Chapter 35

Wren, Xavier, and Gray deploy to the industrial sector to meet smuggler Jasper Reed while Mako, Orin, and Evlynne set sniper positions. Jasper demanded Xavier’s presence, turning Evlynne into overwatch. Inside Jasper’s warehouse, Gray offers council power and immunity for Faithful introductions; Jasper mocks the revolution and refuses, despite Wren’s pragmatic black-market proposal.

Evlynne warns of an incoming Gold Block convoy. Gray orders abort, but Jasper invokes contingency plans and hustles them to an armored van, having Shamus handle destruction. Jasper insists Xavier’s tracker and their tech be discarded to avoid being traced.

They attempt to slip past the convoy, but a truck gives chase. Jasper drives recklessly through a too-narrow gap, scraping the van while Wren and Xavier take cover under gunfire. Behind them, Shamus detonates the warehouse as Command breaches, erasing evidence and slowing pursuit.

After evading capture, Jasper drives deep into the woods, then through a concealed rock-tunnel system Gray suspects is linked to a Faithful camp. Emerging into forest, they follow a gravel path to a hidden community of cabins and firelight.

Jasper reveals the settlement as the Hollow, a secret Faithful enclave near the wards, signaling a critical step toward contact despite his earlier refusal and setting the stage for renewed negotiations from inside Faithful territory.