The first man reached Aria with his fist already swinging—a wild, overconfident haymaker designed to end the fight immediately.He outweighed her by at least eighty pounds and clearly expected his size and strength to overwhelm her.He was wrong.Aria sidestepped the punch with minimal movement, letting his momentum carry him past her.Then her elbow struck the back of his head with surgical precision—not hard enough to cause permanent damage, but sufficient to send him crashing face-first into the chess table.The impact shattered the board, pieces scattering across the floor as the man collapsed unconscious.Time elapsed: three seconds."WHAT—" one of the remaining men started.But Aria was already moving. She spun toward the second attacker—the one with the telescoping baton who'd drawn it back for a devastating swing at her head.She ducked under the strike, hearing the baton whistle past where her skull had been moments before.Then she surged upward, her knee driving into his so

"Valkyrie," Jack repeated, his smile widening. "She was a woman once. A soldier, actually—much like you. But she volunteered for a program. A very special, very secret program that transforms ordinary humans into something... more."His phone connected, and he spoke into it without breaking eye contact with Aria. "Bring Valkyrie to the chess room. Code Red. Hostile target requiring termination or submission."He ended the call and pocketed his phone. "She'll be here in sixty seconds. And when she arrives, you're going to understand just how outmatched you really are.""Genetically modified?" Darius said, speaking for the first time since the fight began. "You're talking about illegal human experimentation. Enhancement programs that violate every international treaty and ethical guideline.""I'm talking about evolution," Jack corrected. "About making humans better. Faster. Stronger. More resilient. Valkyrie represents the pinnacle of those efforts—a woman transformed into a weapon more

She could already feel it slightly—a faint nausea, a subtle disorientation that suggested Jack hadn't been lying about Valkyrie's defensive capabilities.This could kill me, Aria acknowledged internally. If I fight her and lose, I'm dead. Or worse—captured, broken, enslaved like Valkyrie herself was.But even as those thoughts crossed her mind, another emotion rose to counter them.Excitement.But if I can defeat her, Aria thought, her frown transforming into something more calculating, if I can find a way to overcome someone this enhanced, this dangerous... I'll have proven something. Pushed past my current limitations. Evolved my combat skills to a completely new level.She looked at Valkyrie—at the mechanical enhancements, the inhuman eyes, the aura of death that surrounded her—and felt not just fear, but opportunity.It's a risk, Aria admitted to herself. Maybe the biggest risk I've ever taken. But warriors don't grow by fighting safe battles. They grow by facing impossible odds a

Jack clapped his hands mockingly. "How touching! The soldier trusts his bodyguard! Believes in her! Too bad belief won't save her from what's coming."He turned to Valkyrie and gestured toward Aria. "Deal with her. Show her the mistake she's made. Make it painful. Make it memorable. And make sure she stays conscious—I want her aware when I claim her afterward.""Acknowledged," Valkyrie responded, her flat voice carrying no emotion, no recognition of the cruelty in Jack's command. "Engaging hostile target. Non-lethal force with acceptable damage authorized."She moved forward, and the fight began.Valkyrie struck first—a straight punch aimed at Aria's face with mechanical precision and enhanced strength.Aria dodged, barely, feeling the air displacement as the steel-reinforced fist passed inches from her head. She countered with a strike to Valkyrie's ribs—a blow that would have dropped any normal opponent.It connected solidly.Valkyrie didn't even flinch.The mechanical enhancements

"Hours against normal opponents," Aria corrected. "But I'm not normal. I've been trained to endure. To absorb punishment. To outlast enemies who should be stronger than me."She yanked the blade sideways, pulling Valkyrie off balance. "So while you were busy gloating? While you were convinced I was finished? I was winning. Just in a way you were too arrogant to recognize."And then Aria's free hand—still dripping blood from the deep cuts—swung forward in a devastating punch.Her fist connected with Valkyrie's face with all the force she could generate, blood splattering across both their faces from the impact.Valkyrie's head snapped back. The mechanical enhancements should have absorbed the blow completely. Should have made it meaningless.But weakened by energy depletion, the enhancements failed to fully protect her.Valkyrie staggered.For the first time since the fight began, Valkyrie STAGGERED."NO!" Jack screamed. "VALKYRIE! FINISH HER! KILL HER NOW!"But Aria wasn't finished.S