Chapter 254: Walking Into The Trap
Shane couldn’t figure out how Lyra had caught on to Kahan’s lie so quickly. Fortunately, Debbie filled him in later.
"It’s simple," she explained. "The ndez family’s been thoroughly subdued by her. They wouldn’t dare pull anything like this."
Apparently, the ndez family had a level-eight superpower nad Jorathon, but he was little more than a minor threat. Lyra had dealt with him with barely a flick of her fingers.
Shane imdiately understood. He’d seen her ruthlessness firsthand; if she let an enemy live, it was only because she could use him or her later.
To prepare for the early-morning handoff, Shane t Kahan for drinks at a temporary bar near the construction site that evening.
They played out a scene of camaraderie, even huddling in a corner to "sche" loudly enough for nearby ears to overhear.
Shane pretended he’d give Kahan access to the map but only if he got a cut of the pay—otherwise, he’d inform Lyra.
Kahan grinned and played along, though secretly he cursed Shane, thinking, ’We can get an Oscar for this. Is all this really necessary?’
However, their staged conversation was overheard by a man sitting at the booth next to them. After leaving so money on his table, the man cast a aningful look back at Shane and Kahan before heading out.
That look gave Shane a chill, but he kept his focus on Kahan, muttering conspiratorially.
Outside, the man lingered by the door, as if waiting to see if Shane would follow. When Shane didn’t co, he finally left, apparently finding nothing suspicious.
anwhile, back at the base, Lyra was discussing the situation with Cohen.
"I checked the immigration system records," she said. "Ramar Kahan’s background is clean. Just an ordinary construction worker, and his superpower barely registers at level one. But this ’contact’ he ntioned is too vague to trace."
Cohen moved his eyes from the immigration system to Lyra on the screen. "You think there’s a larger motive behind this?"
"If it’s minor, it’s targeting . But if it’s major, they’re targeting the Wyrmtrace colony itself."
Cohen rubbed his temples, frowning thoughtfully.
Personally, he suspected that Lyra and his own recent high-profile activities had drawn unwanted attention from military or business competitors. But he also trusted Lyra’s instincts—if her gut was telling her sothing was wrong, he took it seriously. Lyra’s sharp intuition had kept her alive this long.
"Then I’ll oversee things personally tomorrow."
"No, I need you here at the base," Lyra said. "If they’re after a map of the spaceport, then there’s sothing at that spaceport they want access to. But what?"
Cohen’s brow furrowed. "The spaceport’s unfinished. It’s mostly just resources and ships. But if they wanted to block us from escaping—" He broke off, the realization dawning on him.
Lyra pressed her lips together, her expression darkening. They exchanged a glance through the screen, and in an instant, they both understood.
"The star charts," she murmured.
Not just any star charts, but an advanced map of the Wyrmtrace system and surrounding unexplored star domains, a version far more detailed than the one currently used by the Alliance.
Cohen sat up straight, his face tense. "I’ll alert Chuck imdiately. As for tomorrow—Lyra, I’ll need you to go in person."
Lyra nodded. "Understood. And keep things secure here."
He was taken aback. ’Is she...worried about ?’
"Don’t lose those charts," she added, her face set with deadly seriousness. "If Wyrmtrace falls, we’re looking at catastrophic losses."
Cohen sighed. "Right. I should’ve known.
*****
As dawn’s faint light edged across the sky, stars still blinked above, and a cot sliced through the heavens, leaving a fiery trail.
Shane spotted Lyra arriving to oversee the operation, and his first reaction was a flicker of surprise, quickly followed by a gnawing sense of unease. ’Does she not trust ?’
The events with Kahan last night replayed in his mind, and before he could think better of it, he blurted out, "Boss, you have to believe I—"
"Less talk. Let’s move," Lyra interrupted him sharply, wasting no ti.
anwhile, Kahan was already sneaking off, slipping from the workshop into the shadowed street.
Lyra scanned the periter, finding nothing out of the ordinary, then gestured for Shane to follow, keeping a safe distance as they tailed Kahan through the early morning mist.
