The Nightcrew squad reached the hidden vault beneath Iron Summit just as the lower tunnels began to lock down.
The place didn't look like a normal criminal hideout. It was built like a buried fortress, reinforced walls, layered security gates, hidden cameras, pressure doors, and military, grade scanners mounted into the ceiling. Whoever built this wasn't just hiding stolen information.
They were protecting a weapon.
Renn Varos arrived with Voltron a few moments later, both moving through the shadows like they had already memorized the tunnels. Kairoth was already inside, still undercover, buried somewhere deep in the vault's inner levels.
Deadshot checked his rifle and gave a low whistle. "This is why Kairoth gets paid the big bucks. Man's already in there."
Voltron stepped forward, his massive frame blocking most of the tunnel. "Door breach ready."
Scarlet, Nightcoil, Renn, Shadow, and Deadshot all took position.
Shadow's voice came through comms. "I'm cutting off the Iron Summit escape routes. If anyone runs, they run into me."
Scarlet rolled her shoulders, her double-sided blade folding into her grip. "Good. Then we keep pushing forward."
Voltron lifted one arm toward the vault door.
For one second, everything went still.
Then he fired.
The blast slammed into the giant vault door with enough force to shake the tunnel. Metal screamed. Reinforced locks snapped one after another, and the whole door bent inward before finally tearing free and crashing onto the floor.
"Entry open," Voltron said.
Scarlet moved first.
Nightcoil followed.
Renn came behind them, with Deadshot hanging back just enough to give support fire.
They entered the vault.
The elevator down was waiting at the end of the first chamber, but the second they stepped inside, alarms lit up red across the walls.
Guards opened fire.
Military-grade rifles tore through the air, shots sparking off the elevator frame. Scarlet dragged Nightcoil behind cover as Renn returned fire with controlled bursts.
Then one of the guards hit the elevator lines.
The whole lift lurched.
Nightcoil reacted before thinking. He launched himself forward and tackled one of the guards straight through the open elevator doors and into the shaft.
They fell.
The guard twisted midair, Kia flaring around his body. His strength surged, and he grabbed Nightcoil by the vest, slamming him downward through the empty shaft.
Nightcoil gritted his teeth, trying to wrap his chain around something, anything,
Then Scarlet dropped from above.
She came down like a blade falling through darkness, catching the guard off guard mid-fall. Her strike threw his balance off long enough for Nightcoil to recover. Together, they slammed him into the side of the shaft, knocked him loose, and sent him crashing down into the darkness below.
Nightcoil caught a maintenance rail with his chain and swung himself toward the next platform.
Scarlet landed beside him lightly.
Nightcoil looked over, breathing hard. "That was insane."
Scarlet didn't even look winded. "Keep moving."
They pushed deeper.
Renn and Deadshot caught up moments later, dropping down through the shaft using tactical lines. The lower vault corridors opened into a dark hallway lit only by emergency lights and server glow.
More guards came out of the shadows.
This time, they swarmed.
Renn met them head-on, moving with sharp, brutal precision. He didn't waste movement. Every strike created an opening. Every shot forced the guards back.
Deadshot stayed behind him, rifle raised, firing from angles that shouldn't have been possible. A guard ducked behind a wall, Deadshot bounced a shot off a metal panel and dropped him anyway. Another tried to flank from above, Deadshot fired without even turning fully, catching him mid-step.
Nightcoil stared for half a second. "How do you even see those?"
Deadshot didn't lower his rifle. "Talent."
Scarlet grabbed Nightcoil by the shoulder and pulled him forward. "Admire later."
They broke through the next security layer and reached the data center.
The room was massive.
Rows of glowing servers stretched from floor to ceiling. Holographic streams of stolen information moved across the air like rivers, Guardian routes, IBI identities, Vanguard response windows, tunnel maps, black-market buyer lists. Every secret in the room had a price tag.
And standing near the central console was Cassian Veyr.
His mask was gone now, revealing a sharp face twisted with anger as he worked frantically at the controls.
Scarlet stepped forward.
"Leaving already?"
Cassian turned, eyes narrowing. "You have no idea what you're interfering with."
Before Scarlet could answer, a shadow moved above the servers.
Kairoth stepped out from the upper level, calm and silent, like he had been there the entire time.
"I secured the data," he said.
Cassian froze.
Kairoth looked down at him. "And your buyers."
The entire room shifted.
For the first time, Cassian looked afraid.
Above them, Shadow's voice came through comms.
"Escape routes are locked. Anyone trying to flee Iron Summit is being handled."
Renn entered behind Scarlet, weapon raised.
Deadshot took position near the door.
Nightcoil spun his chain once, eyes locked on Cassian.
Scarlet lifted her blade.
"Vault is ours."
Cassian backed away from the console, but there was nowhere left to run.
The Masked Court's secrets were exposed.
The Pale Envoy's vault had fallen.
And somewhere beyond the data streams, the name Ancient Shade burned across the screen like a warning of something much worse still coming.