Shadow and his team touched down without incident.
They stepped out of the vehicle dressed like corporate executives, tailored suits, ties, polished shoes. Beneath the fabric, armor plates were seamlessly integrated.
Kess adjusted his jacket, muttering,
"I still don't know how the support team managed to fit plating into this thing."
Shadow didn't slow.
"Focus."
They entered the building with confidence, fake IDs scanning cleanly at the gate.
Inside, the tower hummed with quiet wealth.
Shadow issued orders immediately.
"Nightcoil, Kess, find the fuse box."
He turned to Marlin.
"You're with me. We're locating Caldero's office."
Nightcoil and Kess moved methodically, maintenance corridors, storage rooms, sealed access panels.
Finally, they found it.
A massive fuse box tied into the entire tower.
Kess keyed his comm.
"Nightcoil, tell Shadow we've got the main power node for the whole building."
Nightcoil relayed the message.
"Shadow, we found the box. Give the signal, and we'll shut it down."
"Stand by," Shadow replied.
"Once you hit it, I'll send you coordinates."
Upper Floors
Shadow and Marlin rode the elevator upward, scanning floors as they passed. On one level, they overheard voices, Caldero's name spoken in hushed tones.
They stepped into a meeting room.
Shadow smiled politely.
"Hey, quick question, do you know where Caldero's office is? We're supposed to drop off a gift."
An office worker frowned.
"Top floor. But you need clearance just to reach it."
Marlin held up their badges.
"These work?"
She shook her head.
"No. The top five floors are his private residence. Only Caldero has access."
She walked away quickly.
Shadow exhaled.
"We're breaching."
194th Floor
The elevator doors opened.
Waiting for them
The same office worker.
Armed security flanked her.
She pointed.
"Those are them. Nobody asks about Caldero's office. That's protocol."
The guards moved.
Marlin drew his pistol.
Shadow exploded forward.
Gunfire erupted. Marlin dropped two guards while Shadow dismantled the rest in close-quarters combat.
The office worker turned to flee.
Marlin fired, and her leg buckled. He knocked her unconscious and dragged her into a maintenance room, doing the same with the guards.
Shadow checked his comm.
"We're on borrowed time."
He keyed Nightcoil.
"Shut down the power. Move to the 194th floor. We've got four floors to clear before we reach him."
Power Down
Nightcoil nodded to Kess.
"Do it."
Kess killed the power and deployed a lockout device.
The tower went dark.
They sprinted.
Using the elevator shaft, Nightcoil and Kess climbed through the ceiling. Kess unfolded a compact zipline launcher and fired it upward.
"Hold on."
Nightcoil latched onto him as they ascended.
They landed cleanly on the 194th floor.
Shadow and Marlin were waiting.
Shadow kicked down the door.
Night-vision flicked on.
They moved silently through the massive penthouse, clearing rooms, hallways, balconies.
Scarlet's voice crackled over comms.
"Good news. All other teams have located and shut down the Oracle AI. I'm draining accounts and freezing assets now."
A pause.
"Bad news, extraction is going to be messy."
Shadow acknowledged and pressed on.
They found Caldero's office.
Shadow breached,
And dove aside.
Automated turret guns unfolded from the walls, opening fire.
"Kess, disable the guns!"
"On it. Deploying EMP, now."
The turrets died.
They pushed through.
Caldero was already running.
He burst onto the rooftop where a sleek escape craft hovered.
The team gave chase.
Marlin laid down covering fire.
Nightcoil sprinted ahead and grabbed one of the ship's lower handles, muscles straining as he anchored it to the roof.
Shadow vaulted aboard, followed by the others.
Marlin shouted,
"Nightcoil, let go!"
Nightcoil released.
The ship lifted, but chaos followed.
Gunfire inside the cabin.
Nightcoil stormed the cockpit and eliminated the pilots.
The ship spiraled.
"Grab something!" Shadow yelled.
The vessel slammed through the streets below, skidding and tearing through neon-lit chaos as gangs turned on each other, funds gone, power collapsing.
Shadow kept hold of Caldero.
They survived the crash.
Barely.
Amid the confusion, the Nightcrew regrouped, extracted Caldero, and vanished into the city,
Leaving Noctyrr Prime burning behind them.