Chapter 4 - Ghost in the City
Sparks rained down as high-caliber rounds chipped away at the marble pillar.
Victoria pressed her back against the stone, her heart hammering against her ribs.
She was unarmed, wearing a formal dress, and barefoot in a torrential downpour.
She grabbed the fallen guard's sidearm from his holster.
It was a standard-issue tactical pistol.
She checked the magazine—twelve rounds.
She took a deep breath, counting the rhythm of the sniper's shots.
One... two... three...
On the fourth beat, she broke cover and sprinted toward the perimeter hedge.
A shot kicked up a geyser of water inches behind her bare feet.
She threw herself over the iron gate, rolling hard onto the wet asphalt outside.
Tearing the heavy train off her dark blue gown, she converted the dress into a functional tunic.
She melted into the dark alleyways of the lower city district.
Every street screen she passed flashed with emergency alerts.
Her own face appeared on a massive digital billboard above the intersection.
WANTED: UNIDENTIFIED TERRORIST KNOWN AS 'THE PHANTOM'
REWARD: 50,000,000 CREDITS — DEAD OR ALIVE
They had turned her into a public enemy in less than an hour.
She needed a safe house.
She needed to find the crew she had bled to save.
If she was dead on paper, then her crew was in grave danger too.
She ducked into a dimly lit public pay-terminal that took offline coins.
She slotted her last physical credit coin and dialed an encrypted frequency from memory.
The line chimed three times.
A voice picked up, heavy with static and panic.
"Who is this?"
"It's the Commander," Victoria whispered. "Is the squad safe?"
May you like
A cold laugh answered through the speaker.
"The squad?" the voice rasped. "Commander, look out your window."
