Jay POV
Forgotten Infrastructure — Deep Line Junction
The first shot wasn't meant to hit us.
That's how I knew it was Kaizer.
The tunnel lights blew out in a cascading wave ahead—precision EMP pulses, timed to disrupt, not destroy. The darkness rushed in like a held breath finally released.
Keifer moved instantly, stepping in front of me without looking back.
"Contact," he said calmly.
I felt it too—operators sliding into position, their presence like pressure changes before a storm. Not frantic. Not loud.
Confident.
I placed a hand against my abdomen without thinking. Not fear. Grounding.
"They know," I said softly.
Keifer's jaw tightened. "About the baby?"
"About everything," I corrected.
The bond flared—not alarm, not command. Resolve.
The first operator dropped from the ceiling gantry, landing light as a thought.
Keifer didn't hesitate.
He moved like he'd been waiting for permission.
Keifer POV
Junction Corridor — Engagement
They were good.
That annoyed me.
Three operators fanned out, using the tunnel curvature to split angles, weapons humming low-power—designed for capture, not kill.
Kaizer always preferred assets intact.
Too bad.
I slammed my boot into the floor panel, triggering the old maintenance surge Jay had flagged earlier. The lights flickered back—just enough.
I fired once. Not to hit.
The sound alone shattered their timing.
One rushed me. I pivoted, hooked his arm, and redirected him into the wall hard enough to knock the fight out of him without breaking anything important.
Jay stayed behind me—exactly where I needed her.
Another operator adjusted aim toward her.
That was his last mistake.
I crossed the distance in a heartbeat, disarmed him mid-motion, and dropped him with a clean strike.
Not rage.
Precision.
"You're doing great," Jay said behind me.
I almost laughed.
Kaizer POV
Mobile Command — Black Channel
Kaizer watched the feed with something close to satisfaction.
"They're faster than projected," an aide said.
"Yes," Kaizer replied. "They've accepted inevitability."
The tunnel map updated—operators neutralized, engagement escalating outward.
He leaned forward slightly.
"Deploy Phase Two," he said.
A pause. "Sir… that puts civilian-adjacent systems at risk."
Kaizer's eyes never left the display.
"Pressure reveals truth," he said. "And they won't abandon each other."
He tapped a control.
"Especially now."
Jay POV
Junction Collapse Zone
The air shifted.
Not sound—intent.
I felt the systems wake up around us: ancient transit controls, forgotten defense protocols, infrastructure that had been sleeping longer than I'd been alive.
Kaizer wasn't sending more soldiers.
He was turning the city against us.
"Keifer," I said sharply. "Move—now."
The ceiling groaned.
Keifer grabbed me around the waist and pulled me back just as a section of tunnel sheared loose, crashing down where I'd been standing.
My heart slammed—but the baby stayed calm. A strange, steady certainty settled over me.
"They're rerouting power," I said, eyes unfocusing as awareness stretched.
"Trying to funnel us."
"Can you counter?" Keifer asked.
"Yes," I said.
"But not alone."
I reached—not forcing, not burning—just aligning.
The bond locked.
Systems hesitated.
Just like before.
Keifer POV
Tunnel Breach — Close Quarters
The walls screamed.
Old machinery fought new commands, gears grinding as Jay's influence spread like a whisper that couldn't be ignored.
Operators flooded in again—more this time.
I planted myself between them and Jay.
Every movement I made had one rule:
Nothing touches her.
Shots sparked off metal. I used the tunnel like a weapon—angles, shadows, momentum.
Someone tried to flank.
I intercepted.
Another went for Jay.
I didn't think.
I moved.
The world narrowed to distance, timing, and the certainty that if I failed, everything ended.
Behind me, Jay spoke—calm, focused.
"Left conduit. Now."
I fired.
The tunnel flooded with light and smoke as power rerouted violently away from us.
They fell back.
Not defeated.
But shaken.
Kaizer POV
Mobile Command — Escalation
Kaizer smiled.
A real one this time.
"She's accelerating," he said. "And compensating."
The aide swallowed. "Sir, if this continues—"
"She'll burn herself out?" Kaizer finished. "No."
He straightened.
"She won't," he said. "Because he won't let her."
Kaizer stood, coat settling perfectly.
"Prepare extraction perimeter," he ordered. "I'm done observing."
A beat.
"I'm going to meet them."
Jay POV
Outer Line — Breaking Free
The pressure eased.
Not gone—but redirected.
"They're pulling back," Keifer said.
"No," I replied. "They're changing tactics."
I felt it then—Kaizer's attention, sharp and focused, no longer distant.
Personal.
My breath steadied.
"He's coming," I said.
Keifer looked at me, eyes fierce but steady.
"Then we keep moving," he said. "Together."
I nodded, one hand still resting protectively over my stomach, the other brushing his arm.
The bond held.
Not fragile.
Forged.
Whatever Kaizer thought he was testing—
He was about to learn.
And this time, we wouldn't just survive.
We'd push back.