Chapter 103: Annex Three
In one open sparring ground, two hunters were trading blows under the supervision of a shouting instructor while a ring of soldiers watched and took notes. Nearby, another section had been converted into a live-fire training lane where military personnel and awakened hunters practiced in mixed teams, gunfire and skill effects flashing in tightly controlled bursts behind energy barriers.
One man with his arm in a sling practiced footwork drills while a dic barked at him not to overextend. A woman with bandages around her ribs sat on the edge of a combat ring, drinking sothing from a tal flask while watching her squad spar without her. Another hunter moved through slow weapon forms with a prosthetic leg, every motion deliberate, every breath asured.
Even the people resting looked like they were recovering with intent.
It was not just a military district.
Jagger stared out the window as they drove through it.
He hated how much he wanted to know more.
"Calm down, or you will be escorted to a holding cell," The driver said, not even bothering to look at him. "Your friend is a high-value asset. Hunters like him have their own protocols. It’s none of your business."
Abdul put a firm hand on Jung’s shoulder. "Let’s not cause a scene," he said quietly. "We are guests in their house. We follow their rules for now."
Nico just looked down at his hands, clenching them tight. "You’re worthy of these hands." He whispered to himself.
"Hey, don’t worry about your friends, they are going to be okay," Chase said, watching his expression in the mirror, and smirked. "And stop trying not to look impressed."
"Sa difference."
Jagger looked back at her. "You people always this cheerful?"
Jace slowed the Humvee as they passed another training field. A squad of hunters in partial armor was running coordinated breach drills with military support teams, smoke grenades popping in controlled bursts as commands were shouted across the yard.
"So this is where you keep the strong," he said.
That line sat in the air for a mont.
"I’m not staying."
The Humvee continued down the long central road toward the distant white building, but before they could get anywhere near it, a ground crewman in dark-gray operations gear stepped out from a checkpoint platform and raised a lit signal baton.
The vehicle rolled to a stop in front of a broad, low facility set slightly off the main road. Its exterior was built from black steel and reinforced glass, clean and functional compared to the grandeur of the white structure further ahead. Above its entrance, bold silver lettering marked it clearly:
Personnel moved in and out through sliding security doors. So were new arrivals, still bloodstained and tense. Others wore dical wraps, carrying gear cases or signed forms as they exited toward adjoining paths. Ard guards stood at each side of the entrance, relaxed but unmistakably alert.
"Recovery unit confird. Orders are to transfer the new arrival to Annex Three for intake, and the rest follow basic protocol."
The crewman looked past Jace and directly at him now. "Yes, sir. Standard for all newly secured hunters of interest."
The man either did not notice or did not care. "Please go ahead and park in bay 4."
The sudden quiet made the outside noise feel louder. Training shouts. Distant tal impacts. Footsteps. The low heartbeat of a hidden city built for war.
Ulna got out next, smoothing the front of her jacket with one sharp motion. "Possibly all three."
The air in Sector Zero felt different from the rest of the bunker. Less sterile. More alive. He could hear people fighting, shouting, training, and living. Could feel dozens of eyes flicking toward him, toward the blood on his clothes, toward the unfamiliar face stepping out of a Valkyrie convoy.
Then back toward the Annex.
The ground crewman turned toward the entrance and swiped a card across the secured panel. The doors slid open with a clean chanical hiss, revealing bright white interior lights, a reception checkpoint, ard security, and a corridor branching deeper into the facility.
And Sector Zero began to swallow him.
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