Arthur yanks the twitching splice lead from the maintenance rail. The hidden panel in the wall unlocks with a hard click, then slides aside and spills a cramped crawlspace into view.
Mara Venn is there, half-folded in the ductwork, white-knuckled around a handheld diagnostic tool. Her eyes go wide at the sudden exposure, and the amber audit warning burns on the console beside Abby.
Mara Venn
Wait, don’t. I was trying to keep it away from V’s reach.
Mara Venn
I never touched your data. I only watched the system, when I saw the command trail start moving.
The partial identity field on the console is still open, and the trail points back through executive access.
Arthur shifts in front of Abby, wary and tense, while Mara stays frozen in the crawlspace, breathing fast and gripping the diagnostic tool like it might keep her hidden.
✓ Quest Accepted
Obtain the critical access code to bypass V
“Demand that Mara hand over the diagnostic tool to help me trace V.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled -1)
Abby Stone
Hand me the diagnostic tool. I use it to trace V.
Mara Venn
...If I do that, you see the same buried routes I saw. You understand?
Mara loosens her grip and extends the tool through the crawlspace opening. Arthur eases back a fraction, still watching her hands.
Mara Venn
The trail keeps folding through executive clearance. It is not just hidden, it is curated.
The amber warning keeps pulsing on the console, but the partial identity field sharpens one notch as Abby gets the device.
Mara Venn
V never leaves a clean signature. They leave people like me to notice the dirt.
Arthur glances from the tool to Mara, his guarded posture easing into grim concentration as the three of them lean over the same secret.
+ New Item Acquired
diagnostic tool
“I trace the hidden routes for V's signature”
SUCCESS (Great Hacking, rolled +0)
The diagnostic tool blooms a map of nested routes across the console, and Abby’s trace snaps through them with brutal clarity.
For a moment, the screen strips away the dead ends and shows one clean corridor, executive clearance keys stacked behind a masked identity field marked V.
Abby Stone
The route is real. It is hiding in clearance layers, not the local logs.
Mara Venn
See? That is what I meant. The code is not sitting on the surface, it is locked inside the route itself.
Arthur leans closer, jaw tight, while the amber warning keeps pulsing over the newly exposed path.
Mara Venn
If you take the next segment, you can pull the bypass code before V notices the branch.