The disc felt like ice in Maya's palm. Smooth, unassuming—yet thrumming with a faint pulse, as if alive. She couldn't tell if it was her own heartbeat or the device's secret hum, but its presence unsettled her more than the drones overhead.
The tunnel shook again. Dust rained down, coating their shoulders. Distant boots clanged like war drums in the stone corridors. Time was slipping through their fingers.
And still, Maya couldn't move.
"Don't even think about it," Vector growled. His gun was raised, but not at the enemies—they hadn't appeared yet. His aim pointed directly at Rei. "You've fed us lies since the day we met you."
Rei lifted his hands, palms open, face pale. "If I wanted you dead, we wouldn't have made it this far. They'd have found us nights ago."
"You led us into traps," Vector spat. His voice cracked with raw anger. "Every step you suggested, every route—we were one breath from slaughter."
Rei's voice broke. "Because they're tracking me, not you. I've been the bait—willingly. To keep them from tearing you apart."
Maya's head spun. Her instincts screamed at her not to trust him, but the guilt in his eyes wasn't the kind she could fake.
"Why?" she demanded, her voice trembling. "Why risk your life for us if you work for them?"
Rei looked at her, really looked—his gaze steady despite the chaos crashing around them. "Because I believe in what Echo stands for. The Division isn't invincible. But it wants you dead because you're dangerous to its secrets. I was sent to watch you, Maya… and I chose to protect you instead."
The words twisted inside her chest. Dangerous to its secrets. What did that even mean? She was just a soldier, a survivor like the rest of them. Nothing more.
Vector stepped between them, fury darkening his features. "He's manipulating you. We can't afford hesitation. Hand me the disc."
Maya's grip tightened around the override key, its edges biting into her skin. For the first time, she saw doubt in Vector's eyes. Not the confident leader she trusted with her life, but a man whose faith was crumbling.
The shouts grew closer, drones buzzing like hornets.
"Choose," Vector said, his voice iron. "Him or me."
The words struck harder than gunfire.
Maya's throat burned. She trusted Vector with everything—her survival, her sanity, her mission. Yet some part of her, stubborn and sharp, couldn't shake the weight of Rei's confession.
The disc pulsed again, as though it knew it was the center of this storm. A weapon. A betrayal. A salvation.
Her knuckles whitened as she clutched it.
The truth was clear: the real battle wasn't against the soldiers swarming the tunnels. It was inside her chest, tearing her in two.
For the first time, Maya wondered if trust itself was the most dangerous weapon in the world.