====== ACE 38 — Dead Channel ====== ~~NOTOC~~ Rain didn’t fall evenly in Pacifica. It never had. ---- Ace noticed it halfway across the street — not because it was loud, but because one stretch of asphalt stayed just a little too dry. Not dry enough to matter. Just enough to register. “…that’s annoying,” she muttered. ---- Mai didn’t look. She was already scanning something else — not the street, not the buildings. The //gaps//. “…it’s not random,” she said. ---- Shammy tilted her head slightly. The air shifted around her— Then stopped. ---- “…it’s quieter here,” she said. ---- Ace snorted. “…this whole district’s quiet.” ---- Shammy shook her head. ---- “…no,” she said softly. “…this is missing something.” ---- ====== 🔻 AFTERLIFE — EARLIER ====== Rogue didn’t wait for them to sit. ---- “You ever see a channel die without anyone killing it?” she asked. ---- Ace leaned on the bar. “…depends. Net or people?” ---- “Net,” Rogue said. ---- Mai slid into position beside her. ---- “That shouldn’t happen,” she said immediately. ---- Rogue nodded. “Yeah.” A beat. ---- “That’s why you’re here.” ---- ====== ⚙️ THE BRIEF ====== Rogue pushed a shard across. ---- “Secure comm line,” she said. “Corporate-grade. Clean. Stable.” ---- Mai picked it up. Slotted it in. ---- The data came up— ---- Flat. ---- No spikes. No noise. No trace. ---- Nothing. ---- “…dead,” Mai said. ---- Rogue shook her head. ---- “No,” she said. ---- A pause. ---- “Dead channels leave residue.” ---- Ace tilted her head. “…and this?” ---- Rogue tapped the bar once. ---- “This one doesn’t exist anymore.” ---- Silence. ---- Mai frowned. “That’s not possible.” ---- “Yeah,” Rogue said. “Say that again after you hear the rest.” ---- ====== 🔻 CONSEQUENCES ====== Rogue leaned in slightly. ---- “People using that line?” ---- A beat. ---- “They don’t crash.” ---- Ace raised an eyebrow. “…good for them.” ---- “They don’t finish anything either,” Rogue continued. ---- That landed differently. ---- Mai looked up. “…define.” ---- Rogue’s voice dropped. ---- “They miss timing.” ---- Another beat. ---- “They don’t show up where they’re supposed to be.” ---- Ace exhaled slowly. “…sounds like bad planning.” ---- Rogue shook her head. ---- “No.” ---- A pause. ---- “It’s consistent.” ---- ====== 🔻 VISUAL DATA ====== Mai flicked through the shard. ---- Security footage. ---- A team in motion. ---- Clean entry. Clear objective. ---- Everything correct. ---- Then— ---- A pause. ---- One of them hesitates. ---- Not long. ---- Just enough. ---- The next move happens— Too early. ---- Then another— Too late. ---- The sequence breaks. ---- No attack. No interference. ---- Just— Wrong timing. ---- The footage cuts. ---- Mai removed the shard slowly. ---- “…they didn’t fail,” she said. ---- Ace crossed her arms. “…they did.” ---- Mai shook her head. ---- “No,” she said. ---- A beat. ---- “They lost synchronization.” ---- ====== 🔻 ROGUE’S ANGLE ====== Rogue watched them both. ---- “Whatever’s happening,” she said, “it’s tied to that channel.” ---- Ace tilted her head. “…so we just don’t use it.” ---- Rogue didn’t smile. ---- “They didn’t either.” ---- Silence. ---- ====== 🔻 THE HOOK ====== Mai’s voice dropped. ---- “…someone else is.” ---- Rogue shook her head. ---- “No.” ---- A pause. ---- “That’s the part I don’t like.” ---- Another beat. ---- “There’s no traffic.” ---- ====== 🔻 FINAL LINE ====== Shammy spoke for the first time. ---- “…it’s not empty,” she said quietly. ---- Ace glanced at her. ---- “…yeah?” ---- Shammy’s gaze drifted slightly. ---- “…it’s being kept that way.” ---- ====== 🔻 BACK TO PACIFICA ====== Rain tapped against metal somewhere nearby. ---- Ace looked at the building ahead. ---- Unmarked. Unremarkable. ---- Wrong. ---- “…this it?” she asked. ---- Mai nodded once. ---- “Yes.” ---- A pause. ---- “Last known access point.” ---- Ace stepped forward. ---- The door was closed. ---- Not locked. ---- Just— Closed. ---- Shammy stopped just short of it. ---- The air didn’t move. ---- “…this is it,” she said. ---- Ace glanced back. ---- “…you sure?” ---- Shammy nodded. ---- “…nothing is happening here,” she said. ---- A beat. ---- “…that’s why it’s wrong.” ---- Silence. ---- Ace reached for the door. ---- Paused. ---- Just for a second. ---- “…we’re not using that channel,” she said. ---- Mai nodded. ---- “Agreed.” ---- Shammy didn’t move. ---- “…it doesn’t need us to.” ---- Ace pushed the door open. ---- Inside— ---- Nothing. ---- No sound. No movement. ---- No delay. ---- Just— Absence. ---- And for the first time— It felt like something was already missing.