The hallway lights of Tower Four were dimmed to their after-hours setting—soft blue glows under the floor trim, just enough to navigate by without triggering the motion sensors. Hernan moved like a whisper through the steel corridor, wearing civilian sweats and a gray hoodie stitched with "D6 Memorial Team." Just another off-duty hero burning midnight time.
But tucked beneath his arm was a matte-black utility tablet encased in signal-dampening foam—Nico's stealth rig, jury-rigged for silent uplinks and hidden access.
He passed no one.
The lab was four levels below surface, marked Tactical Comms Archive A17, protected by a retinal scan, key code, and voice verification. Hernan bypassed all three with a chained override loop Nico had reluctantly coded months ago "for emergencies."
This qualified.
The door hissed open. Hernan stepped inside.
