{ Mia }
By third period, school felt painfully ordinary.
The buzzing lights. The squeak of sneakers on linoleum. The faint smell of dry-erase markers and cafeteria pizza grease lingering in the air.
I tapped my pencil against my desk in rhythm with the teacher's drone, eyes half-lidded but alert. Pretending. Blending.
Because that's what I did best.
"…and if you multiply the wavelength by the frequency, what do you get?" Mr. Rainer asked, scanning the room.
Someone in the back muttered the answer. I didn't bother to turn. I already knew it.
What I didn't know was why Scarlett had gone quiet.
Not off, just silent. And Scarlett was never silent.
I kept my eyes on my notebook, lazily doodling spirals. Then I felt it.
A pulse. Soft. A flicker across my earpiece, inaudible to anyone else, but clear to me.
"Mia," Scarlett finally whispered, her voice low and tight. "We have a situation."
I didn't flinch. Didn't blink.
Instead, I flipped to the next page of my notebook and drew a line down the center. Left side: notes. Right side: Scarlett's voice.
"Talk to me."
'The device Henry planted, it just pinged. Someone's trying to remotely override the sensor failsafe."
I traced a calm circle with my pen, nodding absently at the board like I was engaged.
"Did they find it?"
"Not yet. But they know it moved. And now they're looking for why."
My pencil broke.
I casually pulled another from my bag, exhaling slowly.
"Buy me time. Stall them. Do whatever you have to do, just keep it quiet."
"Already running interference. But Mia…"
"…yeah?"
"This isn't just surveillance anymore. Whatever Henry's after, it's bigger than I thought."
I glanced at the clock. Only fifteen minutes till the bell. Just fifteen more minutes of pretending everything was fine.
I straightened in my seat, eyes on the teacher, back to my act.
Because whatever came next…
I had to be ready for it.
Later That Day
Behind the Gym
The last bell rang like a starting gun. Backpacks zipped, chairs scraped, and everyone scattered toward freedom. I moved slower, deliberately, slipping past the crowd and out the side doors.
Ace was waiting behind the gym, leaning against the chain-link fence like he had all the time in the world. Hoodie up. One headphone in.
"You look like a wanted criminal," I said, pulling my bag tighter over my shoulder.
He smirked. "You look like you've been pretending not to be one all day."
I rolled my eyes but didn't argue.
"Scarlett filled me in," he said, walking beside me toward the tree line. "They tried to override the failsafe? That's bold."
"Scarlett jammed the signal," I replied. "But it's only a matter of time before they try again, or worse."
We ducked behind the trees, into the patch of woods that hugged the schoolyard. Safe from cameras. Safe from nosy teachers.
"I think it's time we crack that thing open for real," I said. "No more soft scans. I want full access."
Ace nodded, already pulling a small case from under his hoodie. "Brought my tools. You got the device?"
I carefully pulled the wrapped bundle from my bag. It still pulsed faintly, alive and watching.
"Be gentle," I warned.
"When am I not?"
"Last time you disassembled a 'harmless' bot, it exploded in your face."
He shrugged. "Character development."
I sat beside him, the grass cool beneath my legs, and watched as he opened the case. Scarlett's voice came through my earpiece again, soft and urgent.
"Be careful. This thing's wired like a trap. One wrong move…"
"I know," I murmured. "We won't rush it."
Ace's eyes met mine, serious now. "If this connects to something bigger, like a network, or a base…"
"We'll find it," I finished. "And we'll stop whatever they're planning."
He smiled slightly. "You sound like a hero."
I smirked. "Don't get used to it."
And as he worked, and the sun dipped low behind the trees, I realized something:
This wasn't just about spying.
It was war.
And I had just stepped into the front line.
Ace gently set the device on the ground pretending to drop it.
My heart stopped for a moment and I covered my eyes readying for the impact if the explosion but it never came.
I slowly opened my eyes hearing Ace chuckle.
" That's not funny!" I pouted.
" Sorry cupcake, I just love messing with you!" He smiled.
Ace took a deep breath, his fingers hovering just above the device. Then he paused, looked at me, and held out his hand.
"Give me your hand."
I blinked. "Why?"
"Because this time, you're not just watching. You're going in with me."
I hesitated for half a second, then slid my fingers into his. His palm was warm, steady.
"Close your eyes," he said.
I did.
Suddenly, I felt it—like falling without moving. The world around me dimmed, and a low hum filled my ears. The device's signal wasn't just pulsing anymore—it was alive, a tangled web of energy and code.
But through Ace's hand, I could see.
The components unfolded in my mind like blueprints drawn in light: micro-circuitry, signal nodes, encrypted layers stacked like glass panes.
"There's a neural sync interface," I whispered. "Not just for data—it's meant to listen. It's been recording sound, movement, patterns… for weeks."
Ace nodded, his voice echoing in our shared space. "And here—see that thread? It's transmitting to a satellite relay."
My vision followed it, tracing the thread through invisible highways of air and static—until it hit a location.
"Wait..." I said slowly. "That signal... it's bouncing off two towers, then straight to a server node."
"Where?"
I focused, the name forming in my mind like a ghost on glass.
"North District. Block 27. Warehouse with a fake plumbing company front."
Ace whistled low. "That's deep territory. They're not just spying on you, Mia. They're using your house as a relay point. Feeding everything back to their main hub."
My stomach twisted. "And if they know we're onto them…?"
"They'll wipe it clean."
I opened my eyes with a jolt, hand still gripping Ace's tightly.
We were back in the woods. The device lay still, like nothing had happened.
But everything had changed.
Ace squeezed my hand once before letting go. "Looks like we've got a field trip to plan."
I nodded, pulse racing.
"War it is."