The tunnel smelled like rust, dust, and old electricity.Ethan ran hard through the narrow service corridor, his footsteps echoing off concrete walls slick with decades of grime. Behind him, the subway station had dissolved into noise—gunfire, shouting, the sharp panic of people who suddenly realized the world was balancing on a machine no one controlled.But ahead—There was only Marcus.A shadow moving through the red emergency glow.Fast.Focused.Prepared.Ethan already hated what that meant.Marcus had not run blindly.He had run toward something.Toward the contingency network.Toward the leash he had hidden inside the Guardian.“Marcus!” Ethan shouted.The corridor bent sharply left.No answer.Then Marcus’s voice drifted back through the tunnel, calm despite the sprint.“You’re wasting time!”Ethan pushed harder.“Then stop running!”A short laugh echoed back.“Not a chance.”Behind Ethan, heavier footsteps pounded through the corridor.Jessica.Then Lila.Then Noah, whose bre
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