At the eting spot, Kahan fidgeted nervously, glancing over his shoulder as he waited for his contact.
From the shadows erged a towering man in a black T-shirt and camo pants. Without a word, the man took the map from Kahan, his face unreadable.
But then, in one swift motion, his right arm morphed into a gleaming, razor-sharp blade, slicing down in a blur that left Kahan’s head severed from his shoulders.
"Your job’s done. Rest in peace," he muttered coldly.
Lyra’s heart hamred, and she yanked Shane down behind cover. "Stay low and don’t move," she whispered, her tone steely.
Suddenly, the faint sounds of approaching footsteps reached their ears. Shane squinted out from their cover, his eyes widening as he counted at least two dozen people advancing through the darkness. So positioned themselves on higher ground, aiming deadly-looking weapons in their direction.
"What the—why so many?" Shane hissed. They had walked straight into a carefully laid trap.
This ambush wasn’t for Kahan—it was for THEM.
Just as he finished speaking, the night exploded in a chaotic blaze of superpower energy, bolts of bright light arcing through the air.
High-energy blasts pulsed all around them, each more disorienting than the last.
Shane could feel the chilling energy of a level-nine Peculiar among their attackers; it washed over him in waves, making his head spin.
At only level six, he had no choice but to press himself against the ground, clinging to Lyra’s feet for protection.
A brilliant, glowing shield sprang to life before them, blocking the onslaught.
Their attackers faltered in shock, just as a surge of green energy radiated from behind the shield, slicing through the darkness like a wave of knives.
The quicker ones dodged, but those who didn’t hit the ground in grisly pieces.
Blood spattered through the air, a red mist that left Shane wiping his face, struggling to stay conscious.
"Get ready!" soone shouted.
The few who had evaded the attack spotted tiny, glowing green orbs gathering above them, shimring ominously in the dim light.
If they fell, they’d be wiped out.
A low, nacing "hmph" echoed through the shadows, and suddenly, the starlight above seed to solidify, shifting into a radiant shield that caught the deadly green sparks before they could descend.
It was the work of a level-nine superpower—a master of light manipulation.
Lyra’s eyes narrowed as another attack whistled through the air. Threads of white starlight wove into a net and shot toward her, razor-thin and blindingly fast.
She dodged to the side, but the net shifted with supernatural precision, twisting to follow her. She threw up her own shield in response, but it veered off-course, landing uselessly ten ters away.
"Of course," she muttered, understanding instantly.
They were up against a high-level manipulator with a displacent ability, soone who could throw her powers off their mark.
A realization hit her—the base might also be at risk.
Without hesitation, Lyra summoned Schedar, transforming it into a sleek pair of twin blades that glead in the half-light.
Their attackers closed in, but Lyra moved like a whirlwind, slicing through anyone within range. Even the armored man who had appeared impervious was split cleanly in two before he could react.
Her strength was relentless, a force few could match; even those who held beast-shift powers or brute strength couldn’t withstand her precision and power.
She was an unstoppable storm, and Shane, who had thought he knew her capabilities, was left in awe as she fought, cutting down wave after wave of enemies with lethal efficiency.
Shane finally seized a mont to break away from the chaos, pressing himself into the shadows to catch his breath.
’Good grief,’ he thought, half in awe, ’she’s tearing through these eight level-nine elites like they’re nothing.’
But beneath her calm, deadly precision, Lyra was anything but at ease.
She’d ntally mapped the tiniest flaws in their formation, darting through with ruthless efficiency.
Her weapon morphed seamlessly into full armor, locking around her as she pushed off the ground with stunning force, propelling herself high into the air.
anwhile, atop a nearby high-rise, one of the enemy leaders observed her, his eyes narrowing with cold disdain.
"Thief," he muttered.
With a flick of his fingers, he commanded the starlight above to harden into deadly shards, sending a gleaming cascade of crystalized light hurtling down toward her.
The sky ignited in a blaze, each shard gleaming as it sliced through the air toward her.
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