Without further pleasantries, Ilya Novak and his escorts melted back into the shadows the way they had come. Dominic watched until his augments registered no sign of movement. Only then did he exhale slowly, realizing he'd been holding a breath after all.
He straightened his coat and began walking back toward the service door. As he passed under the flickering light, he noticed the AR graffiti on the wall shifting subtly, the protest symbol of the grassroots resistance, a stylized phoenix, briefly glowing before fizzing out. Some hacker's idea of hope, placed here to inspire undercity dwellers. Dominic stared at the tag for a moment, the emblem shining in his optics. A phoenix rising from ashes. In this town, ashes were more common than rebirth.
His earpiece crackled to life. Jasper Kwon's steady voice: "Package delivered?"
"Delivered," Dominic confirmed quietly, pushing open the heavy door. The hinges squealed in protest. He stepped into the dingy garage where Kwon's silhouette waited by the car, the headlights off to avoid drawing notice. "Mr. Novak is on board."
"Understood." Jasper fell in step beside Dominic, one hand near the holster under his jacket as they crossed to the sedan. His sharp eyes scanned the shadows out of habit. "I never like you going in without me, Dom."
Dominic offered a tight smile as Jasper opened the rear door for him. "Your concern is noted. But sometimes a personal touch does more good than a squad of guards. Novak needed to see that I trust him enough to come alone."
Jasper shut the door once Dominic settled in the back seat. The car's interior was dim, lit only by the glow of the digital dashboard and the faint blue of the city night filtering through the ramp exit. As the engine started with a near-silent hum, Dominic leaned back and watched Jasper's reflection in the rearview mirror.
"You think he'll keep his word?" Jasper asked, pulling the car out.
"For his sake, he will," Dominic said. He slid a hand into his coat and withdrew a sleek datapad, fingers dancing over it to send Eva Montrose a brief coded update: Deal confirmed. Stage 1 ready. A tiny green check blinked as the message was encrypted and sent.
Dominic allowed himself a moment to replay the tunnel conversation in his mind, analyzing Novak's body language and tone, searching for any tell of impending betrayal. Whoever conquers a free town and does not demolish it commits a great error. Machiavelli's adage echoed in his thoughts. He had no intention of letting Novak run unchecked after this was over. One way or another, the Vipers would be declawed when they'd served their usefulness.
But for now, Novak was a necessary piece on the board.
Jasper steered the sedan up the ramp onto Lower Wacker Drive, where the city's underbelly bled into its glimmering facade above. The concrete corridors here were lit by sparse, jaundiced lamps. Their car slipped through the semi-deserted artery beneath downtown, passing others whose drivers were likely engaged in their own late-night dealings.
Dominic watched the rearview feeds on his pad. No sign they were followed. Good.
His reflection in the window looked back at him: sharp suit still immaculate despite the grime of the Underloop, dark hair neatly combed, the slight shadow of stubble on his jaw the only hint of the late hour. His eyes, augmented to a near-translucent grey, glinted with cold satisfaction.
"Sir?" Jasper's voice broke the silence. "Got a ping from HQ. Lucas is asking for a briefing. He wants to see you as soon as we're back."
Dominic's jaw tightened almost imperceptibly at the mention of his father by name. Lucas Alaric rarely slept, and clearly word of tonight's venture had reached him already. Perhaps Lucas had orchestrated more of this plan than he let on.
"Very well," Dominic replied evenly. "We'll head there now."
He felt the city rising around them as Jasper took an exit ramp up to street level. Above, the tall canyon of glass and steel awaited, Helios Corporation's crown jewel tower among them. Dominic glanced one more time at the damp walls of Lower Wacker sliding by. The concrete was plastered with layers of posters and luminous tags, history the city tried to paint over but never quite erased. Some flickered with dynamic AR overlays, a mayoral campaign slogan here, an anti-corp cartoonish caricature there, dueling propagandas warring even in this neglected space.
It struck Dominic that he navigated two Chicagos: one, the glitzy, well-lit sprawl of corporate dominance and high-tech convenience; the other, an underworld of flickering neon and quiet desperation. He was fluent in both. For now, that fluency was his greatest asset and perhaps, his greatest risk.
As the sedan emerged onto the slick streets of the Loop, Dominic's eyes caught the reflection of Helios Tower in the side window. High above, its top floors were alive with golden light against the night, like a beacon or a lighthouse guiding him home. He allowed himself a thin, sardonic smile at the thought. Home. Helios had been his world for years now, and tonight he'd set in motion events to secure its future and his own.
He straightened his cuffs, steeling himself for the meeting to come.
"Onward, then," he murmured, more to himself than to Jasper, as the city lights grew brighter and the siren wail of an approaching police drone echoed somewhere distant in the labyrinth of streets behind them.