The top floor of Sark Tower no longer resembled a luxurious residence for Rome's elite. The Italian marble that had once gleamed now lay buried beneath thick steel plating and hastily erected concrete barricades. Circuit cables crisscrossed the ceiling, connected to rows of automated gun turrets mounted at every corner of the balconies. The air inside the penthouse felt heavy and suffocating, thick with the scent of machine oil, ozone from the laser defense systems, and the faint smell of corrosive black blood that continued to seep from Eduardo's body. Belerik sat surrounded by monitors, his wheelchair now directly connected to the main terminal. His fingers moved like lightning as he overrode the city's security systems that had already been sabotaged by The Commission. "I've sealed off all elevator access. Anyone trying to come up has to get through the gas traps on the thirtieth floor," Belerik said without looking away, his voice trembling but focused. "I've also