The steel mill stood on the edge of Neon City, a rusted shell of broken beams and stained floors. It marked the scene of Brick "Rumble" Jones and Raven's ambush. The air was heavy with the metallic smell of blood and the sharp sting of burnt circuitry. EMP mines had taken out the syndicate's tech. Taz "The Bulldog" Malone's fifteen goons—Grim, Pike, Bull, and others—lay scattered like broken dolls. Their brass knuckles and machetes were now useless. Officer Cruz was dead, a bullet from Tara "Blaze" Chen's pistol through his chest. Officer Vega had fled, wounded, into the fog. Jace "Hawk" Malone, Taz's cousin and a crooked Neon City PD officer, knelt in the mill's dark center. Raven's knife cut into his thigh, not his throat. Blood soaked his tactical vest and pooled on the concrete. His rifle lay forgotten. His hawkish face, smeared with sweat and grime, twisted in pain, but his eyes burned with defiance.
Brick towered above him. His graphene-plated armor shone under a flickering halogen light. A crowbar hung from one scarred hand. Raven crouched close by. She holstered her pulse pistol. She twirled a knife in her fingers. The blade sparkled in the light like a predator's eye. Tara stood guard at the mill's shattered door, her pistol scanning the fog for stragglers. Eddie "Wires" Chen tinkered with a salvaged syndicate comms unit. The static crackled like a dying fire. Doc Weaver knelt beside Jace, bandaging his thigh with quick skill. He muttered, "Don't bleed out yet, pig." We've got questions."
The safehouse, a fortified basement under a run-down gym, stayed hidden. Brick and Raven had sped away on their high-tech bike. Their ambush at the mill was a planned move to weaken Viktor "The Viper" Cross's forces. The Iron Crucible was two days away, but Brick's plan was to hunt Viktor's network, starting with Jace. The cop's knowledge could expose their next target, a thread to unravel the Black Lotus Syndicate's web.
"Talk, Malone," Brick growled, his voice a low rumble, like thunder over asphalt. He tapped the crowbar against his palm, the metal's weight a promise. "Who's running Viktor's ops? Where's the Crucible's nerve center?"
Jace spat blood, his laugh a wet rasp. "You think I'll roll over, Jones? You're a washed-up brawler, and she's," he nodded at Raven, "a cheap copy. Viktor's got you outgunned."
Raven's knife stopped twirling, its point inches from Jace's eye. "Cheap?" she said, her voice cold. "I carved you like a turkey, Hawk. Wanna lose an eye next?" Her hazel eyes, sharp as her blade, held no mercy, but she eased back, glancing at Brick. "He's stalling."
"Damn right," Jace snarled, wincing as Doc tightened the bandage, pain flaring. "You're dead in the Crucible. Kira, Boris, Taz, hell, Lila Monroe's got a garrote with your name on it."
Brick crouched low, his large frame casting a shadow over Jace. The crowbar's tip scraped the concrete, sending up faint sparks. "Taz is down; his goons are meat," he said, his voice steady but laced with menace. "You're alone, Jace. Ruiz and Harlan won't save you. Give me a name, a place, or I'll let Raven carve you into confetti."
Jace's defiance flickered, his breath hitching. "You don't get it, do you? Viktor's not just a boss; he's a system. Cops, tech, money. You hit one piece, ten more rise." He glanced at Tara, her silhouette rigid against the fog. "Even her, she's syndicate. You trust a snake?"
Tara's tic twitched, her pistol steady. "I'm here, not with Viktor," she snapped. "Keep talking, cop. Who's calling the shots for the Crucible?"
Eddie's comms unit crackled, a faint voice from Lena "Ironclad" Voss ordering drone sweeps. "They're looking," Eddie said, adjusting the signal. "Jace's team had a stingray tracker. We've got minutes before Ruiz's precinct pings us."
Doc finished the bandage, standing with a grunt. "He's stable, but he's a weasel. Spill, Malone, or I'll let these two play bad cop, worse cop."
Jace's eyes darted, sweat beading. "Alright," he said, voice low. "Simon 'Glitch' Lee. Viktor's digital dog runs the betting servers. It hacks ShadowNet and poisons X. It operates from a black site, an old data center at 12th and Ash. That's where the Crucible's odds are set, where the money flows. Hit it, you hurt Viktor's wallet."
