Jerrick angled his head just a fraction, catching a glimpse of the woman trailing behind him from the corner of his eye.
She was swinging her medical case with a lazy gait, her face still twisted into the dark, murderous scowl of someone who had been violently dragged out of bed.
This Panacea was far sharper and infinitely more dangerous than he had initially assessed.
On the surface, she played the part of an unhinged, money-grubbing underground doctor to perfection.
Yet every single move she made was executed with surgical precision.
Backing the ship into a corner where they had no choice but to rely on her.
Forcing him into a position where he had no choice but to take the bait she dropped.
Manufacturing an airtight alibi that allowed them both to stroll straight into the perimeter.
The group came to a halt in front of the massive blast doors.
The ship's security personnel initiated a ridiculously convoluted sequence to unlock the barrier.
The dense steel doors slowly retracted into the walls.
Beyond lay a pitch-black corridor that seemed to stretch into infinity, the reinforced flooring so sterile it practically gleamed.
Jerrick was the first to step inside.
Staring at his broad back, Serena's lips ticked upward.
This watchdog was turning out to be far more useful than she had anticipated.
What followed was a grueling gauntlet of security checkpoints.
The protocols were exponentially more draconian than the ones guarding the medical wing.
As
cleared each blast door, Serena methodically burned the lay routes, and camera blind spots into her memory.
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All the while, her scowl deepened, layering her features in a thick veil of brooding irritation.
Passing through yet another heavy checkpoint.
Serena's impatience finally boiled over. "This corridor is ridiculous. What, is the ship paranoid I'm going to memorize the blueprints?"
Director Kaelen's heart skipped a beat, and he hastily stammered out, "You joke, Your Excellency. The outer perimeter is highly compartmentalized. The labyrinthine design is purely for security purposes."
"Security?" Serena scoffed loudly. "Security is the absolute cheapest commodity on this rust bucket."
Director Kaelen was rendered speechless.
Jerrick didn't miss a beat. "If Miss Panacea is frightened, you can turn back now."
Serena let out a sharp laugh. "Frightened?"
She held up her comms terminal, violently shaking the screen that displayed her newly padded bank balance already pocketed the six million Turning back now would reflect terribly on my professional integrity, wouldn't it? .net
Jerrick's tone was ice. "You possess such a thing?"
"Of course Her eyes crinkled into a smile that radiated absolute zero "My professional integrity dictates that if the cash arrives, I arrive. Since I've already been paid no obligated to see this through."
Director Kaelen's mouth twitched uncontrollably.
That didn't sound like any form of professional ethics he had ever heard of.
But as long as she was willing to fix the machine, he didn't care.
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He offered a sycophantic chuckle. "This is the final checkpoint. We're almost there, Your Excellency. Thank you for your immense patience."
They finally arrived at the last barricade.
The primary bulkhead sealing off the Sanctum Vault's Outer Perimeter.
Director Kaelen hustled forward, pulling out his high-level keycard.
In addition to the eight guards trailing them, four more heavily armed sentries stood
rigidly before the main gate.
The scanning tech here wasn't some flimsy handheld wand.
It was a massive, industrial-grade detection array bolted to a steel terminal.
The stationed guards simultaneously initiated retinal scans.
Standing slightly to the side, Jerrick kept his gaze straight ahead while covertly analyzing the lock mechanisms.
Triple-layered authorization.
Capable of breaching the exterior shell, but heavily restricting access to the inner core.
There was a distinct, isolated circuit wired into the bottom left corner-something that clearly bypassed the ship's standard mainframe.
It pointed to an even higher tier of security clearance.
Attempting a solo infiltration of the perimeter required navigating a brutal gauntlet. Breaching the actual vault interior was suicide.
Jerrick's gaze grew infinitely heavier.
Serena had cataloged it all as well.
She kept her eyes downcast, feigning utter boredom as she let out a loud, lazy
yawn.
Yet beneath her drooping lids, her gaze turned predatory.