Chapter 55: The Architect's Shadow
The air in Finn's intelligence hub was a physical weight, thick with the scent of ozone and the frantic, near-silent energy of a predator on the hunt. Kael and Lyra entered, the heavy soundproofed door sealing behind them with a definitive thud that seemed to lock out the rest of the world. Before them, the chamber was a cathedral of data, its dark walls alive with rivers of emerald and sapphire light, reflecting in the grim focus of Finn's eyes. He stood before the central holodisplay, his usual playful demeanor shed like a worn-out skin.
"He's good," Finn announced without preamble, his voice stripped of its characteristic charm, leaving behind the cold, hard steel of a technician assessing a superior weapon. "No, scratch that. He's a goddamn artist."
