Kade looked away. "…Kinda, yeah."
"Mary," Max muttered, "this city really is breeding lunatics."
"Confirmed," she replied flatly. "Though his signal traces show skill. Sloppy in setup, but the execution was advanced — nearly ghost-tier. He's not lying about his talent."
Kade perked up at that. "See? Even your AI thinks I've got potential."
Max gave him a long, assessing look. "Potential gets you killed faster than talent in this line of work."
Kade's grin faltered. "I know the risks. I've lost people — my brother, my old crew. Militech chewed them up when a gig went south. I just… don't want to run anymore. You fight back. I want in on that."
For a moment, only the hum of the servers filled the air. Max finally stepped closer, boots echoing lightly on the steel.
"Listen, Kade," he said quietly. "You're sharp, but you're reckless. You're trying to play at being a ghost without knowing what it costs. I'm not a mentor. I'm not a hero. And trust me — being me isn't something you want."
Kade's jaw tightened, but he didn't back down. "Then let me prove it. One job. One shot. Let me show you I can keep up."
Before Max could answer, Mary's voice cut in — sharp, urgent.
"Max. Multiple signatures approaching. Not city patrol — private unit, heavy cybernetics. Militech-grade."
Kade's face paled. "They followed me?"
Max's eyes went cold. "Guess you're about to prove yourself, after all."
He turned toward the tunnel entrance as metallic footsteps echoed from the dark, blue lights flickering against the damp walls.
"Mary," he said, rolling his shoulders. "Lock down the node and prep countermeasures."
"Already on it."
Kade swallowed hard, pulling a compact SMG from under his jacket, hands trembling slightly. "What do we do?"
Max smirked, the faintest glint of excitement in his eyes.
"We make sure your fan club earns its first scars."
The hum of servos grew louder — the telltale rhythm of Militech exo-suits moving in formation. The faint blue glow from their visors spilled through the fog like ghostly lanterns.
Max's smile didn't fade. It never did when the hunt started.
"Mary," he said, his voice low but razor-sharp. "Full sweep — five hostiles?"
"Seven," she corrected, tone clipped. "Four heavies, two scouts, one handler. Smartguns and thermal visors active. They're hunting, not patrolling."
"Good." Max cracked his neck, eyes narrowing toward the flickering light at the tunnel mouth. "Means we don't need to be polite."
Kade crouched beside him, trying to steady his breathing. The SMG's grip was slick with sweat, his implants jittering faint signals across Mary's passive scan.
"You ever fought Militech hunters before?" Max asked.
Kade hesitated. "…No. Closest I got was jamming one of their drones on a convoy run. This is—"
"Different." Max drew his sidearm, a matte-black pistol with no visible markings. The chamber whined softly as it synced to his neural signature. "You shoot first, you move after. Don't freeze, don't aim for center mass — go for the seams. Their armor's smart-linked, but it's still human underneath."
"Right. Got it."
The faint tremor in Kade's voice didn't go unnoticed. Max smirked faintly. "Relax, kid. You wanted to meet me? Welcome to the interview."
The first Militech trooper stepped into the light — a walking slab of chrome and kevlar, pulse rifle humming. His visor flicked red for a split second — target acquired.
He didn't get the chance to pull the trigger.
Max moved like liquid shadow — a single shot, silent but precise, punching straight through the rifle's thermal coil. It exploded in the soldier's hands, throwing sparks and molten metal as he went down screaming.
"Contact! Ghost protocol—!"
Too late.
Max was already gone from sight, reappearing behind a support pillar. His second shot blew out a visor, his third cut through an exposed cable joint.
Kade flinched as bullets shredded the air near him, tearing chunks from the concrete. He dropped low, returning fire — wild, desperate bursts that managed to suppress one of the advancing heavies.
"Mary, what's his vitals?" Max asked calmly, reloading mid-sprint.
***
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