But she hadn't said a single word.
She had deliberately let him believe the plan was a success. Then, while everyone's guard was down, she used a brand-new pass and an identity completely off their radar... to board Project Zero-Transit before anyone else.
Jerrick's gaze returned to the monitor.
On the left was The Panacea.
On the right was Serena.
They were two completely different faces.
Yet in that moment, the two names slowly began to merge in his mind.
Jerrick's knuckles turned white as he gripped the desk. His normally stoic, grayish- blue eyes finally betrayed a turbulent wave of emotion that he could no longer suppress.
The Panacea...
Was his sister.
The Panacea was actually Serena.
The woman who had casually walked past him time and time again, the one who had verbally sparred with him and secretly coordinated operations alongside him...
It had been Serena all along!
But the first emotion that washed over him wasn't anger at being deceived.
It was a suffocating wave of dread.
A chilling realization crept up his spine, inch by agonizing inch. She had pulled off something so insanely dangerous, right under his nose!
She had boarded the ship behind her family's back, assumed a fake identity, and willingly walked straight into the lion's den of Obsidian Sun.
She had even used herself as bait to set up a massive trap that swallowed both Obsidian Sun and Project Zero-Transit whole.
What if a single step had gone wrong?
What if she hadn't managed to intercept Specimen Fourteen's self-destruct sequence?
What if Obsidian Sun had uncovered her identity ahead of time?
What if... he, The Grinning Wraith, or Joker hadn't been able to back her up flawlessly?
When he had watched The Panacea execute her moves earlier, he only thought the woman was highly capable and undeniably fearless.
But now that the masked operative was actually Serena...
Those near-miss moments morphed into a waking nightmare.
Just thinking about the potential fallout made Jerrick's chest painfully tight. He didn't even dare to follow those dark thoughts to their logical conclusion. Centent
He had originally intended to shield her from all the hidden dangers of the world.
He had promised her to her face that as long as he was around, no one would ever hurt her.
Yet there she was, dancing on a razor's edge time and time again, right in front of him.
And he hadn't recognized her until now.
A cold sweat broke out across Jerrick's back.
In that moment, his overwhelming panic slowly gave way to a profound, delayed sense of relief.
Thank god.
Thank god he had boarded this ship too.
Thank god she was still safe and sound.
"Captain?"
Agent Knight immediately sensed the shift in the room's atmosphere. He had followed Fenris for years and had rarely seen his commanding officer stare at a single file for so long.
rarely kis
And his emotional state was glaringly off.
Glancing at the terminal that was practically cracking under Jerrick's grip, he asked tentatively, "Is there something wrong with the dossier?"
Jerrick's eyelashes fluttered. When he looked up, the turbulent storm in his eyes had already smoothed over into his usual icy detachment.
He relaxed his grip, his expression unreadable. "No."
Agent Knight studied his captain's face for another second.
Really? Nothing?
For a split second just now, he could have sworn the very air around their captain had grown heavy and dangerous.
Jerrick closed the file and locked the screen. "I'll hold onto this data for now. Keep any unverified speculation about this completely off the record."
"Understood." Agent Knight remained suspicious but nodded obediently.
After two seconds of heavy silence, Jerrick spoke again. "Also, starting immediately, I want real-time updates on every single movement The Panacea makes