They were ejected from the tunnel into the guts of the undercity—a labyrinth of broken pipes, dripping ductwork, and serrated red lamps. The air was thick with oil and mildew, every step thudding like a drumbeat of chase.
In their wake, the clinic erupted in fire. Kai didn't allow himself to look back.
Nyx hopped along, smoking shoulder wrapped around her. Ash cursed, half pulling out a med-kit from her pack while still keeping her weapon up. Kai led the way, shotgun spent but held like a threat, scanning every shadow.
"They won't stop," Nyx spat, breathing raggedly. "Envision will throw waves until we drown."
Kai clamped his jaw together. "So we go faster."
Ash shot him a glare. "And when going isn't enough?"
Kai opened his lips, but the AI spoke to him first, icy and cold in his mind.
> "Two minutes until pursuit crosses secondary gate. Chances for survival crash without reinforcements."
Reinforcements. Of course. If only it didn't sound like a noose tightening around him.
The corridor branched off to the sides, opening up to an vacant cargo bay. Decaying rails stretched across the ground, pyramids of crates looming like tombstones. A reddish tinge clung to the atmosphere, drifting from expired neon lights overhead.
That was when Kai heard it—the short bursts of laughter. Fractured, out of control.
A figure dropped down from the catwalks, landing in a crouch before them.
Plumes of chrome hair were trapped by the red light. A towering plasma blade slung over his shoulder hummed softly. His grin was too large, too beast, his eyes aglow with neon implants that pulsed like shattered sirens.
"Well, well," he growled, voice as rough as gravel. "If it isn't the rat who stole fire from the gods."
Kai stiffened. "Raze."
Ash muttered under his breath, "Oh, shit."
Nyx raised her rifle, steady despite bleeding. "Why are you here?"
Raze drew the blade slowly, sparks flying from the metal. "Same as you, love. Running from the corps. But not you. You don't like it." He licked his teeth, his gaze flicking toward Kai. "And word on the street is you've got something sweet. A drive. Worth a ransom of a city."
Kai's gut chilled. His face remained neutral. "Rumors."
Raze's grin widened. "Rumors don't bleed this sweet unless they're true."
A fraction of a second before Nyx could fire, the doors to the freight bay slammed in. Imagine enforcers swarmed in, visors glowing, rifles raised.
Bullets lit the bay in strobing bursts.
"Guess we're all friends tonight," Raze cackled, igniting his plasma blade. He charged the soldiers with zero hesitation, a whirlwind of fire and madness. Armor split open like paper under his strikes. He laughed with every kill, neon implants flickering wildly.
Kai ducked behind a crate to reload a recovered rifle. Ash dove in along with him, already dropping soldiers with accurate bursts. Nyx moved up to greater elevation, her fire killing soldiers with sniper-like calmness even with the wound.
Raze, though, was chaos incarnate—moving too fast, too reckless. He cut through enforcers with blood-slick precision, every slash painting the air red. But he wasn't untouchable. A plasma bolt clipped his side, burning through flesh. He just laughed harder, swinging wider.
"You're insane," Ash muttered between shots.
Kai grit his teeth. "He's effective."
The AI's voice whispered again.
> "Mercenary unit Raze: unstable, unpredictable. High betrayal risk. Recommend termination when no longer useful."
Kai's throat tightened. He couldn't even trust the one ally he couldn't admit existed.
An enforcer vaulted over a crate, leveling a rifle at Kai. He barely had time to aim—but Raze was faster. The merc's blade cleaved the soldier clean in two, sparks showering Kai's face.
Raze leaned close, grinning through blood. "You owe me one, rat."
Kai shoved him back, jaw clenched. "Don't call me that."
The cargo bay echoed with gunfire and shouts until, finally, silence fell. The last enforcer collapsed in a burning pile.
Breathless, bleeding, the four of them stood among dead men and firelight.
Raze wiped his knife on the armor of a dead soldier, then slung it back over his shoulder. "Well. That was fun."
Nyx trained her rifle on him again, clenching her jaw. "We don't ride with psychos."
Raze smirked. "You're bleeding out. He's running scared. And she's one bad shot from collapse." His eyes flicked to Ash, who glared back. "Face it—you need me."
Kai stayed silent, chest heavy with unease. The AI hissed in his skull.
> "This one will turn. Eliminate him before he eliminates you."
Kai forced himself to ignore it. For now.
Raze's grin expanded as he threw an arm across Kai's shoulder like old drinking buddies. "So where we running next, rat?"
Kai shoved him back, fiery eyes. "Away from here as far as we can."
Ash complained, "With him? We wouldn't last twenty-four hours."
Nyx's eyes narrowed. "Then we make sure we last two.".
The four of them traveled into the darkness of the undercity, fire behind them and deception already in motion like smoke.
And Kai never said a thing about the voice that guided his every move.