The spy glared but kept moving, one step behind Lucas, his boots scuffing in the broken asphalt. The city around them groaned under its own weight—old support beams creaking in the wind, fractured steel frames clawing at the sky like forgotten skeletons.
Ava walked beside Lucas in silence for a moment, then finally said it.
"You really want to drag him along?" She nodded toward the spy, her voice low. "Feed him? Keep him breathing?"
Lucas didn't even look back. "Yes."
"Because?"
"Because he's useful," Lucas replied. "And he's carrying something we need. He just doesn't know how to say it yet."
Ava exhaled through her nose, annoyed but not surprised. "Information?"
Lucas gave a nod. "There's news on energy cores—new classifications, new uses. Upgrading systems through direct integration. Not just powering suits or weapons. Full sync-level augmentation. Some bunkers are already experimenting with injections."
"Voluntarily?"
