The sonic weapon discharged with a sound unlike anything James had ever heard—a concentrated wall of frequencies that made the air itself seem to shudder. His hyperacusis transformed the noise into physical pain that drove him to his knees, hands clutching his ears despite his tactical training.
"Maya!" he shouted, but couldn't hear his own voice through the auditory assault.
Twenty meters away, Maya couldn't hear his warning, focused entirely on the visual patterns blooming across her portable analyzer as she confronted Verne. The readings spiked into configurations she'd never seen before—brilliant crimsons and violets spiraling into complex fractals that indicated devastating power.
"It's too late," Verne said, his lips easy to read as he backed toward an emergency exit. "Even if you
