CHAPTER 2 — The First Three Seconds That Broke Every Rule
The prison yard had never been this crowded.
Even inmates who hated Marcus came.
Not because they liked him.
Because nobody wanted to miss watching Rex destroy someone in front of hundreds of witnesses.
Marcus sat in a steel chair overlooking the arena like a king watching gladiators.
Stacks of betting slips covered the table beside him.
His smile grew wider every minute.
"This is going to be my biggest payday."
Then Kate walked into the ring.
Silence spread strangely through the crowd.
She looked almost too calm.
No shaking hands.
No nervous breathing.
No terrified expression.
Just steady footsteps.
Rex laughed so loudly the crowd joined him.
"You weigh what? Fifty kilos?"
He flexed his enormous arms.
"I'll try not to break all your bones."
More laughter.
Marcus raised one hand.
"Start."
Rex exploded forward.
His first punch could knock unconscious almost anyone inside the prison.
It never landed.
Kate disappeared.
Not backward.
Forward.
She stepped inside his reach before anyone realized she had moved.
Her hand struck his elbow.
A dull crack echoed.
Rex's entire arm instantly lost strength.
Before he could react—
Another strike.
His knee buckled.
Then—
A third.
His massive body crashed onto one knee.
The entire prison froze.
Nobody understood what had happened.
Three seconds.
That was all it took.
Rex looked horrified.
His arm wasn't broken.
But it refused to move.
Kate stepped back.
"I don't want to hurt you."
The crowd erupted.
"No way!"
"Impossible!"
"He slipped!"
Marcus jumped to his feet.
"No."
His face turned pale.
That wasn't luck.
That was training.
Professional training.
The kind ordinary people never learned.
Rex roared with humiliation.
He ignored the pain.
Charging again with blind rage.
This time he attacked with everything he had.
Punches.
Kicks.
Shoulder tackles.
Kate avoided every attack with movements so efficient they almost looked effortless.
She wasted nothing.
No unnecessary motion.
No panic.
No anger.
Only precision.
Several older inmates slowly stopped cheering.
One whispered...
"Military?"
Another shook his head.
"No."
"Special forces."
Marcus's heartbeat accelerated.
For the first time in years...
He felt fear.
Because he realized something horrifying.
Nobody this skilled ends up in prison by accident.
Meanwhile...
Hidden behind the second-floor observation window...
A prison warden lowered his binoculars.
Standing beside him was a man in a dark government suit.
The visitor quietly asked,
"Is she fighting?"
The warden nodded.
The man's face turned white.
"Oh no..."
"You were supposed to keep her isolated."
The warden looked confused.
"Who exactly is she?"
The visitor stared at Kate without blinking.
May you like
Then whispered six words that changed everything.
"She's the woman who disappeared Operation Black Falcon."
:::
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