Brick "Rumble" Jones leaned over a worn table. He had tossed aside his graphene-plated armor. His scarred knuckles traced a map of 12th and Ash. This was the black-site data center where Simon "Glitch" Lee ran the Black Lotus Syndicate's betting empire.
Raven, with a fresh bandage on her cheek from Doc Weaver, cleaned her pulse pistol. Its sleek barrel shone under the LED lights.
Eddie "Wires" Chen hunched over a new laptop. Its screen glowed with encrypted chatter. The dead laptop still locked the syndicate's payouts to Captain Elena Ruiz, Chief Harlan, and others inside.
Tara "Blaze" Chen stood by a weapons rack, her tic steady, loading an EMP grenade launcher. Doc, prepping trauma kits, muttered about "damn kids playing war."
Jace "Hawk" Malone sat zip-tied to a chair. He glared from the corner. A bandage covered his thigh wound, and blood crusted his tactical vest. His interrogation had revealed Glitch, a key player. Glitch's servers supplied cash for Viktor "The Viper" Cross. Brick planned to hit the data center tonight. This strike would choke the syndicate's funds. It was a move born from relentless pursuit through a city that never slept. The ambush at the mill had left Viktor's goons bloodied. Taz "The Bulldog" Malone and his crew of fifteen were down. Officer Cruz was dead, and Vega had fled. Still, the syndicate's grip was tightening, and Ruiz's precinct was closing in.
"Glitch's site is a fortress," Tara said, her voice low, snapping an EMP clip into place. "Vents are our way in, narrow, but I've run them before. Guards, drones, AI sensors. Boris Volkov might be there, and he's a walking tank."
Brick's jaw tightened, his eyes on the map. "We go in quiet, fry the servers, and get out. No hero shit." He glanced at Raven, her hazel eyes sharp. "You good?"
"Born for it," she said, holstering her pistol, a knife strapped to her thigh. "Let's gut their wallets."
Eddie's screen pinged. It was a ShadowNet post from Kai "Drift" Soto. He filmed the mill fight, which is now viral with #PhantomStrikes. "City's watching," Eddie said, fingers flying. "Glitch's bots are pushing back, flooding X with lies. We hit now, it's loud."
Doc snorted, sealing a kit. "Loud's your style, Jones. Don't get us killed."
Tara's burner buzzed, a coded text from an unknown source: Viper's inner circle cracks. Silk betrays. She showed Brick, her tic twitching. "Marco 'Silk' Reyes," she whispered. "If he's leaking to Jade 'The Wraith' Liu's faction, we've got a wild card."
Brick's fists clenched. "We deal with Marco after Glitch. One hunt at a time." He nodded to the team. "Gear up."
The data center at 12th and Ash sat in a rundown industrial area. It looked like a concrete bunker, covered in graffiti and topped with razor wire. Its roof bristled with drone ports, their red eyes scanning the fog. Brick, Raven, and Tara approached on foot, their high-tech bike stashed in an alley. Graphene armor hugged their frames, black as the night, absorbing light. Brick carried an EMP rifle, Raven her pulse pistol, and Tara the EMP launcher. Eddie and Doc monitored from the safe house, feeding comms through encrypted earpieces.
Tara led them to a rusted vent grate, its bolts loose from her old runs. She pried it open. The metal groaned like a dying beast. They slid inside. The shaft's steel walls were slick with condensation. The air felt stale with oil and dust. Brick's shoulders scraped, his breath steady but tight. Raven moved like a shadow, her knife ready for surprises. Tara brought up the rear, her launcher slung low.
The vent opened to a catwalk above the server room. Below, quantum servers emitted a gentle hum. Their glowing blue coolant tubes cast strange reflections on the shiny floor. Glitch, a wiry figure in AR glasses, typed at a console, oblivious. Four syndicate guards hulks with assault rifles patrolled, their boots echoing. Two drones hovered, sensors whirring. Boris "The Titan" Volkov was absent, but the air crackled with threats.
"EMP first," Brick whispered, aiming his rifle. The pulse fired, sending a silent shockwave. Drones crashed and sparked, while the guards' comms fizzled with static. Glitch spun, glasses flashing. Raven was already moving. She vaulted over the catwalk's rail and landed in a crouch. Her pulse pistol glowed blue as she stunned a guard. His rifle clattered to the ground as he convulsed.
