Werner did not retreat. He regrouped.
His bunker beneath Berlin hummed with servers and screens. Maps of the Pacific covered the walls. Red circles marked the c***k's location. Blue lines showed the bridge's reach.
His assistant, a young woman named Jana, handed him a tablet. "The drone was a loss. But we learned something."
"What?"
"The void reacts to pain. It flinched. That means it can be herded."
"Herded where?"
"Into a cage. The bridge is the connection. If we disrupt the bridge, the void loses its support. Then we move in."
Werner smiled. "Build me a disruptor."
---
At the sanctuary, Lyra watched the sky.
The bridge's color had dimmed. Not faded. Wary. Like an animal that had heard a predator.
"Third thing. What's wrong?"
The cold one is planning. I feel its intention. It
