“I know. But I’m not going anywhere, Kane. And I’m not looking to rejoin or step on your toes. Still, if you need help, I’ll do what I can.” Cipher leans forward. “Just don’t ask me to risk Avery’s safety. We’re not getting dragged into something that puts a target on our backs.”
He glances at Rafael, busy exploring the garden. “Understood,” Kane says. “Right now I need someone who gets what we’re dealing with.”
They ease into the seat, tension draining from their shoulders. “Athena and that cult. That’s who you’re dealing with, correct?” Cipher guesses.
Of course they’re already caught up. Cipher always has their finger on the pulse.
“Heard she tracked down a techie I crossed paths with in the Veil,” they say. “High-tier. Quiet. Used to do classified work at VitaCorp. The kind who doesn’t leave a trail.”
His brows knit together. Why would the leader of an anti-cyberware group turn to a former corpo techie?
“Did they give her anything?” Kane inquires.
Cipher shrugs. “Wouldn’t tell me if he did. The guy’s more paranoid than I am.”
He pinches between his brows. “She’s already turned part of the crew against us, including one of my lieutenants.”
“A lieutenant?How?” Cipher raises a brow.
Sensing their judgment, Kane answers carefully. “Let’s just say he didn’t appreciate my…direct intervention.”
“I see.” Cipher hums. “And I’m guessing by ‘direct intervention,’ you mean handling it yourself?”
In an instant, Kane is barely twenty again. On the porch of this very house, in his worn armor. Cipher and Dragan stand over him, giving a lecture about training the recruits on his own again.
The memory digs an ache in his chest.
Cipher tilts their head. “You know, when Duke ran things, he understood the value of delegation. Of trusting people to carry the weight with him.”
He snorts. “And it got himkilled.”
“No—Athenagot him killed,” they correct. Then added, softer, “Before that, things weren’t perfect. But we were holding it together.”
“Nowhere near Uncle. He ran things differently. With realdiscipline.”
“Sure.” Cipher nods. “But being strict wasn’t what made him great. Duke knew when to tighten the reins and when to let go.” They jab a finger at him. “Remember those strategy meetings? How he’d hear everyone out before calling the shots? That wasn’t ruling with fear. It was respect. He made us feel invested.”
Kane almost scoffs.
“I’ve tried to trust them more,” he admits. “But the second I loosen my grip, everything falls apart.”
Cipher’s gaze softens. “It wasn’t easy for Duke either, Kane. But he knew that trusting people was the only way to build a crew that lasted.”
His shoulders slump. Viper already left. Who’s next—Wren, Coda, maybe even Echo?
“So what are you going to do, Kane?” Cipher cuts in. “Keep squeezing until there’s no one left?”
“No,” Kane declares. “I’ll adjust—but on my terms. I won’t let this crew fall apart.”
Their lips twitch into almost approval. “There’s the leader Duke knew you’d become.”
Kane straightens, forcing down the urge to puff up at praise. “Athena won’t yield because I had a breakthrough. We need a plan.”
“You’re right about that,” Cipher agrees. “But she does have two major weaknesses. Her ego and lust for power.”
They’re not wrong. She never shared the credit for anything.
“Use them against her and—”