Angelo's chess game had shifted into high gear. His puppet scheme dumped Novaria's vigilante problem squarely into law enforcement's lap, buying him precious time. With the heat temporarily off his back, he and his team could focus on preparing for their next move against GHOST.

  But while Angelo orchestrated his careful deceptions, another battle was brewing—one he didn't even know existed. Miles away across the ocean, different players faced their own deadly complications.

  — Neptunopolis, Capital of Maridian —

  Vienna perched on the edge of a polished table in the cavernous room, a single spotlight cutting through the darkness like a blade. Her cigarette holder dangled from her fingers as she stared into the empty space ahead, reading the shadows like an ancient language.

  The door's groan echoed off distant walls, followed by the soft thud of it closing. Vienna didn't even blink. Three sets of footsteps approached in perfect rhythm. When they stopped, Lector's voice cut through the silence with practiced precision.

  "My Lady, I present Rok Ishimoto, CEO of Humanity Rocks Inc."

  Vienna's eyes drifted toward them like smoke finding air. She studied the man before her—expensive black suit that probably cost more than most people's cars, skin that looked like it had never seen a day of hardship, designer glasses perched on a face that belonged in magazines. His purple hair was twisted into a man-bun so perfect it seemed engineered. But it was his eyes that caught her attention. Dark and calm on the surface, with something hungry lurking underneath. His smile was soft, knowing.

  Beside him stood his assistant—blonde hair cut sharp as a weapon, glasses that reflected the spotlight, features that could have been carved from granite. Everything about her screamed professional efficiency.

  "Leave us." Vienna's command hit the air like a dropped stone.

  Lector bowed smoothly. "Of course, My Lady." He gestured toward the assistant. "This way, please."

  The woman adjusted her glasses without looking at him. "How do you know she meant me too?"

  Lector's smile could have disarmed a bomb. "I know my Lady better than anyone. Shall we?"

  Rok's voice flowed like expensive wine. "It's perfectly fine, Mura. We're guests in their house. Best to remember that."

  Mura bowed slightly. "As you wish." She walked ahead of Lector, their footsteps fading into the darkness.

  Now it was just Vienna and Rok, alone in the spotlight's harsh circle.

  Vienna continued staring at nothing, not bothering to invite him to sit.

  Rok pulled out the other chair anyway, settling into it like he owned the place. His smile never wavered as he looked directly at her, though whether she returned his gaze was anyone's guess. She took a long drag from her cigarette, blowing the smoke sideways before speaking.

  "Impressive power play." She didn't elaborate.

  Rok adjusted his glasses, the lenses catching the light. "Thank you. Wasn't as simple as I'd hoped."

  "Obviously you had reasons beyond forcing this little chat." Vienna's face could have been carved from marble. "We both know you could've arranged this without the theatrics."

  "Let's just say..." Rok examined his empty glass, then looked back at her. "I already consider us partners."

  "You're one of the richest people on the planet. My company doesn't even register on your radar." Her eyes narrowed to dangerous slits. "What. Do. You. Want."

  His smile turned predatory as he rose from his chair. "Vienna..." He tasted her name like fine wine. "No last name?" The false innocence in his voice was thick enough to cut.

  He began circling her table like a shark sensing blood. Vienna remained perfectly still.

  Finally, he leaned down to whisper in her ear. "No, of course not. You were a street rat, scraping food from gutters for most of your childhood."

  Vienna's eyes widened slightly, but she said nothing. Let him show his hand.

  "But you were lucky. One of those natural-born Aurons, awakening your power without any training whatsoever." He gestured grandly as he continued his circle. "A genuine prodigy."

  Vienna looked down, her poker face absolute. She twirled her cigarette holder between her fingers like a baton.

  "Tell me," Rok continued his predatory orbit, "does the army recruit every twelve-year-old in Infernia? Or were you special?"

  She stroked her chin thoughtfully. "Everything you just said is highly classified. How exactly do you know any of this?"

  His smile revealed every sharp tooth. "Oh, my dear Vienna... you have absolutely no idea how much I know."

  "Enlighten me." Her voice could have frozen fire.

  "Gladly." He was behind her again now. "For instance, I know that 'Vienna Beauty' is just a front. A pretty little company that pays the bills for your real organization."

  She went rigid—too rigid. Her mask was starting to crack.

