Chapter 1544
[ 667 words ]
Officer Gabriel clearly wasn’t the type to waste time on false modesty.
He was openly envious of Claire’s bodyguards. Their lethal efficiency and tactical awareness were far beyond that of standard operatives.
Even elite military veterans like his squad couldn’t match their sheer lethal speed.
If someone had told him earlier that old-money families bred their own shadow assassins, he would have believed it instantly.
Just watching Rory and Jace operate was proof enough.
“It’s the least we could do,” Claire replied, her tone perfectly humble.
Any Solenian citizen with half a conscience would step up in a situation like this.
The Sundaran syndicate’s motives were clearly catastrophic.
Furthermore, the illegal lab was centered around Dreamweed cultivation-her absolute area of expertise. Since she had the skills to dismantle their operation, she wasn’t going to back down.
The heavy blast doors groaned open, and Officer Gabriel pushed in first, rifle raised.
Once he signaled the room was clear of hostiles and booby traps, Claire and Dane stepped inside.
Rory and Jace instantly flanked them, moving in perfect synchronization.
They had silently agreed on this formation.
Since Dane had risked his life to stay behind for their Clan Successor, it was their duty to ensure his survival.
While Dane’s own operatives were exceptional, they had been ordered to evacuate the wounded.
Protecting Dane now wasn’t an imposition.
Besides, this man was their Clan Successor’s fiancé… he might very well be the future Lord of the Clan.
Well, ‘Lord’ wasn’t quite the right word.
But the idea of having a breathtakingly handsome, obscenely wealthy, and immensely powerful man standing beside their leader was quite a pleasant thought.
Claire’s taste in men was leaps and bounds better than the previous Clan Successor’s.
Though, to be fair, they shared one trait: they both liked incredibly handsome men.
Rumor had it the previous leader’s partner had been stunning, which was the only reason she had fallen so hard for him.
Tragically, his whereabouts were still unknown.
The former leader had long since accepted that he was dead.
She hadn’t even attempted to search for him in years.
Rory and Jace kept their internal gossip strictly locked away, their faces remaining impassive masks of lethal professionalism.
Claire had no idea what was running through their minds, but she was grateful they were actively guarding Dane.
Dane’s combat skills were infinitely superior to hers, but that didn’t mean he was invincible.
The laboratory interior was far more utilitarian than they had anticipated.
They found rows of skeletal remains the discarded test subjects-along with several vats of refined neurotoxin.
The chemical weapons needed to be incinerated, but the raw data and ledgers had to be preserved.
Once Officer Gabriel confirmed the lab was entirely stable and free of secondary detonators, he ordered everyone to fall back to the main cavern.
Deep in the tunnels, Silas was still relentlessly hunting Kael and Dr. Aris, though the trail had gone cold Meanwhile, Offjoer Miller had barely breached the surface of The Aila Highlands when he collided with a
massive tactical response unit
deployed from Cabinda.
They were elite operatives from National Security, dispatched specifically to extract
Silas.
They had already coordinated with the local border garrisons.
The military had mobilized a heavy support unit to back them up.
The moment Miller stepped out of the tree line, he made contact with the commander.
“Miller, your men…” The commander’s voice trailed off. Did the rest of the squad die in the mountains?
The commander leading the reinforcement battalion was Miller’s direct superior, Colonel Harrison.
Seeing Miller emerge with less than half his original squad, Harrison’s face turned ashen.
Everyone knew The Aila Highlands were a death trap. The environmental hazards alone were staggering.
But losing over a dozen elite operatives in a single sweep was horrifying.
“Some are holding the line inside with critical injuries. Several were killed in action.” Miller’s eyes were bloodshot.
Part of it was the sheer exhaustion of the past two days, but the true weight was the grief of losing his brothers.
He had bled and sweat alongside these men for years. They had
survived countless deployment
only to be slaughtered in The A Highlands
The losses at the underground pool tore at Miller’s soul.
Those men had died trying to find him.
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