We should have seen it coming.
The League doesn't knock twice.
When they want something, they just take it.
And if they can't take it?
They burn it.
It started with a fire.
Not flames.
Data.
Riven was the first to notice it.
We were down in the underground hub, sifting through Delryn's flash drive. Everyone was on edge. The documents didn't make sense, full of vague terms and half-redacted chains of command. It felt like a puzzle missing every corner piece.
Then Riven slammed his fist against the console.
"Something's wrong."
Echo looked up from the other side of the room. "Define wrong."
"They found us," he said, standing fast. "They're pinging the signal from the drive. It wasn't just intel—it was a goddamn beacon."
My stomach dropped.
"Shut it down," Echo snapped.
"Too late. They already know where we are."
We didn't have time to argue.
Alarms we didn't know we had started blaring.
Motion sensors along the western tunnels lit up.
"Heat signatures inbound," Riven shouted. "Six. Maybe eight. All armored."
I stood, already pulling on my jacket. My fingers lit up without being told. The power was ready before I was.
Echo grabbed her gear and snapped orders to the others. "Grab anything you can carry. Kill the lights. Move to fallback path two."
"What about the intel?" I asked.
She held up a portable drive. "Got it. But if we don't leave now, it won't matter."
The Nulls moved like they'd practiced this before.
Which scared me more than anything else.
They had protocols.
Which meant they'd expected something like this.
The first blast shook the tunnel behind us.
Concrete cracked.
Dust poured from the ceiling like rain.
Then came the light—bright, white, surgical.
A spotlight burst through the far wall, cutting across the corridor like a blade.
And with it came the sound of boots.
Metal on stone.
Unstoppable.
We ran.
The fallback path was tight—barely enough space to squeeze through. I hit my shoulder hard against rusted metal, ignored the pain.
Behind us, the sounds of pursuit echoed like thunder.
They didn't speak.
Didn't warn.
Just advanced.
"Split up," Echo called. "Meet at checkpoint three."
Riven tossed me a small black chip. "In case you get caught, crush it. Scrambles any tracking on your body."
I caught it. "What happens if I don't get caught?"
He smirked. "Then you owe me lunch."
Then he vanished down the left tunnel with the others.
Echo pointed right.
"You're with me."
We moved fast.
No time for questions.
My legs burned. My lungs ached.
But the energy inside me kept pace.
No longer a stranger.
It knew what to do now.
We reached the old maintenance station by the reservoir. A rusted metal ladder led up into the dark.
Echo climbed first. I followed.
At the top was a panel. She pushed it open.
Fresh air hit my face like a slap.
We emerged behind a shipping depot on the city's edge. A full moon overhead. Wind in the grass. Sirens in the distance.
But no one was here.
We were clear.
For now.
We ducked into an empty warehouse nearby.
She slumped against the wall, breathing hard.
I dropped to the floor, heart still racing.
"Think they'll follow us?" I asked.
Echo shook her head. "They'll take the tunnels first. Sweep them. Then hit surface routes."
She looked at me. "That was your contact's drive."
I nodded.
"Could've been a mistake."
"Could've been bait."
Her jaw clenched.
And I could tell—she was calculating whether or not to trust me again.
Then we heard footsteps.
Light. Careful.
Too careful.
Echo raised a hand. Energy shimmered at her fingertips.
"Don't," I whispered. "Wait."
A figure stepped through the broken loading dock.
Not a League agent.
Not in armor.
Just… jeans. Hoodie.
And a familiar face.
Riven.
He held up his hands. "It's just me."
Echo stood, cautious. "How did you find us?"
He didn't answer.
I stepped forward. "Riven?"
His smile cracked just slightly.
Then he said something that made the hairs on my neck stand up.
"I told them where to look."
I didn't move.
Didn't breathe.
Echo's power snapped into full glow.
"What the hell did you just say?"
Riven raised his hands higher. "They were going to hit us anyway. I just controlled when."
"Why?" I demanded.
He looked at me.
"I wanted to see what you'd do."
My fists clenched. "You set us up."
"I gave us a chance to test you."
He looked at Echo. "The kid's different. Stronger. Smarter. He's not like us. He could lead."
"That's not your call," she snapped.
"No," he said. "It's theirs."
Echo's eyes narrowed. "Whose?"
He didn't answer.
But I saw it.
The subtle movement.
The flicker of a communication chip behind his ear.
And I understood.
He'd been compromised.
Not just tonight.
Weeks ago.
The blast came out of nowhere.
Echo hit the ground beside me as Riven was tackled from the side by a blur of motion.
Another figure in black armor. No insignia. No warning.
Rogue?
League?
Someone else?
The fight was fast. Brutal.
Riven reached for a weapon. The attacker snapped his wrist. Elbowed him in the throat. Took him down in four moves.
Then turned to us.
Helmet hissed.
Lifted.
And revealed—
Delryn.
Again.
I blinked.
"You just don't quit," I said.
She knelt, zip-tied Riven's wrists behind his back.
"He sold you out twice already," she said. "Once to the League. Once to someone else. I don't know who."
"You followed him?" Echo asked.
Delryn stood. "I followed the leak. Didn't know who it was until I saw him try to run."
"What do we do with him?" I asked.
Delryn didn't answer.
But Echo did.
"Leave him."
We stared.
"He'll talk his way out of any cell. He'll cut another deal. But if we leave him here, let the other side find him…"
I understood.
"Burn notice," I said.
Echo nodded.
"Make sure everyone knows he's out."
Ten minutes later, we were gone.
Riven was still breathing.
But he wouldn't be safe anywhere now.
Not with all sides watching.
Not after tonight.
Back at a new safehouse—deeper, darker, smaller—Echo patched the last comms system together.
"We're losing ground," she muttered.
"Then we move faster."
She looked at me.
"You sure you're up for this?"
I thought about Riven.
About the blast tunnels.
About the choices I was running out of.
Then I said, "Let's make our own rules."