The neon sign above the club pulsed a feverish red, the words "Silk Circuits" buzzing with faulty wiring. A bouncer with a subdermal glare—cheap black-market optics—scowled at them from the door, but Kai flashed a hand signal Miyu didn't recognize, and the man grunted, stepping aside.
"Since when do you know strip club etiquette?" Miyu muttered as they slipped through the curtained entrance.
Kai's mouth twitched. "Since always."
The air inside was thick with synth-smoke and sweat, the bass from the music vibrating through the floor. Holographic dancers flickered on elevated platforms, their movements glitching at the edges where the projectors struggled to keep up. The crowd was a mix of off-duty enforcers, data runners, and the kind of wealthy clients who liked their entertainment with a side of plausible deniability.
And there, at a corner table with a half-empty bottle of whiskey, sat Lena.
Her sharp eyes locked onto them before they'd taken three steps inside. "Well," she drawled, swirling her drink, "if it isn't the two most wanted ghosts in Neo-Tokyo."
Miyu slid into the seat across from her. "That bad?"
Lena laughed, a sound like breaking glass. She flipped her wrist, and a holographic news feed sputtered to life above the table.
Miyu's face stared back at her—a Sentinel-issued wanted bulletin, her features rendered in cold, clinical detail.
"Miyu Aoki," the newscaster's voice announced, tinny through the club's speakers. "Wanted for high treason, data terrorism, and violation of the Harmony Act. Armed and extremely dangerous."
The footage cut to a shot of the ruined Nakano facility, smoke still curling from its carcass.
Kai's jaw tightened. "They're really pushing the narrative."
"Oh, it gets better," Lena said, tapping the table. The feed changed—security cam footage of Miyu and Kai fleeing the Spire, their faces crystal clear despite the hoods. "They've got you on every screen in the city. Even the porn hubs."
Miyu's fingers curled around the neural drive in her pocket. Echo's pulse was steady, a quiet counterpoint to the chaos. "Any good leads on our heads?"
Lena took a slow sip of whiskey. "Not yet. But the Sentinel's offering a full neural upgrade for tips. You'd be amazed what people will sell out for when the prize is a better brain."
A dancer passed their table, her holographic feathers brushing Miyu's shoulder. The music swelled, drowning out the next burst of news commentary.
"We need supplies," Kai said, low under the beat. "Burner chips. Weapons. Whatever you've got."
Lena leaned forward, her breath warm with alcohol. "I've got a stash. But it'll cost you."
Miyu met her gaze. "What do you want?"
"A story worth dying for," Lena said simply. "And a front-row seat when you burn it all down."
Outside, a siren wailed. Close. Too close.
The neural drive burned in Miyu's grip.
"Deal," she said.
YOU ARE READING
A Bug in the Code
Mystery / ThrillerIn a totalitarian cyber-surveillance state, Miyu is a brilliant but laid-back hacker who makes a living off other people's data to survive. When she stumbles upon a hidden encryption tied to a vanished resistance group, she's thrust into a deadly ga...
