The air around Sector Nine reeked of chemicals and decay.
From above, the district looked like a grid of rotting steel. Half-built structures cast shadows over abandoned research compounds, all veined with old pipelines that hissed and bled toxic mist.
Leon crouched beside Jace and Blade atop a crumbling rooftop. Below them, the target compound blinked with heat sensors and high-frequency motion scans.
“She’s in there?” Blade asked, his fingers twitching over his blade.
Leon nodded. “Dr. Yuna Takeda. She’s the key to unraveling everything the Council did to my mother… and to me.”
Jace adjusted his scope. “We’re gonna have to go loud. No way around it.”
“No,” Leon said firmly. “We go surgical. One wrong move and she’ll disappear again.”
He tapped his earpiece. “Alina, status?”
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