The Debt Collector's Price
"Good. Stay connected to Sarah. If this goes sideways, we need extraction."
She nods, but the worry doesn't reach her eyes. She is past worrying.
We keep moving, pushing deeper into the tunnel.
Then I hear it. A high-pitched whine, right at the edge of hearing. Ultrasonic.
"Stop," I say, grabbing her arm.
Isla freezes.
I scan ahead. Thermal shows nothing, but the sound is directional, coming from the ceiling tiles ahead.
A sonic deterrent. Non-lethal, but designed to drop a man to his knees with vertigo. If we cross that threshold, it’ll hit with the force of a physical blow—nausea, disorientation, total loss of balance.
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