The van's tires hummed against the pavement, a steady rhythm that did little to ease the knot in Alex's gut. The warehouse haul rattled in the back—crates of Vortex's tech, sleek and sinister, like toys from a mad scientist's workshop. Mia hunched over the real tablet they'd snagged, her fingers dancing across the screen, neon hair glowing in the dim light like a punk rock halo. Jax slouched beside her, foam still flaking from his jacket, munching on a pilfered energy bar with the satisfaction of a guy who'd just wrestled a cyborg and lived.
"These logs are gold," Mia said, her voice buzzing with excitement. "Routes to Vortex's next drop—some VR hub downtown. Cipher's name all over it. Hacker extraordinaire, apparently."
Lila, squeezed next to Alex, shifted, her knee brushing his. The touch sent a warm spark up his leg, chasing away some of the chill from Caleb's smug handoff. She'd seen the decoy swap, but hadn't pushed—yet. "VR hub? Sounds like a trap. Dorks'll be sniffing around if that decoy leads them astray."
Alex nodded, forcing a chuckle. "Let 'em. Caleb with clown makeup? Worth the price of admission." The system had delivered its reward mid-ride, a quiet buzz unlocking Misdirection Mastery, but the victory tasted flat. Another layer of lies, another step away from the truth he owed the squad.
Jax leaned forward, crumbs tumbling from his lap. "Speaking of clowns, Finn's foam bath? Epic. Guy looked like he fell into a bubble bath from hell." He mimed flailing, earning groans and laughs, the van filling with that easy camaraderie that made the nights feel less heavy.
But as they pulled into Eclipse's underground garage, the system's blue text flickered again, uninvited and sharp:
SYSTEM PROMPT: Mission Unlocked! Objective: Decode a hidden layer in the logs before Mia finishes. Reward: Unlock 'Data Decryption Elite.' Failure: 'Bad Poetry Slam.' Tip: Use the new misdirection to slip away.
Alex stifled a sigh. Bad poetry? The system's jabs were getting personal, like it knew his weak spots. He glanced at Mia, her focus locked on the tablet, and felt that familiar twist—guilt sharp as a splinter. She was good, too good to sabotage, but the hidden layer? If it tied to the files on his USB, he needed it first.
The dorm welcomed them with its usual mess—pizza boxes from last week's win, Mia's gadgets scattered like forgotten toys. Jax flopped onto the couch, groaning dramatically. "Shower time. I smell like a wet dog rolled in glue."
Mia set the tablet on the table, stretching. "I'll keep cracking this. You guys crash—I'll yell if I find something juicy."
Lila caught Alex's eye, tilting her head toward the hall. "Walk?" she asked, quiet enough that the others didn't notice.
His pulse quickened. "Sure."
The academy halls were empty this late, lights dimmed to a soft glow that turned everything golden. Lila walked close, her steps matching his, the silence comfortable at first, then charged. "That decoy move," she started, voice low. "Smart. But risky. Caleb's not dumb—he'll figure it out eventually."
Alex shrugged, his mind split between her and the prompt. "Worth it to keep them off our backs. Dorks think they're hot stuff, but they're just... noisy."
She smiled, a real one that crinkled her eyes. "Noisy's right. Tessa's got that crush on Jax—did you see her drone code? Hearts everywhere. Pathetic." They both laughed, the sound echoing softly, and for a moment, the weight lifted. Lila's hand brushed his again, lingering this time, her fingers twining with his in a way that felt natural, inevitable.
His heart stumbled. "Lila, I—"
A door banged open down the hall—Caleb, storming toward them, face twisted in fury, the decoy tablet clutched like a weapon. Tessa trailed behind, her gadget sparking, Rico and Finn hanging back with awkward shrugs.
"You played us, Thorne!" Caleb snarled, waving the tablet. "Fake logs? You think we're idiots?"
Alex stepped forward, pulling Lila behind him instinctively. "You crashed our op. Call it even."
Tessa huffed, crossing her arms. "Even? My drone's fried from tangling with pinky's. And those hearts? Glitch. Total glitch."
Jax's voice boomed from the dorm door—he'd heard the commotion. "Hearts? On Jax? Aw, Tessa, you shouldn't have." He flexed, winking, and Finn burst out laughing, earning a glare from Tessa.
The hallway turned into a standoff, words flying like stray bullets—Caleb ranting about "stolen glory," Mia joining with a smirk and a quip about "discount hacks." Rico tried to sneak away, but tripped over his own shoelace, sprawling again. "Ghost, huh?" Jax hooted, helping him up with a slap on the back that nearly knocked him down anew.
In the chaos, Alex slipped the tablet from Mia's distracted grip, his implant guiding a quick scan. The hidden layer unlocked—a map to Cipher's VR lair, plus a whisper of academy codes that matched his USB files. The system chimed satisfaction, but Caleb's rage peaked, lunging for the real tablet.
Lila's hand shot out, blocking him. "Back off, Voss. Or we'll make that decoy the least of your problems."
Caleb backed down, red-faced, muttering threats as the Dorks retreated. The squad piled back into the dorm, adrenaline fading into tired laughs. Mia reclaimed the tablet, oblivious to Alex's peek. "Close one," she said, yawning.
As they crashed, Lila pulled Alex aside one last time. "We're in this together, right?"
He nodded, squeezing her hand. "Yeah. Together." But the system's new prompt already loomed, and the VR hub waited. Together might be the only way through—or the thing that broke him.