Ch 71: The Next Step

Kael moved through the dimly lit streets of Gron with practiced ease, taking an indirect route back to his workshop. He didn't run, didn't rush. That would be stupid. If someone was tracking him, sudden movements would only confirm their suspicions.

Instead, he walked like any other late-night worker heading home after a long shift, his pace steady, his expression neutral. The weight of his bag, filled with the scanner and EMP tracker, pressed against his shoulder. Nothing unusual. Just another technician doing routine maintenance.

But his mind was already racing ahead.

Whoever that was, they were trained.

A random thug or a curious bystander would have either approached him or lost interest. But this person had moved with intent. Silent. Watching. Not making a move yet. That meant one of two things: either they were still assessing him, or they were waiting for reinforcements.

Either way, he had to be ready.

Kael took a detour through an older industrial zone, weaving between stacks of shipping crates and old machinery left to rust. It was one of the less patrolled areas in Gron—half-abandoned, yet still functional enough that people wouldn't question someone passing through.

He reached a narrow alley and pressed himself against the wall, tilting his head just enough to listen.

Footsteps.

Light, measured. Not too close, but not too far either. His pursuer was still following.

Alright then.

Kael pulled a small reflective shard from his pocket, something he always carried for moments like this. Angling it against the corner of the wall, he caught a glimpse of his tail.

A man, clad in dark urban gear, blending well with the night. He wasn't wearing Consortium colors, nor did he have any identifying marks.

That made it worse.

Kael made a decision. He wasn't going to fight—yet. There was no need to escalate unless he was forced to. Instead, he adjusted his route, taking another turn into a side street that connected to a maintenance tunnel he had scouted months ago. If he could break the line of sight for just a few seconds…

He took a sharp left, counted to three, then slipped into a narrow gap between two buildings.

Then he waited.

A few seconds later, his pursuer walked past the entrance of the alley, unaware that Kael was now behind him.

Kael smirked. Too easy.

He resisted the urge to do anything reckless. No need to take this further. He had confirmed someone was watching him. Now it was time to disappear.

By the time he reached his safe house, his modified computer terminal was already running diagnostics. He had set it up before he left, allowing it to process the raw data from his scanner.

It was nothing fancy—just a repurposed industrial data-cruncher that he had patched together with black-market software. It didn't think. It didn't learn. It just followed the scripts Kael had programmed, pulling in raw numbers, filtering out noise, and cross-referencing known infrastructure records.

He plugged in the scanner's storage module and let the system process the new data.

A few minutes later, a detailed energy distribution map appeared on the screen.

And it was worse than he expected.

The energy wasn't just being siphoned into a single facility. It was being redirected to multiple sites across Gron, forming a network that spanned almost the entire city.

Kael frowned. This isn't just a hidden facility. This is an entire infrastructure operating beneath Gron's surface.

And now, someone knew that he was looking.

Kael cracked his fingers and got to work.

First, he compiled a list of locations where the highest energy draws were occurring:

Substation 7 – The largest energy siphon, drawing nearly twice the power of the others. Substation 9 – Close second, with an erratic power signature—almost like it was charging something in intervals. Substation 4 – His test site. A relatively minor draw, but still significant. Substation 8 – The weakest pull, but still noteworthy.

He cross-referenced these locations with old city maps, trying to determine what existed in those areas before modern Gron was built.

That's when he found something interesting.

Before the war, Gron had been home to several underground research facilities, many of which had been either destroyed or abandoned. But according to declassified records, there were at least three sites that were never officially accounted for after the war ended.

Could these hidden facilities still be operational?

If so, it would explain why the energy siphons were so well hidden. Whoever was using these places had built their infrastructure on top of old world ruins.

Kael exhaled slowly. I need to see it for myself.

The Next Move

Kael leaned back, staring at the data. He had two major problems now:

Someone was already watching him, meaning any further investigation would carry serious risk. If the hidden power network was tied to something pre-war, it might not just be Gron's government covering it up. The Consortium, the Bank, or even rogue factions could be involved.

His options?

Option 1: Play it safe.

He could report his findings to Lora, let her decide what to do with the information. But Kael wasn't naive. If Lora didn't already know about this, she would be forced to cover it up—or worse, she might be ordered to make sure he never mentioned it again.

Option 2: Investigate further.

This was the more dangerous path, but also the most rewarding. If he could reach one of these sites and see firsthand what was going on, he could gain leverage—something he could use if things went south.

Kael made his decision.

He wasn't stopping now.

Before shutting down for the night, he decided to check something.

His fingers moved across the keyboard as he accessed his terminal's passive surveillance logs. He had written a simple script that monitored comm channels and data traffic, flagging anything related to energy infrastructure anomalies.

A new result popped up.

A closed communication channel had referenced his alias—The Tinker—twice in the past hour.

And it wasn't local.

It was an encrypted signal from outside Gron.

Kael's eyes narrowed.

Someone far beyond this city had taken notice of him.

And that meant he was already in deeper than he thought.

This version keeps everything grounded while still making Kael's setup feel impressive.