“There were five field towers in the outer radius. Look at the data from them.” Each data stream pulled up in turn. Before 2:34 a.m., there was nothing but the usual noise you’d expect from a quiet city night, but at 2:34 a.m., each tower caught a massive spike.”
“The explosion. Not surprising they recorded that. This tells us what, Cyanos?” Tex asked.
“Look closer, boss.” I zoomed in on the graphs. “The explosion occurred at exactly 2:34:58, but all of these towers catch something 14.79 seconds earlier.”
Tex tapped his fingers on the table and stood. “What does analysis have to say about this unique signal?”
Maddox and I exchanged a glance. “So far, nothing, boss.”
Tex’s forehead creased, and he brought his index fingers to his lips. “This is Priority 0. Get more resources on this—even if they areoutsideresources.” His dark eyes lingered on me as he said it.
“Boss?” He couldn’t mean…
“A recentacquaintancehad a strong background in data reconstruction, if I recall. Top of her class at Elysium. Locate her and make a deal.” His eyes swept over me in that way that mademy skin crawl. “Unless, of course, you’ve already made contact with this person…against my orders.”
Maddox coughed at that. I shot him a look.
“Of course not, boss. We’ll find her.”
“Figure something out. Time is of the essence.” Tex turned to leave just as the conference room screen flickered—and the bossman himself loomed over us, larger than life.
“Excellent analysis. I’m happy to see this is progressing, but not as fast as I would like,” Levi said, his fingers steepled in front of his face.
Fuck me. Had he been watching the entire meeting?
“Who is this outside contractor?” he asked.
“An anarchist cyberrunner, sir,” Maddox chimed in.
Levi’s oversized face raised an eyebrow. “And this is who you think will be the best resource?”
I opened my mouth to speak, but Tex cut me off. “Apologies, sir, but I was made to believe that speed was the top priority on this case. If she has the skills, I see no other issues.”
To my surprise, Levi nodded.
I never could keep quiet.
“She’s not exactly friendly to the cause,” I said. “It might be difficult to persuade her to help.”
Levi leaned into his steepled fingers. “Everyone has a price, Cyanos. Especially those who are desperate. Find hers.”
The screen flashed to black, and Tex took a step toward the door before turning back. “Maddox, you are needed again at the Green data center. Use the opportunity to gather more intel.”
Maddox raised an eyebrow. “I thought this case was Priority 0?”
“Cyanos can handle contacting the contractor on his own, I’m sure. I have a feeling it won’t take long.” Tex gave me a hard look. “Can’t you?”
“Of course, boss.”
Maddox let out a sharp breath between his teeth, but Tex thankfully ignored him.
“You have your assignments. I would not linger here.”
The floorof the elevator shook gently beneath us, and Maddox stood with his arms crossed, tapping his fingers compulsively against his sleeve.
“You nervous?” I asked him.
“About you going alone to meet with Eon? Yeah. I want that payout too. Can’t get it if we can’t understand this signal, and it looks like we need her to do that.”
