Lyra glanced at the bullet holes along the van's side and the cracked windshield. "We can't stay here long."
"No," Jax agreed. He cracked his door open, the air thick with concrete dust and oil in the garage. "But we shook them for now."
Eris carefully powered down the van's systems to avoid drawing any signals. She pulled the precious data shard back out, clutching it. "They must have tracked the shard's general signal or one of our devices. I need to finish decrypting this soon, before they can regroup."
Lyra peered out into the cavernous garage. "We should go up. High. That might throw off their scans and give us line-of-sight to see anyone coming."
Jax pointed toward a stairwell. "Up there. Top floors of this tower are empty shells. Let's move."
They hurried as much as their tired bodies allowed. Up twenty flights of unfinished concrete stairs, until they emerged into a half-built level open to the elements. The rain had subsided to a drizzle, and evening was creeping in, tinting the gray sky with a hint of orange.
Stepping over stray rebar and cables, they found a dry corner that was once slated to be an office. Eris set down her equipment and immediately booted her laptop, connecting the shard again. Jax stood watch by a blown-out section of wall, surveying the cityscape below for any hint of pursuit. Lyra paced the perimeter, trying to cool the fiery adrenaline in her veins.
From this height, the city sprawled in all directions—tower blocks and neon canyons, the distant glimmer of the bay to the north, and far to the east, the distinctive silhouette of the Prysm-Sek arcology. Even from here she could see it lit up, a beacon of corporate might. It made her skin crawl.
"Alright," Eris said, pulling Lyra back over. "I've reloaded the decryption. Give me a little time and I should have the rest of that memo and any coordinates it contains."
Lyra nodded and knelt next to her, looking at the lines of code. She didn't understand the algorithms, but each percent of progress represented Noel that much closer.
Jax left his post to join them for a moment. Rainwater dripped from his jacket. "We need to talk plan. Prysm-Sek will come after this data. After us. Especially once they realize what was taken."
"They probably already do," Lyra said. She remembered the alarms and the security response in the arcology. "And if they've spun the story to the public, they'll brand us as terrorists or extremists."
At that, Eris jerked her chin towards a dusty portable radio sitting on one of the crates. "Oh, they've spun it alright. Listen." She flicked it on and tuned to a local news stream, which crackled to life mid-broadcast:
"...incident at the Prysm-Sek Corporate Arcology late last night. A company spokesperson has confirmed an attack by an unidentified rogue cybernetics gang. Early reports indicate significant damage to corporate property and multiple casualties. City authorities are cooperating with Prysm-Sek to hunt down those responsible. Citizens are urged to report any suspicious activity..."
Eris snapped it off with a disgusted snort. "Rogue cybernetics gang, my ass. They mean us, obviously. And now every street hustler or bounty hunter with a scanner will be looking for a quick payout turning us in."
Lyra set her jaw. It was expected, but hearing it still made her stomach churn. They'd be hunted not just by corp soldiers but by desperate denizens of the city looking to curry favor or cash.
"Lay low, keep moving," Jax said. "We knew that part."
Eris let out a triumphal little "Ha!" suddenly, her eyes flickering behind the visor display. "Cracked another partition. Looks like personnel logs. This might have what we need."
Lyra and Jax crowded a bit closer as Eris brought up a file listing. She skimmed, muttering, "Dates, project staff, test subjects... There's Noel's name again... And here, something about 'Relocation Protocol - Subject Noel'. That sounds important."
Lyra's pulse quickened. "Relocation? Did they move him?"
"Give me a sec," Eris said, fingers dancing over the keys. A progress bar inched across one of the screens. "Decrypting that file..."
All three waited in taut silence as the bar filled. The moment it hit 100%, Eris opened the text. Her eyes scanned rapidly, then abruptly she stiffened. "Shit."
"What? What is it?" Lyra demanded, anxiety spiking at Eris's tone.
Eris cursed under her breath, then read aloud in a flat voice: "'Protocol: MANTIS Phase II Relocation. Subject Noel K. to be transferred to cryostasis at Site Theta awaiting overseas shipment. All experiment data archived for Project Lead review.'"
Lyra felt the blood drain from her face. Cryostasis... overseas shipment... It sounded like they had put Noel on ice, literally, and planned to move him far away. If he was being shipped overseas, finding him would become exponentially harder.
Jax's expression darkened. "Site Theta? Does it specify where that is?"
Eris scrolled. "Coordinates... partial coordinates, I think. Some data corrupted or maybe redacted. But it's here." She tapped a line. "North outskirts... maybe near the old port or industrial docks. It mentions a decommissioned facility being repurposed. The phrasing is vague."
Lyra paced a few steps, running a hand through her short, disheveled hair. "So Noel was moved out of the arcology to this 'Site Theta' and put in cryo. If they're shipping him overseas... That could be any day now, or maybe it's already happened."
"Dates," Jax interjected. "Is there a date?"
Eris scrolled further, eyes narrowing. "Yes. The relocation order was dated two days ago. Shipping scheduled for... tomorrow night. From something called 'Cell Docks'." She looked up at them, her face grave. "We have maybe a day before Noel is gone from the city."
Lyra's heart hammered. A day. After all this, they were almost out of time. But at least now they had a where and when. "Cell Docks... I know that place. It's an old biotech storage yard by the river, north side. If they've turned it into a makeshift lab or staging area, that might be our chance."
Jax gave a grim nod. "Then we'll hit it. We intercept before they ship him out."
Eris raised a cautious hand. "Uh, not to rain on the plan, but a 'Phase II' facility sounds heavily guarded. Plus, if Noel is in cryo, they'll have him locked down tight. We'll need to bring some serious gear to break him out."
Lyra clenched her fists. "Whatever it takes. We have to try."
"We will," Jax said firmly. "But first, we need to get out of here without drawing fire, regroup somewhere safer, and gear up. We can't stroll into Site Theta with what we have on us now."
Eris began hastily packing up her equipment, disconnecting the shard which had yielded its crucial secrets. "Agreed. I'll need a secure location to finish decrypting the rest and maybe find schematics or security loopholes on Site Theta."
Lyra moved to help her, shoving cables and drives into Eris's duffel bag. "There's a triad safehouse in Little K, isn't there?" she asked Jax, recalling one of their former hideouts.
Jax shook his head. "Compromised last month. We need someplace new." He paused, thinking. "Maybe the old heliport towers on West 39th. They've been abandoned and they're off the grid."
"We'll figure it out," Eris said, hoisting her heavy bag with a slight grunt. "Let's just get moving. I don't like staying in one place too—"
A sharp crack echoed from above, cutting her off. Both Lyra and Jax recognized the sound of a distant gunshot. Then another. It was coming from the direction of the entrance they came through.