The morning sun had barely risen over Sector 18 when the alarm blared.
System Alert – Level Crimson
Unauthorized perimeter breach detected.
Origin: Eastern Watchtower – Gridline Delta-7
Jaden sprinted through the Command Spire with Carl and Dani at his heels. Lyra's voice cut through the hallway intercoms. "Kinetic disturbance detected near the watchtower's auxiliary entrance. Stealth field briefly disabled before the breach. One signature. Unidentified."
By the time they reached the Spire's surveillance deck, a security feed displayed scorched sand, a snapped turret, and—
"She's inside," Dani whispered. "Who the hell breaches a double-scan turret zone?"
Jaden studied the slowed footage. One frame held a blurry silhouette—tall, armored, methodical. Kess. No doubt.
"She's not here to warn us," Carl said. "She's here to kill."
Jaden keyed in the override codes.
Deploy: ShockGrid Protocol Beta.
Activate Defense Drones – Interior Path 3.
Alert: All Vanguard patrol leaders to Condition Zero.
Lyra added, "Thermal trace active. Pursuing intruder through ventilation sector."
Meanwhile, Kess moved like a ghost.
Every twist of her body, every step across steel corridors was silent and calculated. She ducked under motion lights, moved past locked doors, reading security rhythms like a musician reading tempo.
Then she paused.
A Vanguard cadet — young, wide-eyed — stood at the hallway junction, frozen. His pulse rifle shook in his hands.
"Don't," he whispered. "I don't want to shoot you."
Kess lifted her hand, not toward a weapon — but toward her chest.
"Then don't," she said.
The boy hesitated. And in that instant, she disarmed him, swept him off his feet, and vanished again into the steam-choked corridors.
She wasn't here to kill civilians. Not yet. This was a probe — a statement.
Jaden's voice echoed from the communication: "She's not going to stop unless we stop her."
"I'm preparing a Lock-In Grid," Lyra said. "Containment in three minutes."
Carl monitored the drone feed as auto-units sealed exits. "All corridors locked. We'll corner her in Section Gamma-9."
But time was up.
A silent shot cracked through the main spire's upper dome — glass shattered. The round embedded itself inches from Jaden's terminal. Kess had eyes on him. She could have ended it.
But she didn't.
"Message," Lyra said suddenly. "Encrypted pulse from her rifle. One phrase."
Jaden read the line as it decrypted:
You're not the only one building a future.
The message wasn't a warning — it was a challenge.
Later that evening, Jaden reviewed her entry path. Every access point used had been previously cleared, subtly tested over the last few weeks. She had studied Sector 18's rhythms. She knew their protocols.
"She's not just another assassin," Dani said. "She's building something too."
"She's the other side of this equation," Jaden replied. "A mirror, distorted. And she's not working alone."
Lyra uploaded a heat map of remaining breach anomalies.
Residual energy spikes – Western Utility Corridor
Estimated trace delay: 6 hours
Secondary support signal detected – short-range AI burst
Kess wasn't alone.
They all stared at the map in silence.
Carl broke it: "She left a door open."
"No," Lyra corrected. "She left an invitation."