It wasn't over not really because the minute they stepped outside that crumbling apartment something felt wrong the sky looked too clean the air too still like a held breath waiting to break Lila tightened her coat collar Alexander kept his hand low close to his side not on a weapon just near enough like the memory of danger was still touching his skin
The street wasn't busy no one looking at them no one walking too close but he didn't trust silence anymore silence was how they got you how Kingsleys moved under your feet and cracked your life without you hearing
They reached the bus stop no one else there Lila pulled her hood up leaned against the pole eyes scanning every car that passed she whispered
"If this is peace it's loud"
Alexander didn't answer just watched a black SUV slide past slow not stopping not turning just gone but not gone in his mind he followed it three blocks out three blocks back
"Maybe we shouldn't take the bus"
"It's the only thing they won't expect"
She was right that's what made it worse
The bus came groaning tired like it hated its own routine they got on sat near the back the driver didn't look twice maybe he was used to ghosts
They rode in silence city bleeding past windows smeared with dust Lila stared at her reflection it looked older harder but there was still fire there not the burning kind the glowing kind the kind that waited
She turned to him "I want to find Barrett's daughter"
Alexander blinked "He had a daughter?"
"In his wallet there was a photo she looked sixteen maybe seventeen I think she deserves to know what he did for us"
He nodded once words caught in his throat Barrett had been more than a contact more than a resource he'd been proof that not all good dies under money
They got off downtown near the courthouse protest signs still taped to poles flyers trampled in the gutter faces of senators next to dollar signs and fire emojis Lila kicked one absently
"They know"
"Let them know"
Inside they met with Clara the journalist who'd first run the leak she wore tired eyes and coffee breath but smiled like she remembered what truth felt like
"You've started a storm"
"We want to keep it going"
She gestured to a cluttered desk papers everywhere names circled in red maps with pins lines drawn like war plans
"You see this? This is your fault"
Lila smiled sharp and bright "Good"
Clara handed them a folder thin not like Barrett's but important
"There's a judge a friend of mine he's been trying to push charges forward but keeps getting blocked from above this might help"
Alexander opened it photos mostly grainy meetings at strange hours Kingsley associates shaking hands with people they shouldn't be even the mayor
"We need to go bigger"
Clara raised an eyebrow "Bigger? This is a goddamn grenade"
"We want a bomb"
She didn't argue just nodded slowly then said "Come with me"
They followed her through a maze of halls into a dark room lit by screens a hacker space but quiet not neon or chaotic just focused
There was a girl maybe twenty headset hanging around her neck blue-dyed hair bare feet typing like her hands were possessed
"This is Jet she can do what I can't"
Jet didn't look up "Depends what you want"
"Everything"
Jet paused finally looked at them her eyes sharp curious she smiled
"That I can do"
They spent hours there not talking just working Lila cross-checking documents Alexander digging through files Jet building firewalls bots rerouting IPs setting traps in code
At one point Lila leaned back eyes burning
"This isn't just them is it?"
Jet shook her head "It never is Kingsleys are a branch the tree's deeper older rotten"
They didn't sleep they didn't eat time folded in on itself like the city forgot them for a while let them fight in peace
Then Jet stopped typing leaned back said quietly
"Found something you'll want to see"
It was footage security cam angle dusty timestamped a week before Barrett was shot
Donovan Kingsley in a private room meeting with a man
The man was Barrett
Lila gasped
"He knew?"
Jet nodded "Looks like he tried to make a deal maybe fake loyalty maybe buy time"
Alexander's face was still
"Or maybe he was trying to end it without blood"
The footage had no audio just gestures Barrett looked desperate Donovan calm condescending he slid something across the table Barrett didn't touch it
Then he stood walked out
Next frame he was gone
Lila covered her mouth eyes glassy
"He was trying to save us"
Alexander nodded slowly hands clenched
"And they killed him for it"
Jet leaned forward whispered
"Then let's make them wish they hadn't"
They launched the next file leak from ten IPs at once across three continents Jet's code masked everything turned it into digital smoke
The files hit harder deeper
Child trafficking linked to shell charities weapons deals masked as real estate purchases false cancer funds money meant for research funneled into campaign bribes
This time the world couldn't ignore it
Because this time it was kids
Protests turned to riots senators stepped down companies collapsed in a day Kingsley towers vandalized one even burned no one hurt but the message was clear
Alexander watched from the balcony their apartment too quiet Lila beside him
"Do you think he'd be proud?"
She didn'tn answer just took his hand squeezed it tight
In the distance sirens rose but they didn't move they weren't afraid
"They were the fire now. "