The old freight truck rattled along the service road, its headlights cutting through the fog. The engine struggled on the incline, coughing black smoke, but Hale kept the wheel steady. He hadn’t said much since they’d left the docks—his focus was on distance, not direction.

Evelyn sat beside him, clutching the case in her lap. The once-sterile alloy shell was now marred with scratches and fingerprints, its faint blue pulse visible even through the seams. The thing inside was awake ...