Chapter 61

NO WITNESSES

The rooftop was quiet.

Augustus lifted his wand, the beginnings of a portal forming, until Alexander caught his wrist.

Augustus turned his head, one brow raised.

“Two people below,” Alexander subvocalized across comms. “And the vehicle elevator’s coming back up for some reason.”

Augustus nodded, lowering his hand. “Let me know when it’s time.”

Talia slipped to the edge of the roof without a word, crouching low behind a blocky ventilation unit. She peered down, then her voice came through the comms. “I can see hovertrucks approaching the compound.”

Alexander frowned. She’d timed this down to the second.

Talia glanced back, her face lost in shadow. “This isn’t right. We hit the window exactly. Those trucks should already be inside unloading.”

“Maybe they’re running late,” Annie muttered.

“No.” Augustus’s voice carried his concern. “Operations like this run like clockwork. There’s no reason for them to have a delay. And even if there were, we have to assume it’s suspicious.”

They all shuffled closer to Talia’s position, keeping low. Annie’s boot scuffed hard against the rooftop gravel. She froze. The others turned to stare at her.

“Sorry,” she whispered.

They peered over the edge together. Below, two large hovertrucks approached the checkpoint. They were the blocky, driverless sort, running off pre-programmed pathing and complex automation. A harsh clang split the air as floodlights snapped on, bathing the entire compound in a white glare. Alexander felt the stirrings of movement ripple throughout the nearby barracks. Dozens of the mercenaries were already awake, geared up, and now filing outside.

Within seconds they looked less like a private army and more like soldiers at parade rest.

Alexander felt worry in his gut. “Something is not going according to plan here.”

“Agreed,” Talia said quietly. “Even if we go now, odds are the gateway isn’t open with the trucks just arriving.” She paused, then added, “Look, behind them. It’s a convoy.”

Alexander could see them now. They were the sleek but subtly armored kind of hovercars reserved for the supremely wealthy.

Below, mercenaries cracked open heavy cases, releasing small surveillance drones that buzzed as they took off.

Alexander quickly reached out with Technopathy, commanding the machines to register nothing unusual. To blur any sighting of them on the rooftop. He gave the team a quick thumbs-up, letting them know it was under control.

Then the garage doors of the building they hid atop rumbled open.

The convoy reached the checkpoint. Mercenaries swept everything with professional efficiency, running scanners under the cars, while others questioned the drivers in the VIP hovercars. When the process ended, the convoy rolled through. The trucks eased into the hangar directly beneath them, settling onto the vehicle elevator. The hovercars pulled into the compound, moving into a semicircle formation before coming to a stop.

Bodyguards spilled out of the vehicles. They wore expensive suits with dark glasses despite the hour, and Alexander could feel their concealed weapons. Their movements were sharp and efficient, spreading across the compound in practiced formation, checking corners and establishing a perimeter with the ease of men who did it every day.

A pair of caped figures followed, stepping out of the second hovercar. Their armored suits gleamed under the floodlights, masks protecting their identities. Superheroes. They moved to flank the central vehicle like sentinels, sweeping the area one more time, before one reached for the door.

The first to exit was yet another superhero, though his appearance defied explanation. The man wore a bright Hawaiian shirt, shorts, and flip-flops. To round it off, he had a pair of sunglasses sitting low on his nose. He stood blocking the way for a long moment, taking the time to perform one last sweep, as if the mercenaries, bodyguards, and his colleagues might have missed something.

Then he stepped aside.

A distinguished older gentleman stepped out, dressed in a designer suit fitted to a well-built frame, despite the advanced years. Salt-and-pepper hair combed immaculately, with a short beard framing a mouth set with authority. Eyes sharp and piercing, looking over everything with judgement. He adjusted his jacket with a casual tug, taking the time to evaluate the compound as if everything had been staged for his inspection.

Talia stiffened. “Holy shit,” she hissed. “That’s him. That’s Gabriel Santiago, the CEO of Santiago Systems.”

