The tunnels were older than the city itself — relics of another age when power still flowed through copper instead of data. Their walls were slick with condensation, rust blooming like old blood across metal ribs.

Hale’s flashlight beam cut a narrow path through the dark, glinting off wet pipes and the faint gleam of exposed wiring. Behind him, Evelyn moved quietly, her datapad strapped to her wrist, its faint glow throwing spectral light across her face. Gray brought up the rear, his ...