Chapter Three: The Deleted Sister

“It says you drive well.” “It should also tell you the road ahead is a trap.” The server truck did not leave the city. It entered an unopened autonomous-vehicle tunnel beneath the Mirrorsea district. Every signal behind them turned red, and blast doors dropped over the entrance. Two black Helix vehicles followed. Clocktower drones descended through maintenance vents. A low prayer from Convergence began playing through the tunnel speakers. All three factions had arrived. The server truck stopped in the center. Its hull unfolded, exposing a ring of cooling columns. Seven minutes and twenty seconds remained on the countdown. “Direct approach triggers self-destruction,” Zero said. “The carrier has three independent defenses.