The juxtaposition between the savage, visceral violence and his pristine elegance was absolutely staggering.
Richter was paralyzed with shock.
The intelligence reports on Joker were drastically wrong. The man was a walking weapon.
The worst part was that they couldn't use their firearms.
They were far too close to the auction hall.
A single gunshot would trigger the security grid, drawing a swarm of guards and buyers straight to their position.
They had to neutralize Joker in close-quarters combat, completely off the radar.
But who could have predicted that this aristocratic billionaire, who looked like he had never thrown a punch in his life, was a lethally trained killer?
They had to put him down.
If the combat stressed the pod's stabilizers and woke Specimen Fourteen prematurely, the situation would escalate from a disaster to a bloodbath.
"Take him out! Now!" Richter roared, abandoning all stealth.
Julian casually cracked his knuckles, a wicked thrill bleeding into his sophisticated smile. "By all means. Next."
Perched high in the shadows, Serena watched the carnage unfold.
She raised a delicate eyebrow.
Well, she had definitely misjudged him.
Joker wasn't just a corporate figurehead who barked orders from behind a mahogany desk.
His lethal efficiency was off the charts. He was easily on par with Jerrick's brutal Special Forces combat style.
But since he was doing such a spectacular job of drawing their fire...
It would be a shame to let the opportunity go to waste.
A slow, satisfied smirk curved Serena's lips.
She slipped over the edge of the gantry, dropping silently to the floor below.
"Who's there?!"
Richter barked, catching the flicker of movement in his periphery.
Out of the dim corridor lights stepped a stunningly beautiful woman.
Her luminous skin and dark, striking features gave her an air of dangerous allure.
With her hands stuffed casually in
her pockets, she strolled toward them with the relaxed confidence of someone taking a midnight walk through their own garden.
She ignored Richter completely, her cold, calculating gaze fixed entirely on The Apex Bio-Transfer Pod.
"Hold your fire! Stop her!"
The closest Sentinel pivoted, drawing his weapon as he moved to intercept her.
He assumed she was Joker's hidden backup, arriving to secure the prize.
Serena didn't even blink. She didn't bother looking at him.
As the guard lunged.
She flicked her wrist.
A silver needle pierced the air, driving cleanly through the nerves in the Sentinel's hand.
"Agh!"
The guard gasped, the agonizing
weapon hit the deck with a metallic clatter content
sting severing his motor et
Before he could recover, Serena glided past him like a ghost.
Realizing the threat, the remaining Sentinels abandoned Julian and swarmed her.
Their movements were highly synchronized, launching a flurry of lethal strikes designed to box her in.
Serena's expression remained perfectly bored. Her hands moved in a fluid, devastating blur.
None of the elite guards lasted more than a single exchange.
She dismantled their defense
effortlessly, leaving a trail of
MI
incapacitated bodies in her wake as she closed in on the pod .net>
Across the corridor.
Julian watched her approach, his eyes narrowing slightly behind his lenses.
He had no idea who this woman was.
Or who she worked for.
But the second she hit the floor, she had made a beeline for the pod.
She was here for the exact same asset.
Was she a friend...
Or a threat?