====== INTERLUDE — Calibration ====== The safehouse hadn’t changed. ---- That mattered. ---- Same walls. Same angles. Same imperfect alignment that didn’t try to correct itself. ---- Normal. ---- ---- Ace stood by the window. ---- Watching movement below. ---- Not tracking targets— ---- tracking flow. ---- ---- Mai sat at the table. ---- The object— ---- resting in front of her— ---- not moving. ---- ---- But not still. ---- ---- Shammy leaned against the wall. ---- ---- The air— ---- steady. ---- ---- For now. ---- ---- V moved around the room. ---- Not restless. ---- Checking. ---- Adjusting. ---- ---- “You’re going to need gear,” they said. ---- ---- Ace didn’t turn. ---- ---- “We have gear.” ---- ---- V snorted quietly. ---- ---- “Not for here.” ---- ---- That landed. ---- ---- Mai didn’t look up. ---- ---- “Define.” ---- ---- V gestured loosely. ---- ---- “Local weapons. Interfaces. Stuff that actually connects to the system.” A beat. ---- “And stuff that doesn’t scream ‘you’re not from here’ the second someone scans you.” ---- ---- Ace didn’t respond. ---- ---- Because that was valid. ---- ---- Shammy tilted her head slightly. ---- ---- The air around V— ---- consistent. ---- ---- “You’re stable,” she said. ---- ---- V blinked. ---- ---- “…I’m starting to think that’s a compliment.” ---- ---- Mai finally looked up. ---- ---- “It is.” ---- ---- A short pause. ---- ---- Then: ---- “We go.” ---- ---- No delay. ---- ---- No debate. ---- ---- The object remained on the table. ---- ---- For a moment— ---- none of them touched it. ---- ---- Then— ---- Mai picked it up. ---- ---- Carefully. ---- ---- Not to hold it— ---- to keep it from settling. ---- ---- ---- The market wasn’t organized. ---- ---- It didn’t need to be. ---- ---- Neon bled across metal. ---- Voices overlapped without structure. ---- Everything moved— ---- but nothing aligned. ---- ---- Perfect. ---- ---- Ace stepped into it without hesitation. ---- ---- The crowd adjusted. ---- ---- Not consciously— ---- but instinctively. ---- ---- Space opened. ---- ---- That told V everything they needed to know. ---- ---- “…Yeah,” they muttered. ---- “…you’re going to be a problem here.” ---- ---- Mai ignored the noise. ---- ---- Her eyes moved— ---- tracking density. ---- ---- Nothing locked. ---- Nothing resolved. ---- ---- Good. ---- ---- Shammy exhaled slowly. ---- ---- The air— ---- chaotic. ---- ---- Alive. ---- ---- “This place breathes,” she said. ---- ---- V smirked slightly. ---- ---- “Yeah.” ---- A beat. ---- “On a good day.” ---- ---- They stopped at a vendor. ---- ---- No sign. ---- No branding. ---- ---- Just equipment. ---- ---- Weapons. Interfaces. ---- Modded hardware that had been rebuilt too many times to count. ---- ---- The vendor looked up. ---- ---- Didn’t greet them. ---- ---- Didn’t need to. ---- ---- “You buying or staring,” he said. ---- ---- Ace didn’t answer. ---- ---- Mai stepped forward. ---- ---- “Functionality,” she said. ---- ---- The vendor paused. ---- ---- Looked at her— ---- longer than necessary. ---- ---- “…You’re not local.” ---- ---- Mai didn’t deny it. ---- ---- “No.” ---- ---- The vendor shrugged. ---- ---- “Doesn’t matter if you pay.” ---- ---- That tracked. ---- ---- V leaned slightly toward the counter. ---- ---- “They’ll pay.” ---- ---- The vendor nodded. ---- ---- “Then what do you need.” ---- ---- Mai didn’t look at the items. ---- ---- She looked at the system. ---- ---- “Compatibility,” she said. ---- ---- A beat. ---- ---- “Stability.” ---- ---- The vendor snorted. ---- ---- “Pick one.” ---- ---- Ace stepped forward. ---- ---- “Both.” ---- ---- The vendor met her gaze. ---- ---- For a moment— ---- something in his posture shifted. ---- ---- Then— ---- he reached under the counter. ---- ---- Pulled out a case. ---- ---- Set it down. ---- ---- “This is as close as you get,” he said. ---- ---- No explanation. ---- ---- No pitch. ---- ---- Mai opened it. ---- ---- Inside— ---- cleaner. ---- ---- More deliberate. ---- ---- Interfaces that didn’t try to overcompensate. ---- ---- Weapons that balanced function— ---- and presence. ---- ---- “This will work,” she said. ---- ---- Ace nodded once. ---- ---- “Take it.” ---- ---- The vendor named a price. ---- ---- High. ---- ---- Mai didn’t react. ---- ---- She activated the interface. ---- ---- Transfer. ---- ---- Confirmed. ---- ---- The vendor blinked. ---- ---- “…Fast.” ---- ---- Mai closed the case. ---- ---- “Efficiency.” ---- ---- That was enough. ---- ---- As they turned to leave— ---- Shammy paused. ---- ---- The air— ---- shifted. ---- ---- Subtle. ---- ---- But wrong. ---- ---- “Wait,” she said. ---- ---- Ace stopped immediately. ---- ---- “Where.” ---- ---- Shammy didn’t point. ---- ---- She didn’t need to. ---- ---- The object— ---- in Mai’s hand— ---- tightened. ---- ---- Not aligning— ---- reacting. ---- ---- Mai’s gaze sharpened. ---- ---- “…That shouldn’t happen here.” ---- ---- V frowned. ---- ---- “…What shouldn’t.” ---- ---- Mai didn’t answer. ---- ---- Because the answer was already forming. ---- ---- Somewhere in the noise— ---- in the chaos— ---- in the unaligned mess of the market— ---- something had just— ---- for a fraction— ---- almost— ---- agreed. ---- ---- Ace’s expression didn’t change. ---- ---- “Good,” she said. ---- ---- V groaned quietly. ---- ---- “…You really need a new word.” ---- ---- But no one corrected her. ---- ---- Because they all knew what it meant. ---- ---- Not relief. ---- ---- Not success. ---- ---- Just— ---- the next point where something was about to go wrong. ---- ---- And this time— ---- it wasn’t isolated. ---- ---- It was already inside the noise.