The silence after the battle felt heavier than the fighting itself.
Smoke drifted through the shattered corridors of the Citadel as emergency lights flashed crimson against cracked concrete walls. Somewhere in the distance, alarms continued to echo, but inside the abandoned maintenance tunnel, Marco, Jahir, Kael, Chloe, and Sam sat in exhausted silence.
No one spoke.
No one celebrated.
They were alive—but only barely.
Jahir carefully opened his damaged data-pad. The screen flickered several times before finally coming to life.
"I managed to download something from the Citadel's network before we escaped."
Marco looked up.
"What is it?"
"I don't know yet."
His fingers raced across the cracked display as encrypted files slowly unlocked.
Then his expression changed.
"What?"
Jahir swallowed hard.
"It's... us."
"What do you mean?"
"There are files on every child who escaped the Neon Cage."
One by one, names appeared on the screen.
Marco.
Jax.
Maya.
Kael.
Chloe.
Sam.
Every child had a profile.
Medical records.
Psychological evaluations.
Daily movement logs.
Even conversations that had supposedly taken place in private.
"They've been watching us from the beginning," Chloe whispered.
"No..." Jahir replied quietly. "It's worse than that."
He opened another folder labeled Project Genesis.
Inside were dozens of surveillance reports.
Each file carried the same warning.
Embedded Asset Active.
Kael frowned.
"What's an embedded asset?"
Marco felt a chill run through his body.
"It means someone on the inside."
Someone...
Among the children.
Miles away, inside the underground bunker, Jax stood watch near the sealed entrance.
The younger children were finally asleep.
Maya approached quietly.
"Any sign of Marco?"
Jax shook his head.
"I keep hoping."
Before either could say another word, a soft knock echoed against the massive steel door.
Three knocks.
A pause.
Then two more.
Everyone froze.
Only the escape group knew that signal.
Jax slowly lifted the locking bar.
The door creaked open.
Standing outside was a frightened teenage girl wearing torn Government clothing.
She raised both hands.
"My name is Lena," she said, her voice shaking.
"I escaped."
Behind her, the tunnels were empty.
She looked terrified.
"I know where they're taking the other children."
Maya stepped forward.
"Can we trust her?"
Before anyone answered, Lena whispered the one sentence that made every heart stop.
"They're building another Neon Cage."
Back inside the Citadel, Commander Voss watched the bunker through a hidden surveillance feed.
A faint smile crossed his face.
"They've opened the door."
One of his officers nodded.
"Agent Echo has made contact."
"Excellent."
"And if the children discover the truth?"
Voss calmly folded his hands.
"They won't."
He looked at the monitor showing Lena being welcomed inside.
"Because sometimes the easiest way to destroy hope..."
"...is to make it wear a friendly face."
Deep in the abandoned subway tunnels beneath the city, Marco stared at the words glowing on Jahir's screen.
Embedded Asset Active.
Someone had been feeding information to the Government.
Someone they laughed with.
Someone they protected.
Someone they called family.
Marco slowly looked at each of his friends.
For the first time since escaping...
He wasn't sure who he could trust.