The garage door rumbled shut behind them, drowning out the neon storm. Drift's engine ticked as it cooled, the smell of burned rubber and ozone still clinging to the air.
They were safe. For now.
Kai stepped out of the car, cloak torn, armor still faintly humming with residual energy. Crow followed him closely, rifle slung across her back, watching him with that unreadable look she always wore after he revealed too much.
"You didn't tell me you had that much hardware," she said at last, voice sharp but low.
Kai didn't answer right away. He removed the cracked neural rig from his head and set it on the workbench, flexing his alloy fingers. The seams hissed shut, plates folding back into flesh until only faint scars remained.
Finally, he glanced at her. "Some things are easier to keep buried. Until they're needed."
Crow narrowed her eyes, but her voice softened a shade. "You scared the hell out of Drift. Hell, even me."
A faint grin tugged at Kai's lips. "Fear keeps us sharp. But Drift'll adjust. He's not just our wheelman, Crow—he's transport. Goods, data drives, weapons, black-market meds… if we need it moved under the grid, he's the one who keeps it breathing."
Crow folded her arms. "You trust him with that much already?"
"He's reckless," Kai admitted, "but the best drivers always are. He gets us in, he gets us out. Without Drift, Shadow Net has no legs."
Crow studied him, then nodded slowly. "Fine. But if he ever cracks, I put a bullet in him before the Serpents do."
Kai chuckled, low and rough. "I'd expect nothing less from my right hand."
---
Later, in the dim glow of the command rig, Eve's porcelain mask-avatar flickered across multiple holo-screens. She had already wiped their trail, looping traffic cams and corrupting Serpent drone footage. The city would never know a Cyber Runner had died tonight.
Kai leaned against the console, arms folded. "Eve."
The mask tilted, curious. "You want something."
"You listened earlier. Specter. The one sniffing for us."
Eve's static smile sharpened. "I already set traps. By now, he knows he's being watched. It'll either scare him off… or bait him deeper."
Kai's voice was even. "I don't want him gone. I want him with us."
Eve paused. "…You want to recruit the bloodhound?"
"He's clever enough to follow false trails. Brave enough to dig when everyone else stays quiet. That makes him dangerous… but it also makes him valuable. Two hackers are better than one. Imagine what you and he could do together."
The porcelain mask flickered, unreadable. "Or imagine him stabbing me in the spine the second he learns what we are."
Kai stepped closer, eyes glowing faintly in the dark. "That's why I'm not asking you to trust him. I'm asking you to find him. Track him. And when the time comes… I'll offer him a choice."
Eve's mask tilted again, static rolling across her features. "…And if he refuses?"
Kai's ember grin returned, sharp as a blade. "Then Shadow Net gains nothing, and Specter disappears into the dark. Permanently."
The screens dimmed, leaving only the faint hum of machinery. Outside, Drift's laughter echoed from the garage, retelling their narrow escape to himself, as Crow sat silent, cleaning her rifle.
Shadow Net was growing. Slowly, dangerously.
And somewhere in the city, Specter had no idea he was already being hunted—
not by enemies, but by his future.