The echoes in the static.

Chapter 22: Ironclad Bay

Sixty miles north of Oakhaven, the skyline of Ironclad Bay rose through a thick blanket of industrial smog and ocean mist.

Unlike the quiet streets of Oakhaven, Ironclad Bay was a dense, sprawling metropolis dominated by shipping ports, high-rise corporate towers, and automated transit grids.

Riley parked the van in an underground public garage near the commercial docks. They sat in the dark interior, reviewing the new signal readings on Riley's handheld scanner.

"The frequency here is five times stronger than what Arthur had running in the harbor," Riley said, adjusting the receiver antenna. "It’s integrated into the city’s private fiber network. It’s not just monitoring calls, Elias—it’s tracking facial recognition at every train station and highway toll."

"The Architect isn't hiding in a crumbling lighthouse this time," Elias observed, looking out through the tinting toward a towering glass skyscraper bearing the name Vanguard Technological Solutions.

"That tower belongs to Vance’s former parent company," Elias continued. "Arthur didn't act alone. He was funded."

"If we try to break in there like we did at Blackwood Point, security will have us bagged in thirty seconds," Riley warned, tapping the screen. "Every door on that campus uses live biometric scans linked directly to the main core."

Elias pulled a pair of dark keycards from his wallet—old credentials from his time as an infrastructure technician before he went off-grid.

"We aren't breaking in through the front door," Elias said. "We're going in through the maintenance sub-levels. I know how their utility shafts are built."

Riley loaded two fresh signal-dampener cartridges into her pack. "Then let's go find this Architect."