The academy's west courtyard shimmered under the afternoon sun. Quantum-enhanced cherry blossoms - Lucas's latest "improvement" - released bursts of sweet fragrance with each enhancement pulse. Students lounged on brass-trimmed benches, their systems humming at standard academic frequencies.
Kasper's nanobots registered the familiar patterns:
Standard Student Enhancement Level: 45-65% Security Field Status: Active but degraded Surveillance Coverage: 78% with blind spots Current Threat Level: Moderate
A shadow detached itself from the art deco pillars. No enhancement signature. No neural readings. Just the soft whir of an upgraded cybernetic eye.
"Your security's gotten sloppy," Valerian observed, materializing beside Kasper. His aristocratic drawl carried a hint of amusement. "Three blind spots in the surveillance grid. Cross is losing her touch."
"Well, well, if it ain't the prodigal rich boy!" Sean's tactical overlay flickered dangerously as he approached, neural damage still evident in his uneven gait. "Done playing kissy-face with your girl while we saved everyone's ass? Real nice, trust fund. Real nice."
Valerian's eye cycled through combat modes, cataloging Sean's injuries. "Your neural patterns look... interesting. Like someone took a quantum sledgehammer to your enhancement grid."
"Yeah? Your face looks interesting." Sean stumbled slightly, catching himself on a pillar. His grin never wavered. "But hey, at least your bougie absence might actually help us for once."
Kasper caught the minute shift in Valerian's posture - the way his family's custom combat enhancers powered up just fractionally. "Explain."
"Cross's surveillance focused on known players," Kasper said quietly. "You were off-grid. Officially visiting your father's estate."
"Attending political functions." Valerian's smile held sharp edges. "Where quite interesting conversations happen about academy oversight."
"Listen to him!" Sean's laugh triggered another neural spike. "Already plotting with daddy's connections. Maybe you're not completely useless after all, silver spoon."
Across the courtyard, another conversation unfolded. Sarah and Nailah sat at opposite ends of a study table, the space between them charged with unspoken tension.
"De medical logs be too clean," Nailah said, her Caribbean lilt carefully controlled. Her combat enhancers pinged recognition at Sarah's medical frequencies. "Like someone went through dem. Real careful like."
Sarah's hands stilled over her scanner. A faint tremor betrayed her practiced calm. "What exactly are you suggesting?"
"Nuttin' much." Nailah's fingers traced her concealed pistol's grip. "Just wonderin' why a gyal so strict bout protocols would risk everyt'ing for one person."
The words hung heavy in the filtered air. Sarah's scanner pulsed once - a frequency that matched old Mirage City records.
"You care for him too," Sarah said softly. "I see it in your enhancement patterns when he's near."
"Mi nah deny dat." Nailah's laugh held bitter edges. "At least mi honest bout it. No hidden frequencies in mi system."
"We all have secrets." Sarah's voice dropped lower. "Even Caribbean Division operatives."
"True dat." Nailah stood, combat grace in every movement. "But if mi knew bout you two first..." Her accent thickened with suppressed emotion. "Mi never would've let mi heart..."
She stopped, enhancement readings spiking briefly before smoothing out.
"Nailah-"
"Just keep him safe, yeah?" Nailah's voice carried layers of meaning. "Even if... even if it break mi heart to watch."
Their tactical comms crackled: "Everyone to Lab 7. Now." Lucas's voice held controlled panic. "Found something in Cross's files."
The lab's recycled air felt thick with competing enhancement signatures. Maria's healing crystals pulsed weakly as she monitored Sean's degrading neural patterns.
"Cross has been tracking someone." Lucas's neural interface sparked as he pulled up encrypted files. "Enhancement signatures that appear and vanish around campus. Like they're testing the security grid."
"Vega?" Li Wei asked. Blood still crusted his neural ports, testament to the prototype chip's cost.
"No." Lucas's hands trembled slightly. "The patterns... they match Javier's. Down to the quantum frequency."
Kasper's nanobots surged with recognition. Beside him, Sarah's medical scanner emitted a soft tone at the exact same frequency.
"But he's dead," Sean said carefully, watching Kasper's enhancement readings spike. "Right?"
"Perhaps." Valerian's eye cycled through analysis modes. "Or perhaps someone wants us to think that."
"Someone with access to both ATA and academy systems," Li Wei added. His neural interface pinged warning at certain file signatures. "Someone who could alter records..."
"Like Cross," Maria finished. Her healing field flickered as she sensed the tension building.
"Or someone else entirely." Valerian's smile showed teeth. "I believe it's time I attended more of father's political gatherings. Ask some interesting questions about academy oversight."
"Mi coming wit you." Nailah's combat enhancers hummed to life. "Nobody expects de Caribbean gyal at dem fancy parties."
"I'll monitor security systems," Sarah offered quickly. Too quickly? "Make sure Cross doesn't notice anything unusual."
Kasper caught three things:
The way Sarah's hand trembled on her scanner, How Nailah's eyes narrowed at the movement, The brief frequency match between their systems
"Then we have a plan." Sean pushed himself up despite Maria's protests. Neural damage painted lines of pain across his face. "Time to play politics while hunting ghosts."
As they dispersed, the weight of secrets pressed down like a physical thing. Kasper's nanobots pinged recognition at frequencies that shouldn't exist.
And in the shadows of the courtyard, a figure watched. Their enhancement signature shifted and changed, becoming impossible to track.