The masked man's smile didn't change.
That was what made it worse.
He stood beside Scarlet like they were still two wealthy guests at a private auction, even as the room around them hummed with hidden danger. His white-and-gold mask caught the low light, hiding most of his face, but not the confidence in his voice.
"Since we're speaking honestly now," he said, "allow me to introduce myself."
Scarlet kept her glass steady in her hand.
"My name is Cassian Veyr."
The name meant nothing to most people.
But the way he said it made it clear he believed it should.
Cassian tilted his head slightly. "And you are Scarlet."
The air between them sharpened.
"I know you work for the STF," he continued. "I just can't find the logs. No reports. No official assignments. Nothing I can use to prove it."
Scarlet's expression stayed calm, but her fingers shifted slightly near her sleeve.
Cassian's smile widened.
"But I know."
The guards along the walls moved at the same time.
Cassian stepped backward. "I only brought you deeper because I wanted to trap you."
The room erupted.
Gunfire and plasma blasts tore across the private level. Scarlet dropped behind a reinforced table as the first wave of shots ripped through glass, holograms, and expensive furniture. Guests screamed and scattered, but most of the masked buyers were already moving like they had expected violence.
Scarlet rolled behind cover, drew one hidden blade, and spoke into comms.
"Cover blown."
Kairoth didn't move at first.
He simply stood in the center of the room while bullets cut through the air around him.
Then the pressure changed.
A heavy, dark surge of Kia rolled out from his body.
The blast hit the room like an invisible tidal wave.
Every guard dropped to their knees at once, weapons slipping from their hands. Even Scarlet felt it slam into her bones, forcing one knee to the floor before she caught herself.
She looked up sharply.
"What was that?"
Kairoth glanced down at her, face unreadable.
"Don't worry about it."
Then his body faded into the darkness like the shadows had swallowed him whole. Before he vanished completely, he gave Scarlet one small nod.
Cassian was already gone.
A hidden elevator closed behind him near the back of the room.
Scarlet pushed herself up, irritation flashing across her face. "Of course he has a private escape."
Moments later, Shadow and Deadshot Valor breached the upper floor from separate angles. Shadow moved through the room with silent precision, cutting down the remaining guards before they could recover. Deadshot stayed farther back, each shot clean, controlled, and final.
Scarlet reached the weapons bin, grabbed her retractable double-sided blade, and snapped it open with a metallic hiss.
Deadshot glanced at her. "You good?"
Scarlet spun the blade once. "Better now."
Shadow's comm buzzed before he could answer.
Renn Varos came through, voice low and urgent. "Cassian is moving toward Iron Summit. Kairoth is trailing him."
Shadow's posture changed immediately.
Renn continued, "Ian wants you in Black Mode. Full concealment. No faces. No evidence. Move now."
Shadow looked at the others.
"You heard him. Suit up."
They pulled on dark outer gear in the private room, stripping away anything that connected them to the event. Masks sealed. Weapons locked. Identities disappeared.
The Nightcrew was no longer pretending to be guests.
Now they were hunting.
They took the elevator down, not to the lobby, but into a hidden service tunnel beneath the building. The air below Valora Downs was colder, filled with the distant rumble of underground transit routes and casino supply lines.
Deadshot raised a hand. "Hold on."
A heavy impact shook the tunnel ahead.
Voltron dropped from above, landing with enough force to crack the concrete. Behind him was a rack of compact black motorbikes, each one built for speed and silence.
Deadshot stared at him for a second.
"…Thank you, Voltron."
Voltron's mechanical voice rumbled through the tunnel. "Do not crash them."
Deadshot climbed onto one of the bikes. "We'll see you in Iron Summit."
The engines came alive with low electric hums.
Then they were gone.
The team tore through the underground tunnel system, following Kairoth's directions as they passed beneath casino foundations, illegal access lanes, and old transit routes that most citizens didn't even know existed. Neon light occasionally flickered through vents overhead, but most of the ride was darkness and speed.
Valora Downs faded behind them.
Iron Summit waited ahead.
By the time they reached the lower access tunnels beneath the political district, night was still on their side. They stopped in a shadowed maintenance bay, bikes sliding quietly to a halt.
Shadow stepped off first.
"Update," Scarlet said.
Shadow looked at the group, his voice low.
"Voltron captured and interrogated one of the high-rankers from the tower."
Nightcoil, who had been quiet since the chaos started, looked up. "And?"
Shadow's eyes narrowed behind his mask.
"Cassian isn't the top of the Masked Court."
That silence landed hard.
Deadshot's tone lost its joking edge. "Then who is?"
Shadow continued.
"Something called the Pale Envoy is the real buyer behind the information. There's a hidden vault somewhere in Iron Summit. It uploads the stolen data and spreads it across the black market."
Scarlet's grip tightened around her blade.
"STF routes. Vanguard response windows. Guardian maps. Tunnel systems."
Shadow nodded.
"And the buyer is connected to an account name we've seen before."
He paused just long enough for the weight to settle.
"The Ancient Shade."
No one spoke for a moment.
That name had stopped being a rumor.
Now it was showing up in the capital's shadows.
Shadow looked toward the tunnel leading deeper into Iron Summit.
"Ian wants the vault shut down now."
Deadshot checked his rifle.
Scarlet rolled her shoulders.
Nightcoil swallowed once, then tightened his grip on his weapon.
Shadow stepped forward.
"Then we move before the data leaves the planet."
The Nightcrew disappeared into the dark beneath Iron Summit, chasing a vault that could expose the Empire's defenses to every criminal, demon, and warlord in the galaxy.