The rest of the team stilled, watching in silence. The elevator beneath them groaned as it began its descent.

Santiago shook hands with a scarred man who looked every bit the mercenary commander.

Alexander eased his drone higher, tilting it to capture the scene below. “It changes nothing,” he murmured. “We stick to the plan. Talia, how long after the elevator hits the bottom before we move?”

She ran the numbers aloud. “The trucks will take about fifteen seconds to reach the gateway. For the super to open the portal? Could be seconds, could be a full minute. There’s no way to know.”

“Guess,” Alexander said. “Your worst will be better than my best.”

She exhaled. “Twenty seconds.”

“Then we move forty after the elevator reaches the bottom.”

They all nodded.

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He sensed the elevator coming to a stop below as murmurs rippled through the mercenaries formation.

The drone relayed audio across their channel. Santiago’s voice rang out, firm and practiced. “I want you all to know that we at Santiago Systems deeply appreciate your efforts in protecting our facility. Due to an unforeseen incident, it has become necessary to shut the operation down, effective immediately.”

Santiago continued with the slow cadence of someone who knew all eyes were on him. “I am here personally to take possession of our prized subject, and to ensure its safe transfer to another site. Consider this the end of a long assignment.” He smiled. “At least you won’t have to freeze on this mountain anymore. Perhaps we shall arrange for your next posting to be on a beach.”

Laughter and a few cheers rose from the assembled mercenaries.

“Commander,” Santiago said, turning back to the scarred man, “escort me down. I want to see it before it’s moved.”

His bodyguards fell in around him. A group of mercenaries moved with them, establishing a protective ring.

He turned to the team. “Form up. Auggy, it’s time.”

Augustus grinned, spun the wand, and slashed down. The portal opened beneath them.

They dropped through.

The elevator shaft swallowed them in a rush of air and shouts of alarm from both inside the building and out among the compound, the sudden appearance of Grimnir not going unnoticed.

They fell fast, Annie breathing sharply but in line with Augustus’s earlier advice. Alexander gripped the steel threads of their suits, waiting.

Above them, the Hawaiian-shirted superhero flew down the elevator shaft after them, light emanating from his eyes, feet, and hands.

Seconds from becoming paste, Alexander arrested their fall hard, jarring every muscle, drawing grunts and groans, then instantly dropping them the last few feet.

“Move!” Augustus shouted.

They obeyed, dashing from the elevator at full speed.

Alexander reached back with his mind, commanding the elevator to rise, disengaging the locking mechanisms keeping it in place. Then, with a second thought, hurled the heavy steel frame upwards with every bit of force he could muster, hoping to block pursuit.

The gateway chamber stretched before them. At the far end, trucks sat with ramps open, the glowing portal showing a view of the storage room beyond.

Metal shrieked behind them, followed by an explosion that sent molten steel raining down the elevator shaft.

Augustus snapped another portal into existence ahead of them; Annie leapt through, followed by Talia and Augustus, with Alexander going last.

A superhuman in the loading bay froze, staring in shock as they appeared between the trucks and his gateway. His hand lifted, likely intending to shut it down. But Talia’s hand snapped out, sending a hidden blade spinning end over end. It passed over his head, but the man flinched and hit the floor, instincts betraying him.

Behind them, the tunnel lit up with flashes of light. Alexander turned his head just enough to see the figure hurtling toward them, streams of light now pouring from his back and shoulders like jet trails, each burst propelling him faster. He skimmed inches above the ground, growing brighter as he closed the distance.

Annie bolted through the gateway. Talia followed right on her heels. Augustus lingered half a step, wand angled to attack, making sure that Alexander wasn’t falling behind.

Alexander reached for the two hovertrucks parked in front of the gateway while he ran. With a grunt, he lifted them from the ground, and shoved them back down the tunnel. They didn’t fly far before dropping back down, sparks spraying everywhere as they continued to slide.

The streams of light bent and wove, the hero veering sharply to avoid the collision, but also breaking his forward momentum.

