The safehouse was a furnace of frayed nerves when Raven returned with Nix in tow, Rico and Stitch trailing like shadows. The clock tower's revelation hung over them, a storm cloud ready to break. Brick stood by the crate, his shotgun resting against it, his scarred hands flexing as he processed Nix's words. The crew gathered, Eddie at his laptop, Tara pacing, Jax leaning on the wall with his bandaged shoulder, Doc cleaning his tools, and the others hovering in a loose circle. The air buzzed with suspicion, every glance a question.
Raven shoved Nix forward, her voice cutting through the hum. "Tell them. Everything."
Nix steadied herself, her shaved head catching the dim light, her data pad clutched tight. "It's not a trap," she said, her tone firm despite the tremor in her hands. "I sent the message because we're running out of time. The Architect, it's not one person. It's a group. Syndicate bosses, cops like Ruiz, hackers pulling strings. They've been running Neon City like a simulation, and Project Neon's their endgame."
Eddie's glasses slipped as he leaned over his screen, his voice high with strain. "A collective? That's why the data's a mess: multiple access points, layered encryption. I thought it was one mastermind."
Brick's eyes narrowed, his voice a low growl. "So Ruiz isn't the head. Just a cog."
Nix nodded, tapping her data pad. "She's high up, though. Enforces their moves, keeps the city's chaos in check. But the real power's distributed, compartmentalized. They've got a kill switch, too. One signal, and the city's grid, power, comms, everything, goes dark."
Tara's tic flared, her pacing halting. "A kill switch? That's insane. They'd tank their own profits."
"Unless it's the point," Raven said, her knife flipping again, a restless tic of her own. "Wipe the slate, start over. Phase two, like Ruiz said."
Brick's jaw tightened, his mind racing. "Then the tower's a distraction. We hit it, they flip the switch, and we're the scapegoats."
Jax shifted, wincing as his shoulder pulled. "Or it's leverage. They know we're coming, Ruiz said it herself. They're betting we'll blink first."
The room went quiet, the weight of Nix's warning settling in. Eddie's fingers hovered over his keyboard, his voice small. "There's more. The message I decoded, it flagged a mole. Someone's feeding them our moves."
Tara's head snapped up, her tic a rapid pulse. "A mole? Here?"
Nix's gaze dropped, her voice softer. "That's why I went dark. I had to be sure it wasn't me they were tracking. But it's someone close, someone who knows our plans."
Suspicion rippled through the crew, eyes darting. Rico, lean and quiet, crossed his arms, his voice a murmur. "Could be any of us. Hell, could be you, Nix."
Her head jerked up, eyes flashing. "I risked my neck to warn you. If I were the mole, why blow my cover?"
"Because they're done with you," Stitch cut in, his wiry frame tense, his fingers tapping his pistol's grip. "Expendable asset. Happens all the time."
Brick raised a hand, silencing the rising tide. "Enough. We start pointing fingers, we're doing their work for them. Nix, how'd you find this?"
Nix swallowed, her grip tightening on the data pad. "Intercepted a fragment, syndicate comms. It mentioned 'the insider' and our next move. I cross-checked it with Eddie's logs. Someone's been pinging our location, real subtle, since the server farm."
Eddie paled, his hands flying to his laptop. "What? I'd have seen that,"
"Unless they're better than you," Raven said, her tone sharp but not cruel. "No offense, kid."
Doc snorted, wiping his hands on a rag. "Or they've got hardware we don't know about. Implants, trackers, could be anything."
Brick's gaze swept the room, heavy with authority. "Then we check. Everyone, gear, clothes, anything you've touched since the farm. Eddie, sweep the system. If there's a leak, we plug it."
Tara's voice shook, her tic a staccato beat. "And if it's one of us? What then?"
Brick met her eyes, unflinching. "We deal with it. Quietly."
The crew dispersed, a tense shuffle of boots and muttered curses. Raven lingered, her knife still in hand, her voice low as she sidled up to Brick. "You trust her? Nix?"
He didn't look at her, his eyes on the shotgun. "Don't trust anyone right now. Not even you."
Her lips twitched, a flicker of respect. "Smart man."
Hours later, the safehouse was a tangle of stripped gear and frayed tempers. Eddie's screen glowed, his voice a tired rasp. "Found it. A ghost signal, bouncing off our comms. Someone's got a relay on them, passive, damn near invisible."
Brick loomed over him, his shadow swallowing the light. "Who?"
Eddie hesitated, his eyes flicking to the crew. "Can't pin it yet. Could be any of us, or something we brought in."
Tara's tic jumped, her voice rising. "So we're blind again. Great."
Jax rubbed his shoulder, his tone dry. "Not blind. Paranoid. Makes us sharper."
Raven leaned against the wall, her knife twirling slowly and deliberately. "Or slower. We're chasing shadows while they tighten the noose."
Brick's voice cut through, steady as stone. "Then we change the game. Nix, you said the kill switch needs a signal. Where's it broadcast from?"
Nix tapped her data pad, her brow furrowing. "Best guess? The tower's the relay, but the source is deeper, underground, maybe. Old infrastructure, pre-syndicate."
"Like the tunnels," Tara said, her eyes narrowing. "Smugglers used them. Could be a bunker."
Brick nodded, his mind clicking into place. "Then we split focus. Eddie, Nix, you dig into the grid, find that source. Raven, you and I will scout the tunnels. Tara, Jax, Rico, watch the tower, but don't engage. We need eyes, not guns."
Raven's knife paused, her gaze sharp. "And the mole?"
Brick's voice was cold, final. "We flush them out. One way or another."
The safehouse settled into an uneasy rhythm, voices low, plans whispered. In a corner, Stitch sat alone, his fingers tracing the edge of his pistol, his eyes distant. Doc noticed his soft grumble. "You good, kid?"
Stitch's head tilted, his voice a murmur. "Just thinking. Lot's of ways this goes wrong."
Doc huffed, his hands busy with a bandage roll. "Always does. Trick is living through it."
Across the room, Tara caught Rico's eye, her tic steadying for a moment. "You ever run tunnels, back in the day?"
Rico's nod was slow, his voice quiet. "Once. Dark as hell. Felt like the city was breathing."
Her lips pressed thin. "Let's hope it doesn't choke us."