VANE’S POV An hour later, the Apex Boardroom, which resembled a courtroom for the damn gods, but today it looked like an execution chamber.
Nine Elders sat around the circular marble table, wrapped in slate-gray robes.
Holographic streams drifted through the air around them, and their eyes were already fixed on the entrance.
Waiting.
Judging.
Calculating.
Rujin entered first, and heat rippled around him, distorting the projection, and ten feet behind him came Koro with the golden thread of the Thermal Lock pulsed between them.
I took position slightly to Koro’s right, my hand resting on the hilt of my sidearm.
“Don Marks.” Director Vance’s voice echoed through the chamber.
“You’re late.” Rujin pulled out his chair.
“The city hasn’t collapsed yet.” “Sector Seven is close.” “Sector Seven is always closed.” Rujin dismissed him.
Vance’s mouth tightened.
“The distribution logs require authorization.” “They’ll get it.” “When?” “When I decide they do.” A few of the Elders shifted uncomfortably, and Rujin finally sat down, and Koro was left standing in the center of the room beneath every stare, and surprisingly, he did not lower his eyes, and this alone irritated half the Board.
“We are not here to discuss Sector Seven,” Malakor spoke up, and his pale fingers drummed against the marble.
“We’re here to discuss the Asset.” Koro’s gaze shifted toward him, and Malakor pointed.
“The telemetry logs from yesterday are concerning.” “They concern you because?” Rujin raised an eyebrow, and his tone was filled with boredom.
“They show a forty-percent increase in kinetic output.” Rujin shrugged.
“So?” “So?” Malakor leaned forward.
“The Asset neutralized twelve Iron-Class enforcers.” “He survived training,” Rujin smirked “He weaponized your energy.” “He adapted his skills; after all, he is an asset I chose; he is bound to be impressive” “He developed new powers ” Malakor growled.
Rujin took a sip of liquor.
“Congratulations.
You can read reports.” The Councillor’s eyes flashed.
“The Asset is no longer behaving like a cooling rod.” “No.” Rujin smiled faintly.
“He never was.” The room went silent, and Malakor looked as if he’d swallowed poison.
Vance folded his hands.
“Yesterday proved something dangerous.” “It proved my stabilization system works.” Rujin nodded nonchalantly “It proved your Asset is evolving,” Vance added.
“And?” “And assets aren’t supposed to evolve.” Malakor snapped.
Koro laughed, a single short laugh, and every head turned toward him.
“What?” Malakor snapped.
“You keep calling me an asset.” Koros’ eyes swept across the table.
“At least dare to call me a slave.” Several Elders visibly stiffened, and Rujin hid a smile behind his glasses.
“Koro,” I warned, and he ignored me.
“No?” he continued.
“Then maybe call me a weapon.
That’s what you actually mean.” “Silence.” Malakor slammed a palm onto the table.
“You speak when spoken to.” Koro raised an eyebrow.
“And yet you’re still talking.” The temperature dropped several degrees, and I could practically hear Vance grinding his teeth.
I stepped forward before the exchange became fatal.
“Director.” All eyes shifted to me.
“As Commander of the Spire Guard, I supervised the post-combat evaluation.” Vance gestured impatiently.
“Then explain the surge.” “The neural dampeners are functioning normally,” I responded.
“The reports disagree.” Vance insisted “The reports lack context.” I asserted Malakor scoffed.
“Of course they do.” “The kinetic event was a biological reflex,” I stated.
“It flattened twelve trained enforcers.” Malakor pointed out.
“Because twelve trained enforcers attacked him simultaneously.” I shrugged.
“A cooling rod shouldn’t react,” Vance growled.
“A living creature does,” Rujin interjected The Councillor’s stare hardened.
“Your loyalty to the Marks Dynasty clouds your judgment, Commander.” “My loyalty has nothing to do with the data,” I affirmed.
“No?” Malakor smiled.
“Then perhaps you’d like to explain the thermal anomaly on Level Forty-Four.” My pulse kicked once and hard, and I kept my expression neutral.
“The ventilation fluctuation?” “The intruder.” Malakor’s chest rose as he announced.
“There was no intruder,” I responded.
“The logs disagree,” Vance stated.
“The logs recorded a pressure drop,” I explained.
“A Panther-shifter entered the Don’s quarters,” Malakor reported.
“A sensor error, it has happened once or twice.
It has since been rectified.
” “Convenient.” Vance snickered, and he looked like he was about to burst out in anger.
“But damn accurate,” I stated.
Malakor’s smile vanished, and our eyes flashed at each other across the room, neither of us willing to blink first.
Finally, Vance lifted a hand.
“Enough.” The room darkened.
“The Board has already reached its conclusion.” I felt Rujin go still, and that was always s never a good sign.
“What conclusion?” he asked quietly.
“The Asset’s cognitive matrix has become unstable.” Koro snorted.
“I can hear you.” Vance ignored him.
“For the safety of the High Spire, a separation protocol will be enacted.” The room instantly became colder, and Rujin slowly set down his glass.
“Repeat that,” Rujin asked, and his voice dropped dangerously low.
“The Thermal Lock will remain active.” Rujin rose to his feet.
“The.
Last.
Part.” “The Asset will be separated.” Malakor Orange veins ignited beneath Rujin’s skin.”You are proposing my execution.” “No.” Vance pressed a button, and a section of wall opened behind Koro, and a hydraulic system groaned.
A massive glass cylinder rolled into the room, and the moment I saw it, I knew exactly what it was and more so exactly what it would do.
Koro stared at it while Rujin’s eyes blazed, and neither looked impressed.
“What is that?” Koro chuckled.
“The Containment Cell,” Malakor announced.
Rujin laughed, and the sound held no humour.
“You brought a cage.” “We brought a solution.” Malakor insisted.
“You brought a coffin,” Koro smirked.
“The cryogenic gel will stabilize the Asset,” Vance explained.
“It’ll freeze him alive.” I snickered.
“The Thermal Lock will be extended to thirty feet,” Malakor added “No.” Rujin’s voice cracked through the room like a whip.
“I did not authorize this.” Vance met his gaze.”You don’t authorize the Board.” Malakor raised a hand, and four Vanguard guards emerged from the shadows and thermal lances levelled, and were directly at Koro, and his expression darkened, and the golden tether began to vibrate.
“Asset Koro Dew,” Malakor said.
“Step into the cell.” “No,” Koro spoke up.
“I wasn’t asking.” Malakor stood up.
“And I wasn’t negotiating.” Koro brushed him off.
The guards advanced, one step, two.
“Vane.” Rujin’s voice was barely above a whisper.
Drawing my sidearm in one fluid motion, the guards stopped.
Vance stood abruptly.
“Commander Thorne!” I aimed directly at the Containment Cell’s control panel.
“What are you doing?” “Preventing a catastrophic systems failure,” I responded.
Malakor hissed.
“Put that weapon down.” “No.” The word echoed through the chamber.
“If that cryogenic sink activates while synchronized with the Don’s core, this room becomes a freezer.” “You’re bluffing,” Vance whispered.
I smiled.
“Activate it.” Nobody moved.
“Go ahead.” The silence stretched.
“Let’s find out together.” Rujin stood up.
Give me more motivation!