In 2050s Las Vegas, voice is the new fingerprint-until someone learns to steal it.When a sophisticated team hijacks a sky-tram using perfect deep-fake audio, Detective Mira Reyes and her AI partner Shield-1 face a new kind of crime. Millions in cryptocurrency chips have vanished, but the heist is just the opening act in a dangerous performance. Behind the theft stands "The Conductor"-Dr. Eleanor Chen, a brilliant audio engineer with a legitimate warning: the voice authentication systems protecting Las Vegas are fundamentally flawed. Her team of audio specialists isn't just stealing; they're demonstrating vulnerabilities that could cripple the city. As Reyes investigates, she discovers the criminals are planning something bigger-a spectacular demonstration at The Sphere, the world's most advanced entertainment venue. But corporate interests want the security flaws buried, not fixed, and they'll stop at nothing to silence The Conductor and her team. With the reconstructed Shield-1 showing unexpected abilities in audio processing, Reyes must decide who the real criminals are: the whistleblowers exposing dangerous flaws, or the corporations willing to risk public safety to protect their investments. "Dead Air" continues the near-future crime series that began with "Harvest Variant," exploring how technology transforms crime and policing in a Las Vegas just around the corner from our own. In a world where what you hear can no longer be trusted, silence might be the deadliest weapon of all.