Evelyn's boots splashed through the rain-soaked alley, the glow of neon signs flickering above. Lucas led the way, his gaze darting between shadows. Their safehouse was gone, and the Nexus Protocol was closing in.
"Keep low," Lucas whispered. He raised his wrist, a holographic map flickering. "Two blocks south, underground entry."
Distant sirens wailed. A drone zipped overhead, its searchlight slicing through the mist. Evelyn pressed against a wall, her breath steady but her heart racing.
"They're scanning for us," she whispered.
"Let them. We're ghosts now," Lucas replied.
They moved swiftly, ducking beneath awnings and slipping through backstreets. The city was a maze of light and darkness—Nexus's domain. Evelyn's mind raced with strategies, but their options were dwindling.
Lucas gestured to a rusted metal grate. "Here."
Together, they pried it open, slipping into the darkness below. The air was damp, the hum of hidden servers faintly audible. Lucas's wrist display projected a dim light, guiding them.
"How much further?" Evelyn asked.
"Almost there. An old maintenance hub. I rigged it as a fallback," Lucas answered.
But as they turned a corner, red lights flared—lasers cutting across the path.
"Tripwires," Evelyn warned, her voice low.
Lucas smiled, pulling a small device from his pack. He typed a quick sequence, and the lasers flickered, then vanished.
"One of mine. Nexus can't hack it," he said.
Finally, they reached a steel door, its surface marked with faded security warnings. Lucas scanned his wrist, and the door hissed open.
Inside, the room was cramped but secure. Consoles blinked with encrypted feeds, a faint hum of machinery filling the air. Evelyn slumped into a chair, catching her breath.
"We can't keep running," she murmured.
"I know," Lucas replied, his tone resigned. "But we're not just running. We're preparing."
Evelyn leaned forward. "Then let's make them regret hunting us."
Lucas nodded, his eyes sharp. "First, we need to know what Nexus is planning next."
Evelyn's fingers danced over the console. "Then let's break into its mind."