Kat Evernight's Arc

Chapter 2 of 10

Midnight came. Kat moved across the rooftops toward the east entrance. Her boots touched down on cracked stone. The guard tower stood empty—just like the note said. She tested the window. Locked. Her blade slipped between the frame and sill. Metal scraped. The latch gave. She was in. The room smelled like dust and old paper. Rows of metal filing cabinets lined the walls. Kat pulled out her small flashlight and swept it across the labels. This was the City Hall Annex—a records storage building connected to the fortress by an underground tunnel. The resistance note mentioned it held case files going back twenty years. She moved between the cabinets, reading dates stamped on drawer fronts. Her fingers found the right year and pulled. Inside were folders marked with district numbers and crime codes. She grabbed three that matched the orphanage fire and tucked them under her arm. Footsteps echoed from the hallway outside. Kat killed her light and pressed against the wall. The steps faded. She had what she needed. Back at the window, Kat tucked the files into her jacket and climbed out. The night air hit her face as she pulled herself onto the roof. Inside those folders were witness statements, evidence logs, maybe even names of gang members from back then. One of them would lead her closer to Vex. She crossed the rooftop and jumped to the next building. The first step was done. Now she had to read what the city had buried.