Brick's eyes narrowed. "Why Glitch? Why not Lena Voss?"
"Lena's tech, not bets," Jace said, wincing. "Glitch is the money's pulse. But it's a fortress of cameras, drones, guards. You walk in, you don't walk out."
Raven leaned closer, knife grazing Jace's cheek, a thin red line blooming. "And you're telling us this why? Bleeding heart?"
Jace's laugh was bitter. "I'm no saint. You take out Glitch, Viktor's distracted, maybe I slip his leash. Ruiz and Harlan are in deep bribes, bodies. I'm just a cop."
Brick stood, crowbar tapping his thigh. "12th and Ash," he said, glancing at Raven. "We hunt Glitch; we choke their cash." Raven nodded, sheathing her knife. "Cut the head, the body falls."
Tara lowered her pistol, voice sharp. "It's a start, but Jace is small fry. Glitch is guarded syndicate muscle, maybe Boris Volkov. We need a plan."
Eddie's comms unit spiked, Voss's voice clearer. "They're close," he said, unplugging it. "We move now."
Doc hauled Jace up, zip-tying his wrists. "You're coming, pig. Try running; you'll need more than bandages." They dragged him to the bike, stashing him in a stolen syndicate van Tara had prepped. The mill's fog swallowed them as they roared back to the gym's safehouse, Neon City's neon veins pulsing in the distance.
At the safehouse, tension filled the basement. Monitors displayed ShadowNet and X. Eddie powered up a new laptop with a charged battery. However, the ledgers remained locked in the dead one. "Glitch's data center is real," Eddie said, pulling ShadowNet chatter. "Encrypted servers, dark pool bets. If we crack it, we gut Viktor's funds."
Brick leaned against a punching bag, its leather creaking. "Then we hit it. Tomorrow night, before the Crucible. Raven, Tara, you're with me. Eddie, Doc, hold the fort."
Raven punched the bag, the thud echoing. "Glitch is a nerd, but Boris is a tank. We need more than guns."
Tara's tic twitched. "I know the center's layout, ventilation shafts, and weak points. Used to run drops there for Viktor. But there's a catch." She paused, eyes dark. "Jade 'The Wraith' Liu. She's been sniffing around, rival faction. If she's after Glitch, we're walking into a three-way war."
Doc snorted, cleaning his tools. "Great. Syndicate, cops, now ninjas. You sure know how to pick 'em, Jones."
Brick's lips twitched, a rare half-smile. "Keeps it interesting. Jade's a problem, but Glitch is the prize. We move swiftly and in silence."
Eddie's monitor pinged a ShadowNet post from Kai "Drift" Soto, one of the couriers who'd filmed the mill fight. "Viral," Eddie said. "#PhantomStrikes is trending. The city's betting on you two." The grainy footage was brutal. It showed Raven's Gravedigger and Brick's crowbar dance. Then, the fight moved inside and the video cut off.
Raven's eyes gleamed. "Good. Let Viktor sweat." She turned to Jace, zip-tied to a chair, his face pale. "Anything else, Hawk? Or you want my knife to jog your memory?"
Jace glared, blood crusting his lip. "You're nuts, Phantom. Glitch's site has AI security motion sensors and laser grids. And Boris? He's a walking slaughterhouse. You're walking into a meat grinder."
Brick crouched, meeting Jace's gaze. "Then we'll grind faster. Thanks for the tip, cop. You just earned a cell instead of a coffin."
As dawn bled over Neon City, a new plot stirred. Tara's burner buzzed with a coded message. It was from an unknown source. The message hinted at a traitor in Viktor's ranks. Someone was leaking information to Jade's faction. "Could be a setup," Tara said, showing Brick the text. "Or a chance to split Viktor's crew."
Brick's fists clenched, the Crucible's shadow looming. "We check it after Glitch. One hunt at a time." Raven nodded, her knife ready. The safehouse's walls seemed to pulse, Neon City's heartbeat urging them forward. The data center on 12th and Ash was their next battlefield, a detective's puzzle wrapped in a killer's game. They'd strike from the shadows, but the city's eyes were watching, and Viktor's claws were sharpening.