"You gonna make me beg?"
She took a breath—then pushed him, hard, in the chest. "I will throw you down the stairs."
"I like it rough."
"Oh my God—"
But she didn't get to finish, because the door flew open again.
And Rhage walked in.
Carrying three sodas, a bag of popcorn, and zero shame.
"Yo, Kat, you want—"
He froze.
So did she.
So did Vishous.
It was a triangle of pure awkward hell.
Rhage looked at V's proximity to her. Looked at her flushed face. Then looked at the bag in his hands.
Slowly, he stepped backwards.
"Leaving now."
He shut the door behind him—gently.
A beat of silence.
Kat turned back to V and said flatly, "I'm going to kill him."
Vishous smirked. "You'll have to get in line."
The silence between them was blistering as they moved through the inner corridors of the compound. Not the main hallways—these were maintenance routes, half-lit and unmarked, meant for Brotherhood eyes only.
Kat stalked ahead, laptop clutched under one arm, flashlight in the other.
V trailed her by a few steps, watching her like she held secrets.
Spoiler: she did.
"You always break into your host's infrastructure and go sniffing around like a stray dog?" he asked, voice low and rough.
Kat didn't slow. "Only when the 'host' has an ego the size of a warship."
"Careful. I like it when you compliment me."
She stopped so suddenly he nearly walked into her. Turning, she shoved the laptop into his chest. Hard.
"Right there," she snapped. "Secondary access echo loop. Scrambled through your encryption like it was warm butter. Someone's piggybacking your grid."
V took the laptop, his mouth a grim line. He didn't say anything for a moment, just scrolled, fingers flying with fluid precision.
Then: "Shit."
"Yeah," Kat bit out. "You're welcome."
They moved deeper, the walls narrowing until they reached the sublevel junction under the armory. Kat knelt beside a panel, tapped into a data jack she'd uncovered under a rusted panel with a pry bar, and rerouted the feed to her screen.
"You ever hear of this zone?" she asked without looking at him.
"There's no room here. Just an old weapons storage chamber. Sealed up ten years ago."
Kat pulled up a thermal overlay.
There was heat inside.
And motion.
She stood slowly, meeting his gaze. "Want to tell me why your 'sealed' chamber has a warm body moving inside it?"
V didn't answer.
He stepped past her, reached the wall panel, and entered a series of overrides. The lock disengaged with a hiss.
Behind the door was a short hallway lined with security mesh and old sensors. The kind Kat knew hadn't worked in years.
She stepped in first.
"Stop," he said sharply.
She ignored him.
He grabbed her arm, firm but not hurting. "I said stop."
Kat wrenched away from him, eyes blazing. "Do not touch me unless you want to lose that hand."
His fangs dropped slightly. "Then don't go walking into potential traps like a goddamn idiot."
"I'm not your soldier, V."
"No," he said, stepping closer again, "you're the wildcard. The wild card with too much brain and no leash."
"You'd love a leash, wouldn't you?"
He leaned in, just enough to make it dangerous. "You wouldn't survive wearing mine."
The heat between them spiked.
Every breath a trigger.
Kat's eyes flared, defiant, even as her fingers twitched near the knife she kept tucked in the back waistband of her leggings. "Try me."
But then—
clack—clack—
The soft click of movement inside the chamber.
Something... mechanical. Human, maybe. A whir of gears and shifting weight.
Kat turned her head toward the sound.
V went rigid.
"Someone's in there," she whispered.
Vishous pulled a blade from his belt. "Stay behind me."
"Not a chance."
And before either could say more—the motion sensor light in the chamber clicked on.
They both went still.
On the far wall, an old Brotherhood surveillance console flickered to life. Static. Feedback. A long string of encrypted code scrolled across the top.
// External Node 3 Activated
// Uplink Complete
// Awaiting Command
Kat whispered, "That's Brotherhood tech."
V stared, unreadable. "No one should know about that node."
The screen blinked again.
// Unknown User Access Logged: K.N.
Kat felt her blood run cold.
"I didn't—" she started.
"I know," V cut her off, voice hard. "That wasn't you. Someone's framing you."
Their eyes met across the low glow of the monitor.
No smirks.
No banter.
Just the sudden, dangerous knowledge that whatever game was being played inside this fortress?
Kat wasn't on the outside of it anymore.
She was in it.
And someone had just made her the primary target.
Ghost code
Start from the beginning
