The rain came down hard over Blackridge by nightfall, thick enough to smear neon signs and drown the gutters. Elias liked it. Rain blurred cameras. Masked footsteps. Hid blood.
They returned to the safehouse in silence, the stolen briefcase sealed in a backpack under his jacket. Dizzy kept glancing over his shoulder, tapping his leg with jittery fingers.
"Man, this is heat," he muttered. "Whatever's in that case, someone's already looking for it."
Elias agreed — but showing fear was a luxury he couldn't afford.
Mara locked the door behind them and peeled off her soaked jacket.
"We need to move fast. That salvage yard wasn't random junk. We're not the only ones sniffing around South Quarter."
Elias dropped the backpack on the kitchen table.
"Get me the toolkit. We're cracking it."
Dizzy hesitated. "Wait — didn't the system say this thing's tracked?"
Elias opened his HUD.
******
[Hidden Item: Unknown Tech Crate]
Decryption Tool Use Available – Skill Check Required
Risk Level: Moderate
Fail Result: Tracker Activation (Ping to Owner)
Success Reward: ???
Use Toolkit? [Y/N]
******
He hovered over the "Yes" option and paused.
"Then we don't fail," he said.
He selected YES.
The system blinked — and time slowed.
******
[Skill Check: Improvised Electronics – Level 0]
Required Roll: 13+
Modifier: +1 (Tools)
Rolling…
Result: 15 – SUCCESS
******
A soft click came from the case. Inside, lined with impact foam, sat a compact terminal — screen dark, ports still warm. It wasn't just storage. It was active surveillance gear.
More than that — a scanner node.
"What the hell is that?" Dizzy asked.
"Signal mapping hardware. Top-end. Military-adjacent."
Mara squinted at the branding.
"No serials. Custom-burned. Whoever this belongs to isn't small-time."
Elias tapped the screen.
It lit up with a flicker and opened to a local feed: **Six thermal pings**, one of them tagged with a red triangle, labeled **"KANE."**
They'd been watched — even *before* the fire.
******
[System Thread Updated – Tracked by Unknown Party]
Threat Class: Level C (Field-Grade Surveillance)
Unlocked Device: Mobile Data Relay | Use Available Once
Reward: +3 Intel Threads
Crime Shop Tier II Now Available
******
Crime Points: 25 → 25
Intel Threads: 4
He felt it shift. The system — his system — pulsed stronger now, like a heart syncing with his ambition.
A new tab unfolded in the HUD:
******
[Crime Shop – Tier II Access Granted]
New Items Unlocked:
– [Guerilla Drone Frame] – 20 CP
– [Encrypted Relay Beacon] – 18 CP
– [Contact Spoofer – Lv.1] – 14 CP
– [Random Skill Boost – Lv.2] – 25 CP
– [Firearm: Compact SMG (Modded)] – 28 CP
******
Elias hovered for a second, then selected **Contact Spoofer – Lv.1**.
Crime Points: 25 → 11
A small device materialized in his hand, cold and sleek. With it, he could spoof GPS and comms signals — buy himself precious hours if someone tried to triangulate him.
"This just got bigger than gangs," he said. "Whoever tagged me isn't just watching. They're waiting."
"Waiting for what?" Mara asked.
"For us to make a mistake."
Dizzy stared at the terminal like it might grow teeth. "I didn't sign up for a war with feds."
"You signed up to build something," Elias said. "And you're still here."
That shut him up.
Elias turned back to the screen, watching the red triangle pulse.
No clean hands left now. Just grit, blood, and digital ghosts.
And he was ready to hunt them all down.