The air in the Floating Markets felt heavy and sticky as Anya and Lena came out of The Weaver's hidden metal box. The trade had been hard, leaving Lena feeling an invisible hurt. Anya could sense it, a small stiffness in Lena, who was usually very calm. The chameleon cloth, a small, shiny bundle, felt like a very small prize for such a big sacrifice.
"Are you okay?" Anya asked, keeping her voice low, as they moved through the crowd of shadowy figures and swaying boats. The busy market suddenly felt more dangerous, the bright lights of the stalls more scary.
Lena gave a short, humorless laugh. "Okay? I just gave away every secret I had to protect myself from the very system that crushed me. My 'get out of Grimstone free' card is gone." Her eyes, usually so sharp, now looked raw and bitter. "Those files, Anya… they weren't just about dirty police jobs. They had names. Dates. Places. Proof of bribes, blackmail, and people disappearing. It was all connected directly to some of the highest CID police, even the Governor's own guards."
A cold fear crept up Anya's back. "They're that bad?"
"Worse," Lena confirmed, her voice barely a whisper, but full of a chilling strength. "I spent years collecting those connections, writing down those whispered secrets. I saw how rotten the police were from the inside. I knew who was really in charge, who was truly making money from the 'cleaning' operations, the 'city improvements' that forced thousands of people from their homes. This 'Architect's blueprint'... whatever it is, it's bigger than anything I ever dared to hope for, or feared."
Just as Lena finished speaking, a loud, blaring siren cut through the noise of the market. The sudden, piercing sound echoed off the water, instantly making everyone quiet. People froze, then scattered, a wave of fear spreading through the crowds.
"CID!" someone shrieked, and the word spread quickly.
Anya's instincts, sharpened by years of running and hiding, immediately kicked in. "They're here. They must have followed us from The Weaver's, or they were watching him."
"Or they found out about the chameleon cloth deal," Lena said, gritting her teeth, her eyes looking around at the chaos. "He's connected to many secret illegal jobs. He's a very important target. This isn't just a normal police patrol."
From the narrow opening of the alley leading to the docks, bright beams of light from six powerful CID searchlights cut through the darkness. The clear rumble of armored police boats echoed from the water, their engines getting closer. They were being trapped.
"This way!" Lena barked, grabbing Anya's arm. She pulled them into a small, almost hidden gap between two wobbly cargo containers. She led Anya down a shaky ladder that went into the dark, dirty water below.
The smell of sewage and still water was terrible as they plunged into the water up to their waists. Anya's feet slipped on the slick bottom, but Lena, even in the difficult water, moved surprisingly fast and smoothly. They were now under the market, in a hidden maze of rusty support beams, hanging wires, and discarded trash. Above them, the sounds of shouting CID police officers and their splashing boots on the walkways grew louder.
"How do you know this way?" Anya gasped, trying to keep up.
"Old escape routes," Lena replied, her voice strained. "Learned them when CID went after a group of secret data-smugglers. They're rarely used. Too dangerous. But right now, they're our only way out."
They squeezed through a broken section of a pipe, coming out into a slightly wider, equally foul-smelling canal. A faint, glowing light from green algae on the walls was the only light. The sounds of the CID faded, replaced by the regular drip of unseen water and the scurrying of unseen creatures. They had escaped, but just barely. And the high price Lena had paid for the chameleon cloth now seemed even higher. Her past had just caught up to them, pulling them deeper into Grimstone's unforgiving hidden world.