The garage was too quiet.
Not the kind of quiet that meant safety—
but the kind that waited.
I leaned against the cold concrete pillar, forcing my breathing to slow. The system hovered at the edge of my vision, unstable but present, like a wound that refused to close.
[Monitoring resumed.]
It didn't issue a mission.
That was new.
"He'll come back," I said.
He didn't ask who he was.
"Yes," he replied calmly. "That's why we're not leaving."
I turned to look at him.
"You're sure?"
He nodded once. "If they're correcting variables, they won't tolerate uncertainty. Retreat creates uncertainty."
The system pulsed—faint, irritated.
[Speculative behavior detected.]
"Still listening," I murmured internally.
He caught the direction of my gaze. "It reacts when you talk to it."
"Yes."
"Does it react when I do?"
The question stopped me cold.
"I… don't know."
"Let's find out."
He stepped away from me—deliberately, slowly—breaking the protective proximity the system preferred.
The countdown flickered.
[Caution:]
Anchor distance increasing.]
I felt it instantly. A tightness in my chest, sharp but controlled.
"Come back," I said quietly.
"Not yet."
He raised his voice slightly, just enough to be heard by empty space.
"If someone's watching," he said evenly, "you're late."
The system stuttered.
[Response pending.]
I stared.
It wasn't answering him.
It was recalculating.
A soft sound echoed through the garage.
Footsteps.
Slow. Unhurried.
The executioner emerged from between two parked cars, hands visible, expression composed.
"You learn quickly," he said. "Most don't."
My pulse spiked—but I didn't move.
Not yet.
"Is this another test?" he asked.
The man smiled faintly. "Everything is."
The system flared.
[Engagement authorized.]
"Don't," I warned internally.
It ignored me.
The executioner took another step. "You're not supposed to cooperate," he said to him. "You're the anomaly."
He looked back at me then—really looked.
"And you," he continued, "are the constraint."
Constraint.
Not anchor.
Not host.
Constraint meant limit.
I felt something click into place.
"You need me," I said softly.
The system screamed.
[Violation.]
Pain surged—but stopped short of crippling this time.
I smiled through clenched teeth.
"That's new," I said.
The executioner's eyes narrowed. "Careful."
"No," I replied. "You're careful."
I took one step forward.
The pain intensified—but didn't escalate.
That was the confirmation.
"You can't kill me yet," I said. "Not without breaking your own rules."
The man exhaled slowly.
"She figured it out," he said, almost impressed.
He turned to him. "You weren't supposed to survive past the evaluation phase."
"And yet," he replied coolly, "here we are."
The system flashed violently.
[Conflict detected.]
Priority reassessment in progress.]
"Here's what's going to happen," he continued, voice steady. "You leave. You tell whoever sent you that escalation failed."
The executioner chuckled. "You don't give orders."
"No," he agreed. "But I can offer you a better outcome."
Silence stretched.
"What outcome?" the man asked.
He gestured subtly—toward me.
"You don't report her as unstable," he said. "You report her as compliant."
My breath caught.
"That's a lie," the executioner said.
"Is it?" he countered. "She hasn't died. She hasn't fled. She's still responding to stimuli."
The system hesitated.
Again.
[Compliance probability recalculated.]
The executioner glanced upward, as if listening to something unseen.
Seconds passed.
Then—
"…Interesting," he murmured.
He stepped back.
"This buys you time," he said. "Not safety."
"That's enough," I said.
He met my eyes.
"Use it well, constraint," he replied. "Next time, they won't negotiate."
And then he was gone.
The garage fell silent once more.
The system stabilized—barely.
[Status Update:]
Temporary compliance accepted.]
Monitoring intensity increased.]
I sagged slightly, adrenaline crashing through me.
He was at my side instantly.
"You okay?" he asked.
"Yes," I said. "I think we just won something."
"Time?" he asked.
"Rules," I replied. "We just learned they can't break all of them."
The system flickered weakly.
[Warning:]
Host confidence increasing beyond optimal threshold.]
I laughed softly.
"Get used to it," I thought.
He looked at me, something like grim satisfaction in his eyes.
"So," he said, "what's our next move?"
I met his gaze.
"We stop playing defense," I said.
"We make them react to us."
The system went quiet.
And for the first time—
That silence felt like fear.