"You have intruders on level three, east corridor," I continued, ignoring the warm trickle of blood now coming from my right ear. "Two more in the main lobby. I've sealed them off, but they're persistent. Meanwhile, Nicolai is being transported to O'Rourke's complex as we speak."
"How do you know that?" Suspicion laced every word.
"Because I've been watching everything," I said, not bothering to hide the electronic distortion creeping into my voice as my abilities flared with my anger. "I've been controlling every system in this building while you were, what? Hiding?"
A sharp intake of breath came through the speaker. "Watch your tone, kid."
"Nicolai will die if we wait," I said, forcing my voice to soften. Not out of respect for Zev, but because I needed him. "You know I'm right. He protected me. Now it's my turn to protect him, but I need those weapons."
The silence stretched, filled only by the static of the connection and the steady drip of my blood onto the console.
"You expect me to arm a teenager? Nicolai would skin me alive."
I was hardly a teenager, but now wasn’t the time to argue that fact.
"Nicolai won't be alive to skin anyone if you don't help me," I countered, my fingers already working on bypassing the armory's security protocols. I could probably hack it myself, but that would take time—time Nicolai didn't have. "I'm not asking for permission, Zev. I'm asking for efficiency."
I could practically hear him grinding his teeth through the intercom. "The boss put you in that panic room for a reason, kid."
"Yes, to keep me safe. I am safe. Nicolai isn't."
The security feed showed Dima moving methodically through the building, taking down another of O'Rourke's men with brutal efficiency. Yuri had secured the kitchen area and was working his way toward the main floor. They were fighting. I needed to fight too.
"Please," I said, hating the crack in my voice but not above using it if it worked. "I can't just sit here and watch. Not when I could help."
Another long pause. Then a sigh that contained a century's worth of resignation.
"Access code is 479-Delta-682-Zulu. You'll need biometric confirmation too."
My lips curved into a grim smile. "Already bypassed that. The code was all I needed."
"Of course you did," Zev muttered. "There are specifications for—"
"I know what I need," I interrupted, already pulling up the armory inventory on a secondary screen. The list made my eyes widen—Nicolai's "storage" would make military contractors envious.
"Thank you," I added, almost as an afterthought.
"Don't thank me yet," Zev replied. "If you get yourself killed, I'll never hear the end of it."
I closed the channel before he could say more, already redirecting my attention to the building's security protocols. I needed to clear paths for our people while keeping O'Rourke's men contained.
My fingers moved with renewed purpose across the keyboard, leaving bloody smears that were becoming harder to see through my increasingly blurred vision.
With each command, I sealed another corridor where enemies lurked, while opening secure pathways for Dima, Yuri, and anyone else loyal to Nicolai.
The system complied, but the effort cost me. Fresh blood flowed from my nose, and spots danced before my eyes. I'd never pushed my abilities this far before, never maintained control over so many systems for so long.
My body was screaming for me to stop, but I couldn't. I wouldn't. Not while Nicolai was out there.
Just as I finished rerouting the security systems, an alert flashed across my primary screen. An encrypted message, coming through on a channel I didn't recognize. I hesitated, then opened it.
The message was brief, its impact disproportionate to its length:Agent Delta: Report status immediately. Aleksandrovich compromise confirms protocol activation. Awaiting confirmation for full deployment.
It was signed with a digital signature I recognized from Nicolai's files—the Director of the Agency of Chaos, the shadowy government organization that gave Nicolai his official sanction to manage paranormal affairs.
My fingers hovered over the keyboard as the implications hit me. The Agency knew Nicolai had been taken. They were ready to deploy resources—probably significant ones—to recover him.
All I had to do was confirm.
