For a moment, time seemed to slow, her enhanced vision catching every flicker of neon, every faint glint of passing drones and traffic. The hum of the city's grid buzzed in her ears as she felt herself freefall. Starr wasn't afraid. Falling was second nature in this city—she just needed to control the descent.
As she tumbled downward, she reached out with her mind, syncing with her cyberdeck. Her optical implants flickered, rapidly scanning the city's systems for any access point—anything she could hook into for survival. Within a split second, she found it: a maglev rail not far from her current trajectory. Starr twisted her body, aligning herself with the track as she activated her grappling hook implant.
The cord shot out from her wrist, catching the edge of the rail with a sharp clink. The sudden jolt nearly dislocated her shoulder, but it was worth it. She swung in a wide arc, her momentum slowing as she neared the track. The moment her feet touched solid ground, she deactivated the grappling hook and rolled to her feet, her body smoothly absorbing the impact.
She was alive. For now.
The maglev track ran across the skyline, a perfect bridge between the towering skyscrapers. Starr glanced upward, her eyes narrowing as she spotted Konrad through the shattered window of his office. He stood there, staring down at her with an expression of pure rage, his cybernetic eyes glowing a menacing red. He wasn't going to let her escape that easily.
But before he could act, an explosion rocked the side of the building. Starr's gaze snapped toward the source of the blast, her enhanced vision zooming in on the scene. At first, she thought it might be one of Konrad's security measures, but the unmistakable sight of Razorteeth gang members storming the building told her otherwise.
Raze had made his move.
For a split second, she considered the possibility of letting the two factions tear each other apart. Konrad's men versus the Razorteeth—let them handle each other while she slipped away. But Starr knew that wasn't an option. Raze wouldn't stop until he had her, and Konrad was too dangerous to leave alive.
Her eyes darted toward a nearby maintenance hatch along the maglev track. If she could get inside the building's infrastructure, she could gain control of the systems and turn them against both her enemies. It was a long shot, but she had to try.
Without hesitation, she sprinted toward the hatch, her cybernetic legs propelling her forward at blinding speed. Behind her, the sounds of gunfire and explosions grew louder as the battle inside the building intensified. Starr didn't look back. She had to stay focused.
The hatch opened with a hiss, revealing a narrow maintenance tunnel. She slipped inside, her body moving with practiced precision through the confined space. The tunnel was dark and claustrophobic, but it provided the perfect cover for her next move.
As Starr navigated the narrow tunnel, she activated her augmented reality display, bringing up a map of the building's internal systems. Her cyberdeck was already working overtime, hacking into the mainframe to give her access to the security controls. The more she probed the system, the more she realized just how intricate Konrad's setup was. Layers upon layers of encrypted data, firewalls stronger than most she had encountered.
It wasn't just paranoia. It was military-grade.
"Damn," Starr muttered under her breath. This was going to take time—time she didn't have. Every second she spent here, Raze's crew was closing in, and Konrad was still alive. Starr's hands moved quickly as she bypassed a few minor security systems, gaining control of some of the building's camera feeds. If she couldn't break in immediately, she could at least gather intel.
Her eyes flicked through the feed. The Razorteeth were swarming the lower levels, ruthlessly tearing through Konrad's security personnel. The gang moved with a terrifying efficiency, their bodies heavily modified with combat augmentations. Raze himself was nowhere to be seen, but Starr knew he wasn't far behind.
As she shifted to the upper floors, she saw Konrad pacing in his office, his expression twisted into one of fury. His cybernetic arms were extended, the blades retracting and transforming back into fingers as he communicated with someone over his private network. Starr's hack wasn't deep enough to intercept his conversation, but it didn't matter. She knew what he was doing—calling in backup. Konrad wasn't going to go down without a fight.
"Better hurry," Starr muttered to herself as she continued working. She couldn't afford to let either of them get the upper hand. With a few more precise keystrokes, she gained partial access to the environmental systems. It wasn't much, but it was enough.
A wicked grin spread across her face.
Inside the building, the temperature suddenly plummeted. Konrad's men paused, glancing at each other in confusion as the air around them became unnaturally cold. Frost began to form on the windows, their breath turning to visible mist as the entire floor dropped below freezing in a matter of seconds.
It was Starr's doing.
The environmental control system was only partially hers, but she had done enough to weaponize it. As Konrad's elite guards struggled to adjust, their augmentations freezing up in the sudden cold, Starr knew she had bought herself some time.
She kept moving through the maintenance tunnels, her mind racing as she plotted her next steps. The final confrontation was inevitable. She would have to face Konrad and Raze—two of the most dangerous men in the city—head-on. But if she could just get deeper into the system, maybe she could turn their own weapons against them.
Her cyberdeck hummed, the lights on her HUD flashing as she hacked deeper into the building's infrastructure. But just as she was about to breach the next layer of security, her system froze.
"Shit."
The screen in front of her flickered, and then a familiar voice cut through the silence.
"Well, well. What have we here?"
It was Raze. He had hacked into her system, hijacking her feed just as she had done to Konrad's building.
Starr cursed under her breath, her hands moving rapidly as she tried to counter his attack. But Raze was good—too good. He had the advantage of surprise, and his tech was just as advanced as hers.
"You didn't think I'd let you slip away, did you?" Raze's voice was taunting, full of smug confidence. "You should have taken my offer, Layne. Now, it's too late. I've already won."
Starr's jaw clenched as she fought to regain control. She couldn't let him take her out like this, not after everything she'd been through. Her fingers flew across the interface, trying to shut him out, but it was like fighting a ghost. Raze was everywhere and nowhere at once, his presence seeping into every corner of her system.
And then, just as suddenly as it had started, the attack stopped.
For a moment, Starr was left in stunned silence, her system slowly coming back online. She didn't know what had just happened, but she didn't have time to dwell on it. She had to move.
The tunnels opened up into a larger service area, and Starr stepped out into the dimly lit space, her eyes scanning her surroundings. She was close now—close to the heart of the building's control systems. If she could just get a few more moments, she could finish what she started.
But as she rounded the corner, her breath caught in her throat.
Raze stood in front of her, his massive frame blocking the way forward. His cybernetic body was even more imposing in person, the metallic components gleaming under the faint light. His eyes glowed with an eerie red hue, a predator sizing up his prey.
"Thought you could sneak in here without saying hello?" Raze's voice was low, dangerous. He took a step forward, his augmented arms twitching with anticipation. "You're in my world now, Layne. No more running."
Starr's mind raced. She had faced Raze before, but never like this. He was stronger, faster, more dangerous than she had imagined. But she wasn't about to back down.
Not now.
With a flick of her wrist, Starr's blades extended, the sharp edges gleaming in the low light. Her cyberdeck hummed at full power, the system feeding her real-time data on Raze's augmentations. He was a walking fortress, but even fortresses had weak points.
"You're right," Starr said, her voice cold and steady. "No more running."
And then, with a burst of speed, she launched herself at Raze, her blades slashing through the air as the final confrontation began.