Dragon's Last Hope

Chapter 20

"Michael," she said, turning to the former Nullifier as her mates finished dressing, "we'll need everything you know about Regional Command's security systems."

He nodded grimly. "My authorisation codes will have been revoked the moment I went off-script, but I know the facility's layout and protocols. There's a maintenance entrance that isn't on the official schematics; it's how they bring in... special acquisitions."

The implication hung heavy in the air, dragons and other supernatural beings, captured for experimentation or harvesting.

"Leon and Xander will take point," Maya decided, assigning roles through their bonds. "Shadow and void can navigate the suppression fields without triggering alarms. Kai, you'll handle any power systems that need to be compromised. Cassius, you're our communications specialist. I need you to be ready to disrupt their signals once we're inside. Kieran, you'll manage environmental systems; their biometric scanners are calibrated for normal human body temperature. Darius, structural integrity is your domain. If we need an emergency exit, you'll create it. Lucian, your light abilities will counter their surveillance systems."

"And me?" Michael asked, determination hardening his features.

"You're our guide," Maya told him, golden light still shimmering beneath her skin. "And our witness. What happens tonight needs to be remembered accurately."

Through their bonds, Maya coordinated the final details with her mates, their minds working in perfect synchronicity. The plan took shape not as a linear sequence of events but as a multidimensional tactical matrix, with contingencies built into contingencies, each mate's elemental specialty creating layers of redundancy.

"The suppression fields are strongest at ground level," Michael explained as they moved toward the museum exit. "They're designed to prevent aerial approach. The underground maintenance tunnel enters from the northwest, beneath what appears to be a standard loading dock."

"Standard except for the silver-lined containment cells," Leon added, shadows briefly darkening his eyes as he accessed memories of similar facilities he'd observed over centuries.

The group moved through Seattle's darkened streets with preternatural grace, their enhanced senses mapping potential threats before they materialised. Around them, the city was in controlled chaos, emergency services responding to the Order's failed containment protocols, media vans establishing positions to document the unprecedented events, civilians recording everything on phones that would ensure the truth could never again be buried.

Through the global network, Maya maintained contact with the nineteen dragons protecting the city, their resonances steady and determined as they embraced their role as guardians rather than hunted fugitives.

"Regional Command has gone into full lockdown," Michael informed them as they approached the corporate complex housing the Order's facility. "Standard protocol would be to minimise personnel, essential command staff only, automated systems at maximum."

"How many would that leave inside?" Maya asked, her expanded consciousness already scanning the building's energy signatures.

"Thirty at most. Director Harlow, his security detail, system administrators, and a skeleton crew of field coordinators."

The complex appeared ordinary, a mid-rise office building with the bland corporate aesthetics typical of Seattle's business districts. Only Maya's enhanced perception revealed the truth beneath the facade: reinforced structures, hidden defensive systems, and the distinctive resonance of suppression fields designed specifically to disrupt dragon magic.

"There," Michael indicated, pointing toward what appeared to be a standard service entrance at the building's rear. "Maintenance access. The tunnel entrance is behind a false wall in the loading area."

Leon stepped forward, shadows gathering around his form. "I'll scout ahead. The suppression fields won't detect shadow-walking if I keep my draconic signature minimised."

With a fluidity that spoke of centuries of practice, Leon dissolved into shadow, his form blending with the darkness between streetlights. Through their bond, Maya maintained constant contact, experiencing his perceptions as he infiltrated the perimeter.

"Four guards," his thoughts came through the bond. "Automated defence systems are active but operating on standard parameters. They haven't upgraded to emergency protocols yet."

"They don't know we're coming," Kai observed, heat shimmering around his fingers as anticipation built. "Arrogance or incompetence?"

"Both," Michael replied grimly. "Regional Command operates with a sense of invulnerability. The facility has never been breached."

Maya felt Xander's void-touched consciousness expand, creating subtle distortions in reality around them. "Until tonight."

Through their bond, she directed Xander's unique abilities, using his void manipulation to create a pocket of non-existence around their group. Not invisibility in the conventional sense, but something more fundamental, a space that existed adjacent to normal reality, allowing them to approach the facility without triggering the perimeter sensors.

"Stay close," she projected to the group. "Void-walking is disorienting for those unaccustomed to it."

Michael shuddered as Xander's power enveloped him, his enhanced perception allowing him to partially comprehend what ordinary humans would find incomprehensible. "It's like... walking between heartbeats."

"An apt description," Xander murmured, his voice carrying echoes that seemed to come from multiple directions simultaneously.

The group moved through the void-space, approaching the maintenance entrance without disturbing the guards or triggering the automated systems. Through their bond with Leon, Maya coordinated their movements with his, creating a synchronised approach that utilised both shadow and void to maximum effect.

"The access panel requires biometric authentication," Leon's thoughts came through the bond as he reconnoitred the maintenance entrance. "Handprint and retinal scan."

Michael stepped forward, determination hardening his features. "My credentials will have been revoked, but there's a maintenance override for emergency situations. It's hardwired into the system as a failsafe."

He approached the seemingly ordinary wall panel, pressing a specific sequence of points that revealed a hidden interface. "Six-seven-three-nine-alpha-omega," he muttered, entering the code with practised precision.

The panel slid aside, revealing a secondary authentication system, more advanced than standard access points, with multiple biometric scanners and what appeared to be a blood-sampling mechanism.

"Genetic verification," Michael explained, rolling up his sleeve. "All field operatives are required to submit DNA samples during enhancement procedures."

He placed his palm on the scanner, wincing slightly as a needle extracted a blood sample. The system hummed, analysing the genetic markers against its database.

"Access denied," a synthesised voice announced. "Genetic anomalies detected. Security protocols activated."

Michael's expression fell. "They've already flagged me as compromised."