Ava barely had time to process Jessica's warning before a sharp ping echoed in her skull.
Not a sound—a notification.
[SYSTEM ALERT: NEW DIRECTIVE RECEIVED]
Ava stiffened. This wasn't normal. Her system never gave her unsolicited directives.
The world around her dimmed, information filtering into her vision like a blueprint overlay. She blinked, and suddenly, there it was—a full-rendered map, glowing in faint blue lines, stretching across her mind like a wireframe of the district.
Her position flashed, marked in white.
Jessica's? Yellow.
Angel's? Red.
But what made her breath hitch—what sent a slow chill curling through her spine—was the second red marker, stationed just two blocks away, moving. Fast.
Ava's pulse spiked. [UNKNOWN ENTITY INBOUND.]
Then, the message shifted.
[MISSION STATUS: ABORT.][EXTRACT IMMEDIATELY.]
She had seconds to decide. Ignore it, or act.
Ava exhaled slowly, schooling her expression. "Feng."
Jessica raised a brow. "What?"
