ABIGAIL'S POVThe sound of that gate sealing still echoed in my head long after the metal stopped vibrating.I stood there for one full second, palm pressed flat against cold steel, my breath fogging against the reinforced glass, staring at the empty tunnel where the van had disappeared.Then I stepped back.“Alexander,” I said, and my voice didn’t shake. It couldn’t afford to. “Get me back in.”“I’m trying,” he answered immediately, but there was strain there now. “The van rerouted through an external exit node. I’m reacquiring through city grid.”Richardson was watching me.Like he was trying to decide whether I was about to break… or become something worse.My hands curled into fists.“No,” I muttered. “No, no, no.”Because this wasn’t over.It couldn’t be.“Abigail,” Alexander said sharply. “Signal reacquired. Temporary. The van’s on Highway 17 heading eastbound. Speed increasing.”Relief hit so hard my knees almost buckled.“Patch me into its system,” I said.“Abigail.”“Do it.”
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