The corridors were quieter now, but that was only because the chaos had been filtered through floors and walls. Machinery hummed in the background, steady, methodical, like a heartbeat trying not to notice the fractures above it. I leaned against a support beam, cataloging the lingering tension from my encounter with the Detective. Every thought, every suppressed reflex, still pulsed like static in my veins.
Soft scrape… hum… distant metallic thud…
From the shadows, Elliot emerged. Not loud, not dramatic. Just a figure slipping between beams and conduits, careful, deliberate. I hadn't expected him to appear, and yet here he was predictable in the most unpredictable way. His eyes met mine, calm, assessing. I noted the slight tension in his shoulders, the way his fingers itched near the knife at his hip. Calculating. Waiting.
"You've got a lot of faith in chaos," he said, voice low, neutral. No accusation, no warmth. Just observation.
"Faith?" I tilted my head. "I prefer leverage. Faith is cheap. Leverage that's expensive."
He smirked faintly, a twitch that didn't reach his eyes. That was enough. I cataloged it anyway. Everyone has tells; Elliot just happens to have fewer than most.
Step… hiss… faint vibration underfoot…
We circled each other in silence, evaluating the landscape, the machinery, and each other. Trust wasn't granted here, only borrowed, and only as long as the borrower understood the cost. I let him speak first again.
"We both want the same outcome," he said finally. "Even if we don't like the methods."
I considered him, tracing invisible lines of strategy, weighing options. He wasn't naïve, and neither was I. If we combined knowledge, the Veins could be manipulated far more effectively. But cooperation meant vulnerability a word I rarely tolerated.
"I'll work with you," I said, letting the words float without warmth. "For now. Step out of line, and you're not saved by anyone but your own shadow."
He nodded once. Silent acknowledgment. Nothing more. Nothing less. Enough to start.
Soft hum… metallic echo… faint drip…
I began mapping contingencies in my head, noting the timing of patrols, the weak points in faction communication, and the potential leverage points we could exploit together. Elliot watched, but I didn't need him to know that my mind was already three moves ahead.
"You're hard to impress," he remarked, almost conversational, almost human.
"And you're lucky I'm bored enough to care," I replied, letting the faintest edge of sarcasm cut the air.
This wasn't friendship. This wasn't loyalty. But it was alliance, and in the Veins, that was enough for survival. For now.
I stepped back into the shadows, letting Elliot take his lead beside me. The city above might burn in chaos, but below, in the veins, we were beginning to weave the threads that would shape it. And if he thought he could predict my next move… well, I smiled to myself. That was his problem, not mine.
Soft footfall… fading hum…
And somewhere deep in the machinery, I could almost hear it: opportunity. Waiting. Hungry. Ready.
"Let's see who blinks first," I muttered, not at him, not at anyone just to the Veins themselves.