Page 95 of Make Them Cry
Gage finally glances at me, silently asking. I nod.
“We take him in,” I say.
“You trust him?”
“No,” I say. “But I trust the team.”
And I trust Gage.
The safe houseis humming with tension. Knight’s in his usual corner, arms folded, eyes locked on Mason like he’s the weakest link in a system he’s ready to debug with a bullet.
Juno’s typing furiously at her terminal, probably running every shred of Mason’s digital footprint for the last six months. Arrow stands by the whiteboard, adding Cathedral connections in red marker.
Gage sits beside me, one arm draped along the back of the couch like a protective shadow. His other hand hasn’t stopped tapping against his thigh.
Mason clears his throat. “They call him Regent.”
Everyone goes still.
“We know,” Juno says. “What do you know?”
“Not much,” Mason admits. “But I heard the name during a call. I was supposed to pass along River’s code logs from the Odin Patch, but I stalled. Told them she changed her passwords and I didn’t have access.”
Knight scoffs. “So you’re a cowardanda liar. Great.”
Mason ignores him. “I overheard them talking about some internal mole. Someone they were trying to flip at NovaPlay. Said it was almost complete.”
Juno’s fingers pause. “What kind of flip?”
“Dunno. But they said if it worked, River wouldn’t matter anymore.”
The silence is immediate. Thick.
Gage speaks first. “Meaning?”
“Meaning she’s a threat… until they’ve got someone else on the inside.”
Arrow’s voice is grim. “Which means they’re not done. They’re still coming for her.”
My stomach twists.
“Do you know who they were talking to?” I ask Mason.
“No names. Just usernames. One of them wasVainglory.That’s all I got.”
Juno types fast. “I’ve seen that handle.”
I turn to her. “Where?”
“In the sandbox from the last test session. They piggybacked on a beta dev’s credentials. I flagged it but thought it was an anomaly. That’s how they’re getting in. Through the damnQA loop.”
Mason’s voice cuts in. “Look, I know I screwed up. I should’ve told you sooner. But they said if I did, they’d send River the videos. The deepfakes. The ones—” He glances at me. “The ones they just sent.”
My cheeks go cold. “You knew about those?”
He nods, ashamed. “I saw one. They’re going to ruin you.”
Gage shoots to his feet. “Not if I ruin them first.”
