The City of Sovereigns (Part III)

The Price of Trust

Elias Vance had never been this deep in the Commons before.

He pulled his coat tighter as he stepped over a puddle that shimmered with something definitely not water. The air smelled like damp concrete, burnt plastic, and desperation. Above him, neon lights flickered, struggling against the dark. The streets were alive—vendors hawking counterfeit tech, kids weaving through the crowd with sticky fingers, armed men watching from shadowed alleys.

It was chaos. Inefficient. Uncontrolled.

And for the first time in his life, he was a part of it.

He reached the designated meeting point—an old auto-repair shop converted into a hacker den. Screens flickered with encrypted data streams, cables snaked across the floor like veins of some massive cybernetic beast. The place smelled of old machinery and ozone.

And in the center of it all, perched on a cracked leather chair like a queen on a makeshift throne, was Cipher.

She was younger than he expected. Sharp-eyed, wiry, and radiating the kind of confidence that came from knowing she could ruin someone’s life with a few keystrokes.

“Vance,” she drawled, not bothering to stand. “Gotta say, you clean up nice for a guy who just lost everything.”

Predator Meets Prey

Elias forced himself to stay calm. He was used to negotiating with executives, not street hackers who saw him as nothing more than a payday. But he needed her. And she knew it.

“You have something that belongs to me,” he said coolly.

Cipher smirked. “Yeah. A fortune. But let’s be honest—if I took it, you weren’t smart enough to keep it.”

His jaw tightened. She was baiting him. Testing him.

He took a slow breath. “I need back in. You have the skills to make that happen. I’m willing to pay.”

She tilted her head. “Funny. The last time I checked, you were broke.”

Elias reached into his coat and pulled out a small drive. “Not completely.”

Cipher’s eyes flicked to the device, interest flashing for just a second before she masked it with a yawn. “Let me guess. Access keys? Blackmail material? Or are you just here to beg?”

“Information,” Elias said. “Something more valuable than money.”

Cipher rolled her eyes but extended a hand. He hesitated for just a fraction of a second before placing the drive in her palm. Their fingers brushed, and for a brief moment, something electric sparked between them. A charge, unspoken but undeniable.

Cipher’s lips twitched. “Well, well. Didn’t take you for the dangerous type, Vance.”

“Desperation makes us all dangerous.”

She leaned back, spinning the drive between her fingers. “You sure you wanna do this? Trust is expensive around here.”

“I don’t trust you,” Elias admitted. “But I don’t have a choice.”

Cipher’s smirk deepened. “Good answer.”

The Game Begins

She plugged the drive into her rig, eyes scanning the data. For the first time, her cocky façade slipped just a little. Whatever was on there—it was big.

Elias watched her reaction, feeling that same pull again.

Two predators circling.

Two minds calculating.

And, beneath it all, a tension neither could quite ignore.

“Alright, Vance,” Cipher said finally, looking up at him with a gleam of mischief in her eyes. “Let’s play.”