Page 301 of Scarlet Wars
I dropped into a chair as if gravity had finally caught up to me. My hands trembled with unfiltered rage.
“They hurt her. Theymutilatedher. Her arm isruined.” I felt like I wanted to shatter something. “I want all of them fuckingdead.”
The unknown man cocked his head, utterly unfazed. There was no compassion in him. Only amusement. “And what do you want me to do about it?”
My gaze burned. “I want you and your Radicals to attack Crown. I want you to make them pay for ever laying a hand on my daughter.”
The man’s laugh was low, humorless.
“Why would I do that? They’re already resisting the consensus. They’re against the Exposure. They’re on my side. I have no reason to go after them.”
I leaned forward. “Then find a reason.”
A slow, dangerous smile spread across the man’s face. “Maybe I need some motivation.”
Silence stretched. Then…
“You want the Amplifier.” I said it like a death sentence.
The man grinned like he’d just won a hand he hadn’t even bet on. “I know you have it. Hand it over, and I’ll attack Crown with it.”
I shook my head. “A nuclear-grade weapon to burn one Collective? That’s extreme. Even for you.”
The man shrugged. “Then consider the Offensives of Crown your own problem.”
I stood, the tension in my shoulders like a storm waiting to break. “I can’t officially declare war on Crown. Not yet. We still need them to stall the Great Exposure.”
I began to pace, words accelerating. “So here’s what we do. You claim the hit on the Diamond City first. Let the world thinkRadicals were responsible. It’s what the Board told everyone anyway, since they have no idea Collabs exist yet.”
I stopped. Turned. “Then you hit Cyclos,withoutthe Amplifier, to be clear. I’ll lift the Layers for you. The attack will draw attention, but it will shift any suspicion off us.”
The man raised an eyebrow, intrigued. “And then?”
“Then you go for Crown. But if I’m giving you this weapon—this favor—then I need something in return.”
“What is it?”
I took a breath. “The people here will start to ask questions, and I need an exit-strategy.”
I paused for a second, then said, “I’ll fight against you with Crown’s Offensives. Publicly. But when the time comes…” My voice dropped to a whisper. “You help me fake my own death.”
A beat.
The man rose, while his lips curled in amusement. “Easy enough. My right hand, Cara Sinclair, has some expertise in that area.”
They shook hands.
“Then we have a deal,” I said, calm as ice.
Before I could even draw a breath, the world warped again.
Colors smeared. Sound bent.
A park stretched around me. Sun-dappled grass. Towering trees with wide, leafy canopies that swayed gently in a breeze. Somewhere nearby, water trickled, fountains, maybe. Peaceful. Carefully chosen.
Blue droplets flared in the air in front of me, hanging suspended like falling stars frozen mid-descent.
Maurice’s golden Nexus. My Nexus.