  "You collect people like rare coins. Eyes and ears in every corner of the world." Rok savored each word like expensive chocolate. "Police officers, military commanders, judges, politicians, scientists, intel gatherers, spies..." He chuckled, the sound sharp as breaking glass. "Assassins."

  He finally stopped circling and sat back down, his expression flipping to deadly serious like someone had thrown a switch.

  "All for what?" He laced his fingers together, peering over them like a spider studying its web. "All for one purpose and one purpose alone: to tear down one group that sits so far above humanity's reach. The Enlightened Society."

  The name dropped between them like a nuclear bomb.

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  Vienna's mask of composure exploded into fragments. Her eyes widened in genuine shock as his predatory grin returned full force.

  He pointed at her almost lazily. "You, Vienna, are trying to weaken, dismantle, or completely destroy the Enlightened Society. That's your endgame, isn't it?"

  Her eye twitched. The cigarette holder slipped from her fingers, its soft crack echoing like thunder in the oppressive silence.

  "Quite the imagination you have there." She stood abruptly, her chair scraping against the floor like nails on a chalkboard. "This conversation is over." The finality in her voice could have ended wars.

  She spun around and headed for the exit.

  But then his voice followed her, sweet as poison and twice as deadly: "Tick tock, the biological clock goes... tick tock, tick tock."

  Vienna slowly turned around. Her expression screamed murder, her eyes flashing crimson as she fought to keep her aura from erupting and her hands from wrapping around his throat.

  "What. Do. You. Know?" Each word a murderous whisper.

  Rok's smirk widened as his own eyes began to glow red, matching her fury like twin fires in the darkness. "Enough to know you're running out of time. You need the absolute best minds humanity has to offer if you want to finish that weapon before it's too late." He jerked his thumb toward his chest with complete confidence. "And I'm the man who can deliver them."

  Vienna's murderous expression didn't soften even a fraction. "And in return?"

  His eyes faded back to normal as he examined his perfectly manicured fingernails like they were more interesting than world domination. "Let's just say the Enlightened Society has something I want locked away in their ancient treasure vaults." He looked up at her again, that predatory hunger returning. "And the best way to take it is by force."

  He rose smoothly from his chair and began walking toward her with the casual confidence of a man holding all the cards. "Here's the deal. I provide the brilliant minds to complete your little science project. In return, you promise to leave their vaults untouched when you go on your little crusade."

  Vienna straightened her spine as her eyes returned to normal, her mask of composure sliding back into place like armor. "The Anti-Enlightened Society fights for noble causes. Your demands that we—"

  "Don't feed me that garbage." Rok's voice cut through her words like a blade through silk. "You can't fool me with pretty speeches. I see exactly what you are—someone who weaponizes people's hatred of the ES for your own selfish agenda. Don't underestimate my intelligence network. I know more about you than you think, Vienna."

  Her eyes narrowed to dangerous slits, irritation flashing across her features like lightning. "Fine. I accept your terms."

  "Excellent." He stood smoothly, not bothering to extend his hand for a shake. Instead, he stopped right beside her, close enough that she could feel his presence but not looking in her direction. "Pleasure doing business with you, partner." He began walking toward the exit with the casual stride of someone who'd just won a chess match.

  "Aren't you going to ask for some guarantee that I'll honor our agreement?" Vienna called to the empty air, not bothering to turn around.

  He paused mid-step, that predatory smile spreading across his face like spilled ink. "I don't need to." He glanced back over his shoulder, his eyes gleaming with dangerous knowledge. "We both know that if you betray me, I'll make sure everything you've worked for crumbles to dust. Good day, Miss Vienna. I'll be in touch."

  And with that, he was gone, leaving Vienna standing alone in the middle of the dark room, every muscle in her body coiled like a loaded spring.

  The door creaked open again, and Lector's careful footsteps echoed through the empty space. He stopped at a respectful distance, like someone approaching a caged tiger.

  "My Lady, Mr. Ishimoto has departed the premises." He raised one finger cautiously. "I should mention that while escorting him out, I received some urgent news—"

  He froze mid-sentence when Vienna slowly turned her head over her shoulder. Her eyes blazed crimson like hot coals, radiating pure killing intent. "This better not be something that ruins my day any further."

  Lector's raised finger trembled, his jaw dropping almost comically.

  Vienna's eye twitched at his stunned silence. "WHAT?!"

