The Glitch in the Matrix

At exactly 12:00 AM, the steel door hissed open.

Two bodyguards stepped out first, massive men in dark suits scanning the alley with professional paranoia. They checked the corners. They checked the roof. They glanced at the pile of trash where Ren was hiding but dismissed it as debris.

Then, he stepped out.

Sebastian Vane looked less like a human being and more like a high-definition rendering of a god. He was tall, wearing a white three-piece suit that seemed to repel the filth of the alleyway by sheer force of will. His hair was slicked back, black as oil, and his eyes were a piercing, icy blue that seemed to glow in the gloom.

He lit a cigarette, the flame of the lighter illuminating the sharp angles of his cheekbones. He looked bored. He looked perfect.

* Typical,* Ren thought, his teeth chattering. *The author really overwrote this guy.*

Above them, on the fire escape, a shadow moved.

Ren saw it. The glint of a sniper scope. The subtle shift of a black tactical boot against the metal grating.

The bodyguards didn't see it. They were looking at the street entrance.

Sebastian took a drag of his cigarette, exhaling a plume of smoke that mingled with the rain.

* Now.*

Ren didn't scream. Screaming would get him shot by the bodyguards.

He launched himself from the shadows.

It was a pathetic, desperate lunge. Ren was small and weak, but he had the element of total surprise. He slammed into Sebastian Vane’s midsection, tackling the billionaire with every ounce of strength he possessed.

"Get down!" Ren shrieked.

"What the—" Sebastian began, his voice a smooth baritone even in shock.

Ren dragged them both behind the heavy metal dumpster just as the air split apart.

* BOOM.*

A grenade dropped from the fire escape exploded exactly where Sebastian had been standing. The concussion wave rattled Ren’s teeth. Shrapnel pinged off the metal dumpster like hail. The two bodyguards were thrown backward, disoriented but alive thanks to their Kevlar.

Gunfire erupted from the roof.

Sebastian Vane was pinned in the mud. His pristine white suit was soaking up the filthy water of the alley. He lay there for a split second, blinking, processing the fact that he was currently being spooned by a dirty street urchin.

He shoved Ren off him, his hand instantly going to the custom silver pistol in his shoulder holster. He pinned Ren against the dumpster, the barrel of the gun pressed hard against Ren’s forehead.

Sebastian’s eyes were wide, furious, and confused. "Who sent you?" he roared over the sound of gunfire. "How did you know?"

Ren stared down the barrel of the gun. This was it. The moment of truth. If he stuttered, he died.

Ren gripped Sebastian’s lapels with his muddy hands, staining the white silk. He pulled the Don closer, until their noses were almost touching.

"Black Lotus," Ren whispered.

Sebastian froze. The fury in his eyes vanished, replaced by a shock so profound it looked like fear.

"What did you say?" Sebastian hissed.

"Black Lotus," Ren repeated, his voice steady despite the chaos around them. "The traitor is your CFO. He’s in the car waiting to pick you up. If you get in that limo, it locks and fills with gas."

It was a plot point that wasn't revealed until Volume 3. It was the secret that nearly broke Sebastian’s empire in the original timeline.

Sebastian stared at Ren. The gunfire was slowing down as his bodyguards neutralized the assassins on the roof.

Sebastian looked at the beggar—at the dirt on his face, the hollow cheeks, the eyes that held too much knowledge.

"If you're lying," Sebastian said, his voice deadly quiet, "I will skin you alive."

"If I'm lying," Ren countered, breathless, "you're already dead."