Chapter 87 The Highest Dragon
Chapter 87 The Highest Dragon
Hearing the words "working late tonight," Elijah's firm brow lifted slightly. His genius brain immediately spun the fastest tactical calculation.
Nine o'clock at night was the time he had set to lure the three Red Viper snipers into his death trap. He certainly could not let Elena be near the second-floor showroom window when large-caliber bullets began tearing through the night.
"No working late tonight, my Employer," Elijah cut in with a casual tone yet absolute, undeniable authority. He bent down, propping both hands on Elena's work desk until their faces were only a few centimeters apart.
"My Wall Street client needs emergency help for a server data encryption update downtown at exactly eight tonight. And as your loyal assistant, I must take you home to The Azure apartment at seven, before I go to work."
Elena pursed her lips slightly, trying to protest her poor lover's sweet manipulation tactics.
"But Elijah, Victoria Blackwood's deadline is only one month away—"
"I don't accept arguments, Ángel," Elijah whispered sexily, bringing his lips close to Elena's ear until the woman got goosebumps.
"If you force me to let you stay here alone, I'll use that negotiation method on the gray sofa again like yesterday. The choice is in your hands."
Elena's face instantly flushed perfectly like a ripe tomato. She immediately turned her hot face away, gently pushing Elijah's marble-hard broad chest.
"You're really a bastard, Elijah! Fine, we'll go home at seven! Satisfied?!"
Elijah chuckled lowly, a sexy laugh vibrating in his chest as he straightened his tall body again.
Behind Elena's back, his right hand once again touched his encrypted smartwatch, sending a short text message to Marcus.
\[Marcus, make sure the Rolls-Royce is ready in front of the studio at exactly seven. Pick up Miss Elena and take her directly to The Azure apartment under first-layer perimeter escort. After that, lock all apartment exit access for her safety.\]
Time passed quickly through the thickness of Manhattan's night. Exactly at seven, as per Elijah's absolute command, Elena was safely inside the rear cabin of the black Rolls-Royce Phantom with Marcus driving through the remnants of the snowstorm toward the West Central Park area.
Meanwhile, in the SoHo district, the night darkness felt deeply oppressive around the Elena Vance Atelier building. According to the cyber instructions sent by Apex Sovereign's system, all street lights within a two-block radius of the studio suddenly went out simultaneously, leaving a very silent dimness illuminated only by the reflection of winter snow.
On the roof of a four-story old building directly across from the SoHo studio, three black shadows moved very silently.
The Red Viper team leader had rested their heavy-caliber sniper rifles on sandbag mounts, aiming high-tech thermal telescopic lenses directly at the studio's large teak door.
Through a satellite communication channel directly connected to Mayfair, London, Morgan Valdez's heavy breathing could be heard waiting with intense anxiety and burning vengeance.
"Target spotted!" the lead sniper whispered, his fingers slowly creeping toward the rifle trigger.
"A tall figure in a flannel shirt and denim jacket just stepped out of the SoHo studio's back door. He's walking alone in the middle of the empty street."
Through the telescopic lens, Elijah's tall silhouette appeared walking very calmly, ignoring the fact that a deadly gun muzzle was locked onto his heartbeat.
"Shoot him now!" Morgan Valdez roared from across the ocean, his ego and greed exploding in a new madness.
"Destroy that bastard's head! I want concrete proof that Elena Vance's shield is gone tonight!"
Blam!
The booming sound of a heavy-caliber rifle shattered the SoHo night's silence, sparking a small flash of fire on the rooftop.
The bullet flew at supersonic speed, tearing through snow particles, and struck directly at the tall silhouette's chest in the middle of the street.
However, instead of seeing Elijah's body shattered and bloodied, the snipers' eyes widened perfectly behind their tactical masks. The bullet pierced the target's body, but Elijah's silhouette suddenly shattered into lines of sapphire blue digital encryption codes before vanishing without a trace in the air.
Double-Layer Holo-Cyber Projection.
"W-What the hell?!" the shooter shouted in panic, quickly adjusting his telescopic lens. "That's not a human! It's a holographic projection!"
"Looking for me, gentlemen?" a very low, cold baritone voice, laden with absolute death threats, suddenly echoed from the darkness of the emergency stairwell on the rooftop where they stood.
The three professional assassins jolted violently, their spy nerves screaming hysterically at the detection of high-level danger.
They quickly spun around, but Elijah's figure was already standing upright on the rooftop's snow pile.
The young man was no longer wearing his moss-green flannel shirt; he was now clad in a solid black tactical suit bearing the Apex Sovereign emblem, clearly outlining his marble-hard tall body. His sapphire blue eyes dimmed completely, radiating the intimidating aura of a supreme mastermind whose territory had just been violated.
Before the lead assassin could raise his weapon, Elijah lunged forward at an impossible speed.
His right hand gripped the man's neck with force capable of crushing steel, then slammed the burly body down until the sound of cracking rooftop cement echoed loudly.
Crack!
"Y-You... Elijah... Blackwood?" the Red Viper team leader whispered with the remaining air supply trapped in his throat, staring in terror at the satellite device on the old wooden table, still lit and showing an active connection to London.
Elijah did not reply. He walked slowly, stepping on his assassin's chest, then picked up the satellite device with his long fingers clad in black tactical gloves.
He brought the device close to his marble-hard handsome face, flashing a very cruel and deadly predator's grin.
"Long time no hear your doubt-filled voice, Mr. Morgan Valdez," Elijah said, his deep baritone voice flowing so stiffly yet laden with absolute authority that froze blood through the satellite frequency to the Mayfair office.
In London, Morgan Valdez instantly leaped from his grand chair, the phone in his hand nearly slipping as he heard the voice of the number one supreme ruler who had been locking his fate from afar for a year.
"E-Elijah Blackwood?!" Morgan hissed, his voice trembling violently between disbelief, vengeance, and deep terror.
"You... you really are the highest dragon! Why... why would the sole heir of the number one clan stoop to becoming a hired man for my Elena?"
"Because she is my empress, Morgan," Elijah cut in coldly, his sapphire blue eyes narrowing sharply through the Manhattan night darkness.
"Every trillion in dark funds you send to New York's black market will only become mass funeral tickets for the rest of your Northern European business network tonight."
"Stay rotting in London for the next two and a half years, Morgan. Because if you dare to cross the ocean before Elena's thirtieth birthday... I myself will ensure your name is erased from the human lineage before your feet touch JFK soil."
Elijah crushed the satellite device in one grip of his strong hand, shattering all of Morgan Valdez's hopes in seconds.
He turned around, staring coldly at the three mercenary bodies now sterilized by Apex Sovereign's perimeter team emerging from the shadows.
"Clean this place. Make sure not a single cyber trace remains," Elijah commanded his tactical team before walking away through the returning snowstorm, ready to return to his casual flannel-shirt mode to greet the morning with Elena at The Azure apartment.