The voice came back again, lower this time, stripped of mockery. "If Iron Mandate secures the outer ring, they'll breach the vault within minutes. You walk away, you lose nothing. I lose everything."
Xavier didn't turn around. He was still watching the feeds, the flashes of fire and energy tearing through the access tunnels.
"That's the difference between us," he said. "You're protecting something. I'm already done with it."
Silence followed.
Then the voice spoke again. "What do you want?"
Xavier finally looked up at the ceiling speaker. "Control long enough to walk out clean. No tricks. No locks closing behind us. Your people don't point weapons at mine, and mine don't touch your stash. Of course, I am talking about your 10%."
Rin glanced at him. "That's it?"
"That's it," Xavier replied.
"You swear you won't interfere?" the voice asked.
Xavier's mouth twitched. "If I wanted this place, you'd already be dead."
