Chapter 48

The Trap

Selene's hand flew to her blaster, but Lucas raised a small device.

"Don't," he warned. "Unless you want me to activate the failsafe.

Selene hesitated. "What fail-safe?"

Lucas smiled. "The one that will kill everyone in those tanks."

Selene's grip on her gun tightened. "You're bluffing."

Lucas cocked his head to one side. "Am I?"

A monitor flickered on, displaying a countdown timer.

One minute.

Selene's heart raced as she realized he wasn't.

Lucas moved closer. "You want to stop me? Fine. But are you ready to sacrifice them to do it?"

Selene clenched her teeth.

Wren whispered, "We can't let him get away.

Dante growled. "But we can't let them die either."

Selene had seconds to decide.

Then she did something Lucas didn't expect.

She shot the control panel.

The Explosion

Sparks flew as the system overloaded. The countdown froze at ten seconds.

Lucas's eyes darkened. "You're a fool."

Selene smirked. "Maybe. But now you can't kill them."

Lucas lunged at her.

Selene barely dodged. The room erupted into chaos. Gunfire. Shouting. Explosions.

Kade took out two guards before going down with a hit to the leg. Wren hacked the system, opening the tanks.

Dante hefted a metal rod and swung it at Lucas hard enough to force him backward.

Selene fired at the rest of the guards, cutting a swath through them.

The experiments spilled from their tanks, stumbling and weak. One of them-a woman with eyes that glowed like embers-looked at Selene.

"Help us," she whispered.

Selene took her hand. "We will."

Narrow Escape

Alarms blared as more Syndicate reinforcements arrived.

Selene’s crew and the freed prisoners ran through the halls, dodging gunfire.

Lucas shouted after them. “You can run, Selene, but you’ll never be free of me!”

Selene ignored him.

They reached the exit. The storm outside raged, but Selene didn’t care.

The Aquila was waiting.

They piled inside, wounded but alive.

As they lifted off, Selene looked back at the burning facility.

This wasn’t over.

Lucas was still out there.

But now, she had something he never expected.

An army.

The Beginning of the End

Back on the Dominion warship, Admiral Orin watched the freed prisoners as they received medical attention.

Selene sat on a crate, exhausted but determined.

Orin approached her. "You did good."

Selene exhaled. "It's not enough."

Orin smirked. "No. But it's a start."

Dante sat beside her. "What now?"

Selene looked at the survivors, then at her crew.

She knew the answer.

"We end this."

Selene stood in the center of the hallway, gun raised, staring at Lucas Raine. The red emergency lights cast sharp shadows against the walls, making the Syndicate soldiers surrounding them look even more menacing.

Lucas smirked. “Did you really think you could sneak onto my ship without me noticing?”

Selene didn’t lower her weapon. “Figured it was worth a shot.”

Dante, Xara, and Kade kept their weapons drawn, but they were outnumbered. Wren stood frozen near the data console, gripping the stolen files like a lifeline.

Lucas took a slow step forward. “I admire your determination, Selene. But this ends now.”

Selene’s mind raced. Fighting was suicide, but surrendering wasn’t an option.

Then she noticed something—above them, in the shadows of the ceiling, a ventilation shaft was partially open. It was a tight squeeze, but it could work.

She made her decision.

“Kade,” she said quietly, eyes locked on Lucas.

Kade understood immediately. He dropped low, grabbed the flash grenade from his belt, and threw it at Lucas’s feet.

Boom!

A bright white light exploded through the hallway. Lucas staggered back, cursing, while the soldiers shouted in confusion.

“Move!” Selene ordered.

Xara fired at the overhead lights, plunging the hall into near darkness. Using the chaos, they sprinted for the ventilation shaft.

Kade hoisted Wren up first, then Xara. Dante climbed after them, and Selene went last.

Just as she reached for the edge, a strong hand grabbed her wrist.

Lucas.

His grip was tight, pulling her back down. “Not this time, Selene.”

Selene twisted, slamming her knee into his ribs. Lucas grunted but didn’t let go.

Above, Dante reached down. “Take my hand!”

Selene yanked hard, using Lucas’s own strength against him. He lost his balance for just a second—long enough for her to break free and grab Dante’s hand.

Dante pulled her up just as Lucas lunged again, but it was too late.

The crew disappeared into the vents.

\---

They crawled through the narrow space, moving fast. Below them, alarms blared. Lucas would send soldiers after them any second.

Wren’s voice was breathless. “Where to now?”

Selene checked the ship’s schematics on her wristpad. “We need to get to the lower hangar. There’s a cargo shuttle we can steal.”

Kade grunted behind her. “I swear, one day we should just buy a ship instead of always stealing one.”

Dante smirked. “Where’s the fun in that?”

Xara rolled her eyes. “Focus.”

They reached a vent opening overlooking the lower hangar.

The cargo shuttle was there—but so were dozens of Syndicate soldiers.

Selene cursed under her breath. “They’re waiting for us.”

Wren pointed toward the fuel lines connected to the docked ships. “If we rupture those, we’ll have a distraction.”

Selene nodded. “Kade, can you make that shot?”

Kade positioned himself, lining up his blaster. “Always.”

He fired.

The laser bolt hit the fuel line, and fire erupted across the hangar. Soldiers dove for cover as explosions rocked the ship.

The crew dropped from the vent, hitting the ground running.

Xara fired at the control panel, keeping the blast doors from sealing. Wren sprinted ahead, getting the shuttle ready.

Lucas’s voice crackled over the speakers. “You think you can run from me?”

Selene growled. “Not running. Winning.”