The waist-high flood gate grinds upward as a surge of black water rushes beneath it, flooding the drainage channel ankle-deep. Behind them, dormant cameras blink awake in sequence, and enforcer equipment thumps through the conduit.
Tess
Legend, through first. Keep low and move before that gate decides to close on us.
Tess splashes toward the opening, one hand braced against the slick wall. Amber lenses pivot overhead, painting the water with thin tracking beams as June drops beside the control housing.
June
I can jam the motor, but the override will broadcast my authorization. Give me a few seconds.
Tess
You have one second, June. The Republic is bringing enough hardware to flatten this whole passage.
June strips a panel from the housing and presses her receiver into the exposed circuitry. The gate shudders halfway open while water climbs around their boots, carrying loose cables against the grating.
June
The cameras have our route. Once I cut the control loop, they will know exactly where we went. Move now.
Reach an unregistered surface access point