River fog clung to the docks like a damp shroud when Jack, Lyra, and Patch slipped through the chain‑link gap behind Warehouse 17. Water slapped against corroded bulkheads; distant horns echoed across West Hollow's polluted inlet.
Zara's voice crackled in their earpieces. "Visuals are green. Tunnel grate is thirty meters north. Ward net cycles every sixty seconds—time your entry or you're toast."
"Define toast," Jack whispered, tightening the strap on his prototype jammer.
"As in crispy, sizzling, screaming input lag forever," Zara replied.
"Nice. Breakfast imagery helps," Jack said, rolling his shoulders. The sigil beneath his hoodie tingled, eager.
---
Into the Depths
They reached a half‑submerged storm drain the size of a box truck. Glyphs pulsed across the entrance: pale latticework humming with detection spells.
Lyra checked her watch. "Ward reset in three… two… one—go."
Jack darted forward. The jammer flared, scrambling the lattice just long enough for him to vault inside. Lyra followed; Patch glided after them in a single beat of wings.
Icy water reached their shins. The air smelled of rotting kelp and industrial runoff.
"Smells like my childhood," Jack joked.
"I'm sorry," Lyra deadpanned, sloshing ahead.
---
Spectral Patrol
Zara's ping flashed on Jack's wristband: Spectral Guard—20 m Ahead.
A translucent figure drifted around the corner, armor forged from congealed moonlight, polearm humming with silent menace.
"Stealth," Lyra mouthed.
Jack nodded—then slipped on slime, clanging into a pipe.
The specter spun. Blue fire eyes locked on them.
"Could've been worse," Jack muttered, raising his hands. "Hi, we're the plumbing crew."
The guard lunged.
Jack's reflexes kicked in. He ducked under the polearm and smashed his glowing palm into the phantom chest. Violet sparks burst; agony flared as spectral frost crawled up his arm… and dissolved. His regeneration drank the energy like water, weaving it into his muscles. A new chill shimmer coated his skin.
He grinned. "Cool upgrade—literally."
With a second blow, the specter shattered into frosty shards that evaporated.
Patch stared. "You just absorbed ghost juice."
"File that under talents I never asked for," Jack replied, shaking out crystalline dust.
Lyra checked his arm. "No damage?"
"Feels minty," Jack said. "Let's move before its friends respawn."
---
Jack's Distraction Plan
Ahead, the tunnel forked: one path to the main loading bay, the other to a maintenance pump room.
Lyra pointed to the loading route. "We plant Zara's tap on the central server, get out. Quietly."
Jack eyed the pump gauges, gears ticking above a rusty overflow valve. "Or… we flood the pump line, force guards to evacuate upstairs. Quieter halls for us."
"And drown the night‑shift janitors," Lyra hissed.
"Janitors get hazard pay," Jack shrugged. "Probably."
Patch flapped frantically. "Focus! Subtle!"
But Jack was already twisting the valve. Water pressure howled through the pipes.
---
Domino Effect
Alarms rang topside. Zara exclaimed in their ears, "Whoa—external sensors show fluid breach! Guards scrambling. Wilson, did you poke something?"
"Might've nudged infrastructure," Jack admitted, eyes gleaming.
Lyra clenched her fists but bit back argument. "Fine—fast route it is." She sprinted toward the server corridor.
Jack followed, adrenaline fizzing. Behind them, pumps groaned—then ruptured. Brown water surged, chasing their heels.
They slid into a maintenance hatch just as torrents roared past, sweeping spectral fragments and loose crates down the tunnel.
"Collateral minimized," Jack said, panting.
Lyra shot him a murderous look. "We'll discuss 'minimized' later."
---
Upstairs, Chaos Brews
Warehouse guards barked orders while water geysered from storm drains. Draven's deputy radioed frantically; somewhere in the city, Elias Draven paused mid‑stride, feeling darkness tremble.
"Wilson," he whispered, fury sharpening. "Your reckoning approaches."
Breathing hard, Jack and Lyra pressed onward through the server corridor. Metal doors loomed ahead—beyond them lay the guild's secrets… and whatever consequences Jack had just set in motion.