The megacity noway truly slept.
It simply pretended to.
High above the harbor, where glass halls pierced low- hanging shadows, Horizon Gate palpitated with quiet alert. After the night's counterpunch, every system hummed in disciplined synchronization but beneath the calm, commodity deeper had shifted.
They had touched the shadow.
And the shadow had felt it.
Xinyue arrived beforehand, heels echoing vocally across marble bottoms that lustered like still water. Her expression was calm, but Jun could see the faint pressure riding her shoulders.
" We've been tracked, " Jun said without preamble. " Not in the usual sense. He did n't leave a name. He left a hand. "
Li Wei glanced at the data sluice. " Like a calling card? "
" More like a point, " Jun replied. " Patterned sense, meter- grounded intrusion mapping. Whoever he is, he's not sloppy. "
Xinyue studied the screen. " also we stop treating him like a ghost and start treating him like a strategist. "
Jun dithered. " There's more. "
He brought up another screen.
A series of small fiscal transfers _ impeccably legal, impeccably unnoticeable had been made to minor contractors within Horizon Gate's logistics chain.
Li Wei strengthened. " He's inside our fringe. "
" Not yet, " Jun said. " But he's laying stepping monuments. "
Xinyue folded her arms sluggishly. " He's structure propinquity. "
Across the megacity, in a discreet extension overlooking the swash, a man removed his gloves and placed them precisely on a glass table.
His name was Ren Kaito.
Formercyber-intelligence mastermind. Former commercial warfare strategist. Formerly presumed retired.
He goggled at the lights reflecting on the water, jaw tight.
" She saw me, " he murmured.
His adjunct an aged woman with calm eyes _ stood still hard. " She did n't just see you. She counterplotted you. "
Ren exhaled sluggishly. " No bone
's done that in five times. "
" And yet, " she replied, " you're smiling. "
Ren's lips twisted noiselessly. " Because she did n't fear. She combated . "
He turned, eyes dark and alive. " She's not prey. "
At Horizon Gate, Xinyue stood at the edge of the conference table as Li Wei and Jun reviewed functional adaptations.
" He's intelligent, " Li Wei said. " But confidence always leaves eyeless spots. "
Xinyue jounced. " And eyeless spots are where the verity lives. "
Jun leaned near. " There's a pattern in his stepping monuments. They all trace back to a shell establishment _ Virex Dynamics. "
Xinyue's eyes stoned. " also we make Virex feel seen. "
Two days latterly, Virex Dynamics lost three major contracts.
Not through sabotage.
Through competition.
More flings. Faster delivery. Cleaner reports.
Ren watched the announcements light his screen, jaw tightening.
" She's obliging my foundations, " he muttered.
His adjunct raised an eyebrow. " She's telling you she knows where you're standing. "
Ren leaned back sluggishly.
" And she's daring me to step closer. "
The coming move came still.
A request landed in Horizon Gate's high- position collaboration line.
A offer for common adventure.
From Virex Dynamics.
Li Wei blinked at the sender. " He's bold. "
Jun lowered . " Or curious. "
Xinyue read the offer precisely.
Also she smiled.
" Accept it. "
Both men turned sprucely.
" Accept? " Li Wei repeated.
" Yes, " she said vocally. " He wants propinquity. We give him a front- row seat. "
Ren Kaito arrived at Horizon Gate three days latterly.
He was calm, perfectly dressed, eyes observant and slow.
The moment his aspect
Met Xinyue's _
Commodity electric passed between them.
Not magnet.
Recognition.
" You're sharper in person, " Ren said politely.
" And you're more predictable than you suppose, " Xinyue replied with a slight smile.
Li Wei watched them precisely.
Jun recorded everything.
They sat across from each other like chess masters meeting over a silent board.
Ren's smile widened slightly. " I believe we could be veritably productive together. "
Xinyue leaned back gracefully.
" I believe, " she replied, " you formerly know that I do n't lose. "
Their eyes held.
The war had just acquired a face.
And both of them knew _
The coming moves would no longer be silent.