The night air was damp, carrying the scent of rusted metal and wet concrete.
Elias adjusted the black hoodie over his head as he slipped through the broken fence. Briggs followed, one hand on the grip of his pistol, eyes sharp.
"You sure about this?" Briggs muttered, stepping over a pile of rotted newspapers.
Elias nodded. "If we're going to rip Kane down, we need information pipelines. Hidden ones."
That's where Glitch came in.
---
Character Spotlight: Glitch
Name: Madison "Glitch" Reyes
Age: 24
Profession: Hacker / Information Broker
Appearance: Petite frame, tan skin, vivid teal-dyed hair, brown eyes that flickered with mischief, round glasses slipping down her nose.
Flaws: Overconfident, sarcastic to a fault, low patience for 'boomer tech.'
Attitude: Playful but razor-sharp when it counts.
---
Under the skeletal remnants of an old commuter train, Glitch crouched by a cluster of exposed wires, her laptop balanced precariously on a crate.
"Took you long enough," she said without looking up. "I've already fried two drones and crashed a city camera. You're welcome, by the way."
Briggs scowled. "Is she always this mouthy?"
Elias smirked. "You get used to it."
Glitch finished tapping away and pulled a USB from the laptop like it was a magic wand.
"Boom. Encrypted network set up. Now you two grandpas can call, text, send memes — all off the city grid. Untouchable."
Briggs raised an eyebrow. "Send memes?"
Glitch grinned. "Just wait. Your life's about to get weird."
---
With their private communication system up, Elias outlined the next phase:
Find the money trail supporting Kane's empire.
Expose the dirty politicians and businessmen in his pocket.
Hit Kane where it hurt most — his influence.
The team was growing — Sophia, Callum, Briggs, and Glitch.
Each brought skills Elias could never have built alone.
The rewards from the watch — physical strength, keen intuition, advanced memory recall — weren't just stats anymore.
They were helping him see connections others missed, predict movements, and stay ahead of the game.
But with each task completed, each reward unlocked, Elias noticed something unsettling:
The watch occasionally glitched — blinking symbols he didn't understand, flashing eerie countdowns at midnight, whispering fragmented words into his dreams.
Was the watch helping him... or preparing him for something worse?
--
"Hey, Briggs!" Glitch called out as they walked back through the tunnels.
"You got TikTok?"
Briggs glared at her like she'd grown a second head.
"I don't even know what a TikTok is."
Glitch burst out laughing. "Oh man, this is gonna be fun."
Briggs just muttered darkly under his breath, trudging forward like a man whose fate was far worse than any crime lord — teen tech culture.
---