  Lector cleared his throat, suddenly very interested in his shoes. "One of our research divisions reports that Dr. Garcia has gone rogue. We've... lost all contact with him... and..." His words trailed off as Vienna's crimson aura began rising around her like blood flowing upward.

  With a shriek of pure rage, Vienna spun around. Fire exploded from her hands, transforming into a massive inferno that devoured the entire warehouse around them. Lector threw his arms up, shielding his face from the sudden blast of heat that felt like peering over into a volcano.

  When the flames died down, Vienna's aura flickered and vanished. Still breathing hard, she stormed past Lector toward the exit.

  "Get someone to clean this mess!" she snarled, slamming the door behind her so hard it shook the only remaining wall.

  Lector didn't dare turn around, but jumped when the wall crashed down behind him. Luckily, he'd been standing far enough away to avoid getting crushed under the rubble.

  Thirty minutes later, they sat in their luxury car with tinted windows, cruising along the coastal highway beside the sparkling Maridian Sea. Lector gripped the steering wheel and glanced in the rearview mirror, studying Vienna's reflection. When he decided her murderous mood had cooled to merely dangerous, he spoke up.

  "My Lady, I understand Dr. Garcia's betrayal creates complications. But there is a silver lining."

  Vienna's eyes met his in the mirror. Her arms were crossed tightly, like she was holding herself together by force.

  "The Orion Project has already produced one successful test subject. That's all we ever needed."

  "That's not the point." Vienna's voice was flat as a blade. "Having a rogue scientist running around turning random people into super soldiers is the last thing we need. I suspected he was just using our resources from the beginning."

  Lector studied her sour expression in the mirror. "Is this really just about Dr. Garcia? What happened with Mr. Ishimoto back there?"

  Vienna turned to stare out the window at the moonlight dancing on the waves. She seemed to wrestle with whether to share what was eating at her.

  "He knew." The words came out smaller than anything Lector had ever heard from her.

  "Knew what, My Lady?"

  "He knew about the AES."

  The revelation hit Lector like a punch to the gut. His hands went numb on the steering wheel for a heartbeat before he forced himself to focus on the road.

  Vienna continued like she was confessing a terrible sin. "He knew our goals, our methods, our resources. He knew about my past." Her voice dropped to barely a whisper. "He even knew about... him."

  "But how is that possible?" Lector's mind raced. "We have informants everywhere. Someone would have reported this to us."

  "We barely have any presence in Zhypheria, so that might explain it." Vienna's tone carried grudging respect. "I guess it's true what they say—money really can buy anything."

  "I still find it hard to believe." Lector shook his head. "Who could his source be?"

  Vienna's expression grew thoughtful as her anger slowly transformed into cold calculation. "I've been thinking about it since our conversation ended. Only one possibility comes to mind."

  Lector's eyes widened. "Sol'thanor?"

  Vienna met his gaze in the mirror and nodded slowly. "Exactly. Remember when we got stabbed in the back? Someone else hired Shadoom away from us. I always wondered who had deep enough pockets to make them do something so foolish."

  "...What's our next move, My Lady?"

  Vienna was quiet for a long moment, weighing their options. "For now, we play along. We use his resources and his brilliant minds. Meanwhile, we find a top-tier spy we can trust to investigate that bastard. If he's the one behind that attack..." Her eyes flashed crimson again. "I'll make sure this little power play is the last mistake he ever makes."

  Lector nodded firmly. "And what about Angelo? Should we pull back from hunting him? With Ishimoto's resources, we might not need him anymore."

  "Trevor's little creations are already tailing him. Let them continue their mission." Vienna's voice grew stronger, more determined. "We'll redirect everything else to Outlaw's Oasis' research facility."

  Lector's eyebrows shot up. "That's quite an aggressive strategy, My Lady. Not like your usual careful approach."

  "Like you said, Project Orion worked. We're halfway to our goal." Vienna bit her thumbnail—a rare sign of nervousness. "And much as I hate admitting it, Rok is right about one thing. I'm already thirty eight. Time isn't on my side. But with his help, we might finally get the breakthrough we need." Her voice carried a rare note of steel that Lector almost never heard. "We're close, Lector. So close I can almost taste it."

  "Understood, My Lady. I'll make the arrangements."

  They drove through the night toward a towering building crowned with a glowing 'VIENNA'S BEAUTY' sign that acted like a lighthouse guiding them home.