Brick dropped next. The crowbar swung, cracking a guard's skull. Bone splintered, and blood sprayed like paint on the servers. Tara fired her grenade launcher. An EMP mine stuck to a server bank. It detonated, frying circuits and blacking out screens. The room lit up with emergency lights. The third guard fired. Bullets tore through the catwalk, making metal shriek. Raven rolled and slashed his Achilles tendon with her knife. His tendon snapped, and his scream was cut short. She slammed his head into a console, cracking the glass.
The fourth guard charged at Brick, swinging his rifle butt. Brick dodged and smashed the man's collarbone with his crowbar. There was a wet crunch as the body crumpled. Glitch ran for the panic button. But Tara's launcher fired again. A net round hit him, pinning him to the wall and tangling his limbs in wires. "Stay put, nerd," she hissed, her pistol trained.
Alarms wailed, the AI security kicking in, laser grids flickering, motion sensors pulsing. Brick grabbed Glitch, yanking him free, crowbar at his throat. "Shut it down," he growled. Glitch's hands shook, typing a kill code, the lasers dying, alarms silenced. "You're dead," Glitch spat, voice trembling. "Viktor's got eyes everywhere."
Raven's knife grazed his ear, blood trickling. "Eyes we'll pluck," she said, her voice cold. "Where's the betting ledger?"
"Offline," Glitch said, wincing. "Backup's at the Crucible site, Viktor's arena. You'll never"
A crash announced the syndicate's arrival. Six goons followed, led by Lila "Shade" Monroe. Her garrote shone in the light. "Phantom!" Lila purred, voice venomous. "Time to bleed." Her goons fanned out, rifles raised, knives drawn.
"Move!" Brick roared, shoving Glitch into Tara's grip. He fired an EMP pulse, frying the goons' rifles, sparks erupting. Raven's pulse pistol stunned one, his body jerking like a puppet. Lila lunged, her garrote snapping. Raven ducked and slashed Lila's forearm with her knife. Blood arced, and the wire fell. Brick's crowbar smashed another goon's ribs, bones caving, breath wheezing. Tara's launcher fired. An EMP grenade hit two goons, slamming them into a server. Circuits exploded, and their screams got lost in the chaos.
A bullet grazed Brick's armor, causing sparks from the graphene. Jade "The Wraith" Liu came out of a vent. Her silenced pistol fired, and her obsidian eyes focused on Glitch. "He's mine," she said, her voice calm. She dodged a goon's knife and crushed his throat with her elbow. The cartilage gave way.
"Back off, Wraith!" Raven lunged at Jade, tackling her. Their knives clashed, sending sparks flying. The floor was slick with blood. Brick pulled Glitch to the vent. Tara shot at the goons, taking one down. Blood pooled on the floor. Lila recovered as Brick swung the crowbar. It caught her wrist, cracking the bone. Her scream pierced the air.
They scrambled into the vent, Jade vanishing into another, her faction's agenda a shadow. The server room burned, servers gutted, Glitch's empire in ashes. They emerged into the fog, piling into the bike and a stolen van, Glitch zip-tied, the city's neon swallowing them.
Back at the safehouse, Glitch sat bound beside Jace, his AR glasses cracked and his face pale. Eddie hacked Glitch's backup drives, pulling fragments of betting data. "Not enough," Eddie said, frustrated. "The real ledger's at the Crucible arena."
Brick's fists clenched. "Then we hunt there next." Tara's burner buzzed again, another coded text: Silk meets Wraith, midnight, docks. "Marco's moving," she said. "If he's betraying Viktor, we can use him."
Raven cleaned her knife, eyes fierce. "Or he's bait. Jade's playing her own game." Doc snorted, stitching a graze on Brick's arm. "The city's a chessboard, and we're pawns."
Brick's eyes met Raven's, the hunt's pulse driving them. "Pawns break kings," he said. "Midnight, docks. We get Marco, we get answers." The safehouse's monitors flickered. ShadowNet lit up with #PhantomStrikes. Neon City was observing them with great attention. Viktor's empire was cracking, but the war was far from won.