# ACE 37 — Predictable Damage (Act 4: Distributed Pressure) The hallway didn’t fight them anymore. That was worse. --- Ace slowed as they moved. Not because she had to. Because nothing *forced* her not to. “…I don’t like this,” she muttered. Mai didn’t look up. “You didn’t like it before either.” “Yeah,” Ace said. “That was different.” A beat. “…that was him.” --- Shammy’s gaze drifted ahead. Not focused. Listening. “He’s not gone,” she said. --- Mai nodded once. “No.” A pause. “He just stopped needing to be close.” --- That landed. Harder than anything else so far. --- They reached the junction. Three paths. All clear. All viable. All wrong. --- Ace glanced left. Then right. Then forward. “…okay,” she said slowly. “That’s new.” Mai stepped forward just enough to see all three angles. “Before,” she said, “he constrained outcomes.” A beat. “Now he’s expanding them.” --- Shammy exhaled. The air didn’t settle. It spread. --- “…he’s giving us choices,” she said. --- Ace grimaced. “Yeah,” she said. “That’s worse.” --- A crackle in the comms. Not theirs. Again. --- “Unit 2 reporting—” Static. “…no contact, but—” Cut. --- Mai froze. “Repeat that.” Nothing. --- Ace tapped her own comm. “Say again.” --- Silence. --- Shammy tilted her head slightly. “They’re still talking,” she said. Ace frowned. “We’re not hearing it.” “No,” Shammy replied. “They’re not talking to us.” --- Mai’s eyes narrowed. “…segmented communication,” she said. A beat. “He’s splitting the field.” --- Ace exhaled sharply. “Great.” --- Movement. Left corridor. Not fast. Not hidden. Just— Present. --- Ace shifted toward it immediately. Then stopped. Forced herself to. “…too obvious,” she muttered. --- Mai nodded. “Yes.” A pause. “Which means…” --- “Which means we still check it,” Ace said. --- Shammy didn’t argue. --- They moved left. Not together. Not aligned. --- The corridor narrowed slightly. Lights dimmer. Sound tighter. --- At the far end— A body. --- Ace stopped. “…again.” --- This one wasn’t clean. Not like before. --- He was alive. --- Barely. --- “Don’t—” the man rasped as they approached. “Don’t listen to—” He choked. Coughed. Blood this time. Real. --- Ace crouched beside him. “Easy,” she said. “Who did this?” --- The man’s eyes flicked past her. Behind. --- “…you already know,” he whispered. --- Ace didn’t turn. “…yeah,” she said. “Humor me.” --- His breathing hitched. “You’ll… you’ll go right next,” he said. A pause. “Because this feels like a dead end.” --- Ace didn’t react. Didn’t move. --- Mai did. Just slightly. --- The man smiled. Weak. Broken. Certain. --- “…see?” --- Shammy stepped forward. The air tightened. --- “No,” she said quietly. --- The man’s expression faltered. Just for a second. --- Ace saw it. --- “…you didn’t come up with that,” she said. --- The man blinked. Confused. --- Mai leaned in. “He did,” she said. “Earlier.” A beat. “You’re just following it now.” --- The man’s breathing sped up. Panic. Real this time. --- “I didn’t—” he started. --- “Doesn’t matter,” Ace cut in. --- She stood. Slow. --- “…we’re not finishing it.” --- The man grabbed her sleeve. Desperate. “You have to—” --- Ace pulled free. “Yeah,” she said. “We don’t.” --- They stepped back. Left him there. Alive. Unresolved. --- The corridor held. --- Nothing triggered. --- No shift. No trap. --- Mai exhaled. “…that’s new.” --- Shammy nodded. “Yes.” A pause. “He expected completion.” --- Ace rolled her shoulder. “Yeah,” she said. “Too bad.” --- A faint sound echoed from the other corridor. Right. --- Not movement. Not voice. --- Something else. --- All three of them felt it. --- “…there,” Shammy said. --- Mai’s eyes sharpened. “That’s not the same pattern.” --- Ace didn’t hesitate this time. --- She moved. Right corridor. Fast. Wrong. --- And for the first time since they’d entered— Something reacted immediately. --- The lights flickered. Hard. --- Sound snapped out of sync. --- And the air— Compressed. --- Shammy’s head snapped up. “…no,” she said. --- Mai’s voice cut in. “That’s not him.” --- Ace didn’t slow. --- “…good,” she said. --- “Then it bleeds.”