Chapter 3 - BLOODLINES AND BETRAYAL"Hand over the coin," Victor commanded, his voice a low, raspy purr that sent shivers down the teenagers' spines.
Jax backed up against the glass window, clutching the coin in his pocket. "We don't know anything! The old man dropped it! Take it!" He held out his shaking hand to throw the coin, but Victor was faster.
With lightning precision, Victor struck Jax across the face with the butt of his pistol, sending him crashing to the wet pavement. Before Leo or the third boy could scream, two heavy non-lethal shock darts slammed into their chests, dropping them instantly into unconsciousness.
Victor leaned over Jax, placing the barrel of his warm pistol directly against the boy's forehead. "My brother never drops anything by accident. That coin is an encryption key to the global vault. Now give it to me, or I'll repaint this alley with your brain."
Suddenly, a high-pitched siren wailed through the night air, accompanied by the blinding glare of red and blue strobes. Two unmarked tactical sedans screeched around the corner, blocking both ends of the street.
"Drop your weapon! Hands where we can see them!" a voice boomed over a megaphone.
Victor didn't flinch. He glanced at the approaching officers with utter disdain. "Amateurs," he muttered.
He grabbed Jax by the collar like a ragdoll, yanking him up as a human shield, and squeezed the trigger of a wrist-mounted device. A localized electromagnetic pulse (EMP) erupted, instantly frying the electronics of the police cruisers, blinding their headlights, and plunging the street into complete pitch-black chaos.
Inside the Black Spire Command Center miles away, Samuel watched the live satellite feed go dark.
"He's got the boy," Cross reported grimly. "And he's heading for the old abandoned naval yard."
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Samuel strapped on a lightweight, military-grade exoskeleton harness designed specifically to attach to his prosthetic leg, amplifying his speed and power tenfold. He checked the magazine of his custom pistol, snapping it into place.
"He took Jax because he knows I'll come for him," Samuel said, his eyes burning with cold rage. "Victor doesn't just want the key. He wants to finish the fight we started twenty years ago."
