The air in the Vanguard headquarters' subterranean passage crackled with the sharp reports of my rifle. Three figures in black tactical gear, Evelyn Reed’s operatives, had blocked our escape, their weapons barking back. The rounds pinged off the reinforced concrete around us, sending fragments of dust stinging my face. My stomach wound, still tender from the Chimera attack, burned with a fresh agony.
"Stay behind me, Selena!" I barked, firing a controlled burst that sent one operative scrambling for cover.
"Henry, they're encircling us!" Victor bellowed, his own suppressed pistol spitting fire from behind a structural pillar. He was older, but still moved with the precision of a seasoned combatant.
I could hear Lisa's frantic voice crackling through my earpiece, though the connection wa