It would buy them only seconds, but hopefully that was all they needed.

Augustus and Alexander passed through the portal.

The world flipped, then righted itself, spitting them out.

On the other side, Annie stood ready. One hand morphed into a thick spike, while the other grew into an oversized hammer, raised high over her head.

Talia pointed at a section of the archway. “There, it’s a structural weak point.”

Annie brought the hammer down with a shout. The blow landed with a crack, sending fractures webbing out from the impact point.

Light bloomed from the gateway as the superhero pushed himself to reach it in time. The photonic streams had grown larger, bursting out from behind the man as he snarled in the effort to reach them.

Augustus blasted the same spot with raw force. Alexander reached out, gripping the section they were attacking, and twisted.

The whole construct shuddered. Annie roared and brought the hammer down again. The blow rang out like thunder, and the weakened section of the anchor point gave, shattering under their combined forces.

The gateway imploded, light folding inward until it vanished with a final snap, leaving only their heavy breathing.

Their pursuer, and the rest of the force on the other side of the gateway, were stuck there, with no way to follow.

Gabriel Santiago’s hands shook.

The gateway was gone, ripped apart before his eyes, and the chamber felt emptier for it. The two trucks lay overturned, sparks spitting weakly from their undercarriages where Rooke had tossed them aside. His jaw clenched until his teeth ground together. Rage burned through his chest so hot he could barely breathe.

He turned in a slow circle, taking in the chamber, the mercenaries arrayed in neat formation, his private guards standing rigid at the perimeter, and the caped figures in gleaming armor holding their posts. The light-wreathed sentinel at his shoulder radiated a faint hum of restrained power, waiting for a command.

Then his eyes landed on the scarred mercenary commander.

“You,” Gabriel spat. His voice cracked like a whip. “You let this happen.”

The commander stiffened but held his ground. “Sir, we couldn’t have known—”

The words only stoked the fire. Gabriel surged forward, seizing the man by the throat with one hand. He lifted him effortlessly, boots scraping against the concrete as his fingers locked down.

“You couldn’t have known?” His voice rose to a roar, echoing in the chamber. “You incompetent bastard! Have you any idea of what just happened? Do you have any idea what they’ve already taken from me?” He shook the man violently, spittle flying from his lips as he raged. “Do you know what was in there? The accomplishment of the century! The breakthrough of a thousand lifetimes!”

The commander’s face darkened, veins bulging as he clawed at Santiago’s wrist. His mouth opened, no sound escaping, foam beginning to gather at the corners of his lips. Still Gabriel raged, words spilling like venom.

“My money, my resources, my genius, all squandered because you couldn’t stop a handful of petty villains! Do you understand what your incompetence has cost me?!”

With a crack, the body went limp.

Silence swept the room.

Gabriel’s breaths came hard and ragged, echoing in the stillness. He stared at the corpse dangling from his grip, at the slack jaw and the whites of the eyes. His fury receded in an instant, leaving only the weight of frustration behind. With a long exhale, he tossed the body aside, the dead man landing in a broken heap.

“Trash,” Gabriel muttered.

He turned back to where the gateway should stand, the frame on this side still perfect. His reflection in the metal looked older than it had that morning, lines carved deep by stress. For a moment, he let the silence linger, then smoothed his beard with careful fingers.

“Well,” he said finally, voice low but steady. “The good doctor can surely handle a few upstart would-be heroes.”

He pivoted sharply, his gaze locking on the casually dressed sentinel of light. “Radiant,” Gabriel said, his voice crisp again. “It’s such a pity that by the time we arrived, Grimnir had already slaughtered the entire mercenary contingent. Their heroes included.”

The hero inclined his head once. Blinding light flared across his body as he stepped forward, every movement deliberately threatening. His glow spread, filling the chamber with a white brilliance that seared the eyes, washing over the rows of mercenaries frozen in sudden dread.

Their last seconds were filled with dawning realization.