the communicator pulsed aga

shed from his face in a fraction of a second, repla

crolled across the holographic projection. He cursed under

ut it requires my immediate tactical oversight," B

al commands into the comms. His voice was a weapon, sharp and unforgiving

tled the glass windo

n camouflage and bearing the crest of the Imper

ed out. He had a pair of stark white Arctic hare e

inted into the boutique an

pped and waiting in orbit," Cale

sive frame towering over her. The ice-blue of his eyes softened j

he said, his voice dropping to

but a small part of her was incredibly relieved. With him gone, she

he limitless black card into her p

commercial district," he ordered. "I wi

ly. He turned to Caleb. His e

ger at his lieutenant's chest. "You protect her with your lif

rs twitching. He recognized the extreme

r!" Cale

retinas. Then, he spun on his heel, marched out the door, and vaulted into the assault

aded. The boutique fell i

ra and offered a tigh

oom. She signaled to a delivery drone outside, loadin

unter and picked up a sleek

d, her retail smile back in place. "Now, I just need to bind this

nst her ribs. The moment she

in her throat. "Can we do this lat

ive, ma'am. The General ordered it done immedia

beam of blue light projected fro

ed them on her new cashmere dress. She had no choice. She slowl

the top layer of her skin, searching for

d passed.

e blue light began to flicker

the machine. "Strange. It's not catc

e held her breath, praying

. This time, the machine di

Beneath it, bold black letters spelled out a fatal diagn

ed at the screen, then slowly looked up at

d detect the neural scarring. To have zero

llegal biological entity. A spy, a

ary training took over instantly. His hand dropped to his waist, h

She took a step away from the

r the marble counter and slammed h

llow security strobe. A silent alarm was immediately dispatched to the district's Capital Sec

had bee