The aircraft didn't go straight to New York.
It couldn't.
The airspace above the city was restricted, layered, and constantly changing.
Instead, Aiden's transport descended at a forward command airfield two hundred miles away, one of several nodes feeding personnel and equipment into the northeastern defense grid.
They were moved off the plane quickly.
No welcome.
No waiting.
Just names checked, equipment verified, and directions shouted over engine noise.
Aiden followed his assigned group into a reinforced hangar that had been converted into a briefing hall.
Inside, the walls were lined with large digital maps.
Every screen showed the same area from different angles.
New York City.
Aiden had seen the city before.
On screens. In documentaries. In simulations.
This was different.
The city on the displays wasn't a skyline. It was a system.
An officer stood at the front, older than most, sleeves rolled up.
He didn't introduce himself.
