The neon drenched squalor of the Margin was completely different from the disgusting wealth of the Zenith Spire.

Located at the very center of the Deficit Zone, the Spire was a towering skyscraper of polished obsidian and gold. It hovered hundreds of feet above the smog.

It was the personal estate of Gildas, the Regional Manager of the sector.

"We need his keys," Cassia’s voice murmured softly in Arthur’s earpiece.

"The Regional Reserve isn’t a physical building you can just blow a hole into. It is a conceptual vault. Gildas carries the foundational access codes on his person at all times."

"We get the codes, we open the backdoor."

"And if he catches us?" Vane’s gruff voice chimed in over the comms.

"Then the stay of execution is voided, and we get erased," Arthur replied smoothly.

"Stick to the plan, Vane. Try not to trip over your own self righteousness."

Arthur Sterling stepped out of the grav lift and into the grand ballroom of the Zenith Spire.

He did not look like the mud stained brawler from the alleyway. He was in his element.

He wore a flawlessly tailored pitch black suit. He had procured it through the last remaining favor he could squeeze out of his frozen system.

He walked with the confident grace of a billionaire inspecting a new acquisition.

Beside him, Cassia was a vision of lethal elegance.

She wore a stunning backless crimson evening gown that clung perfectly to her athletic frame.

The dress was strategically designed to hide the dozens of throwing knives and localized emp charges strapped to her thighs.

She looped her arm casually through his.

Her silver eyes scanned the room.

The gala was disgusting.

Hundreds of bloated corrupt minor deities, cartel bosses, and celestial bureaucrats mingled under floating chandeliers of pure divine crystal.

They sipped wine that cost more Merit Points than a slum dweller would see in a lifetime.

"Why did you leave the Audit department?"

Arthur asked quietly.

He kept his voice perfectly level as he picked up two glasses of champagne from a passing servant construct. He handed one to Cassia.

"Same reason you are currently wearing a target on your back, suit," Cassia smiled.

She clinked her glass against his.

"I looked at the corporate structure of the universe and realized the bosses were stealing from the till. I decided I wanted a cut."

"Why are you slumming it down here? You clearly used to sit in a very high chair."

"I took out a bad loan," Arthur said, taking a sip. "I intend to balance the books tonight."

"System," Arthur muttered under his breath.

"Activate the Cosmic Ledger."

[Ding!]

[Cosmic Ledger Online. Analyzing local economic flow.]

Arthur’s vision shifted. The opulent ballroom dissolved into a matrix of glowing numbers and data streams.

He was not looking at people anymore. He was looking at net worth.

He scanned the crowd, completely ignoring the petty millions hovering over the cartel bosses.

His eyes locked onto a massively obese four armed entity. The creature was draped in gaudy purple silks and stood near the center of the room.

Hovering above the creature’s head was a terrifyingly dense cluster of encrypted data.

"Target acquired," Arthur whispered. "Gildas is by the ice sculpture. Three o’clock."

"I see him," Cassia murmured. Her grip tightened slightly on his arm. "He is flanked by two elite guards. We need to split his attention."

"Vane," Arthur commanded over the comms.

"You are up. Give me some noise."

Down in the smog choked streets below the Spire, Vane stood in the shadows of an alleyway.

The scarred frontiersman gritted his teeth. He absolutely hated this underhanded corporate espionage. But he knew the stakes.

"Copy," Vane grunted.

He did not hold back. Vane stepped out of the alley and raised his massive broadsword.

He channeled every ounce of his raw kinetic energy into the blade.

"KRAA-THOOM!"

Vane slammed the sword directly into the primary anti gravity generator supporting the Spire’s outer landing pads.

The explosion was deafening.

The entire skyscraper violently shuddered. It sent crystal glasses crashing to the marble floor in the ballroom above.

"Security breach on the lower decks!" a synthesized voice blared over the gala’s intercoms.

Panic erupted. The pampered nobles shrieked and scrambled toward the center of the room.

Gildas whipped his bloated head toward the grand windows.

"What is the meaning of this?! Guards, get down there and secure the perimeter!"

The two elite guards flanking him immediately broke away. They sprinted toward the exits.

"Now," Arthur said.

They moved with perfect timing.

They did not run. They glided through the panicking crowd like sharks through a school of terrified fish.

Cassia approached Gildas from the left.

She expertly stumbled and spilled the entirety of her champagne directly onto the Manager’s expensive silk robes.

"Oh! My deepest apologies, My Lord!" Cassia gasped.

She played the part of a terrified clumsy socialite perfectly. She frantically began dabbing at his chest with a silk napkin, her hands moving in a blur.

"Get off me, you clumsy bitch!" Gildas roared. He raised one of his four arms to strike her.

He never completed the motion.

Arthur stepped in from the right. He smoothly caught Gildas’s raised wrist in a vice like grip.

"Is there a problem here, Manager?" Arthur asked. His pitch black eyes locked directly onto the entity’s face.

Gildas froze. He was caught off guard by the sheer imposing physical density of the man holding his arm.

In that single perfectly planned second of distraction, Arthur’s left hand slipped easily into the spatial pocket hidden within the folds of Gildas’s robes.

His fingers brushed against a cold geometric crystal. The access codes.

Arthur palmed the crystal. He quietly slid it up his sleeve as he released Gildas’s wrist.

"My companion is just a bit shaken by the explosion," Arthur said smoothly. He offered a cold polite smile. "We will be leaving now."

"See that you do," Gildas sneered. He brushed the champagne off his ruined silk.

Arthur and Cassia turned and walked away.

Their strides were measured and calm.

As soon as they were out of earshot, Cassia glanced at him. Her silver eyes were bright with adrenaline.

"Tell me you got it," she whispered.

Arthur did not say a word. He just subtly opened his hand.

He revealed the glowing carved access crystal resting in his palm.

A highly charged look passed between them. It was the thrill of the heist and the chemistry of two top predators executing a perfect maneuver.

Cassia let out a soft genuine laugh and shook her head.

"You are terrifyingly good at this, suit."

"I protect my investments, Cassia," Arthur replied. His dark eyes lingered on her face for a second longer than necessary.

"Wait," a booming voice echoed across the ballroom.

Arthur and Cassia stopped dead in their tracks.

Gildas was staring at them.

The fat Manager’s eyes had narrowed. His sluggish brain finally processed the familiar lethal grace of the woman who had just bumped into him.

"You," Gildas pointed a trembling fat finger at Cassia. "I know you! You are the rogue Auditor! Security! Seal the doors!"

"CRACK!"

Massive reinforced titanium shutters violently slammed down over the grand windows and the exit doors.

The ballroom was instantly locked down.

Red emergency lights bathed the panicked crowd in a sinister glow.

"Well," Arthur sighed. He dropped the polite facade entirely. "So much for the quiet exit."