Chapter One: You Will Die in Seven Minutes

“You interviewed me with my life at stake?” “My life was also part of the wager.” Lin cut open the router’s power cord and wrapped its copper around the door handle and an aging high-voltage wire in the wall. The probe touched the lock. A strangled sound came from outside. Lin kicked through the hollow brick and crawled into the shaft. Behind him, the door was sliced open without a sound. A woman said, “Target entered the duct. Take him alive. The Clocktower wants to know how much he received.” Not Helix. Lin slid two floors down a greasy duct and dropped through a laundry-room vent. Zero fed him directions precise to the second: the guard would turn in ten seconds, a garbage truck would cover the camera in twenty-two, and a subway maintenance