"Pay me the four million dollars right now or I call the federal warden."Mike Donavan shouted the demand across the lobby while he pointed his finger at Ryker. He gestured to the ruined triage desk and the security guards groaning on the floor tiles to justify his extortion."He belongs in a prison cell," Mike told the police officers standing in the room. "He is a danger to society and he owes my family a fortune."Evelyn nodded eagerly and stepped away from the wheelchair to stand next to Flint."Take him away," Evelyn agreed loudly to ensure Danny Chen heard her loyalty. "He forced his way into our house tonight and assaulted my nephew."Flint joined the betrayal and pointed at Ryker to distance the Lin family from the violence."We disavow this criminal," Flint announced to the aristocrat and the police. "We urge the authorities to extract the hospital debts directly from his flesh."Chloe stared at her mother and her uncle in complete disgust. She clutched her fractured arm agai

"Please do not go to the plaza tonight."The desperate plea cut through the sound of rain hitting the pavement. Chloe stopped on the sidewalk outside the Vanguard safehouse and looked down at the old man kneeling by the curb.He was Joss, the former chief accountant of Lin Logistics who served her grandfather for thirty years. He knelt in the puddles while the storm soaked his clothes, shaking with obvious terror.Chloe thought as guilt seized her chest. She recognized the panic in her loyal employee's eyes."Get up Joss," Chloe pleaded while reaching out with her good hand. "You should not be out in this weather."Joss refused to move and kept his knees planted on the wet concrete."Flint fired the senior staffs this morning," Joss wept. "He locked the ledger rooms and handed our security codes over to the Chen dynasty.""I know what he did," Chloe said."You do not understand the danger Madam CEO," Joss warned her frantically. "Mr Lin liquidated the employee pension fund this aftern

"Do not move a single muscle."Vesper issued the warning to the federal guards advancing across the marble floor. She drew a pistol from her shoulder holster.She aimed the barrel toward the vaulted ceiling and squeezed the trigger. A single suppressed round struck the crystal chandelier hanging above the plaza landing.Glass shattered instantly. Thousands of sharp shards rained down onto the tiles. The deafening crack echoed through the grand banquet hall.The Federal Instructor flinched and covered his ears to block the sharp ringing. Danny Chen dropped his posture and shielded his face from the falling shards.Vesper lowered the pistol and aimed it at the center of the military squad."The next round goes through a skull," Vesper promised them.She dared anyone else to take a single step toward her Sovereign. The room fell dead silent. The assassins froze in their tracks and evaluated the shadow operative holding the gun. They recognized a professional killer and refused to test her

"You are a disgrace to the uniform."The Federal Instructor circled Ryker on the marble landing. The assassin scoffed and shook his head while he evaluated his target."You claim to be a military legend," the Instructor mocked loudly for the gathered elites to hear. "You are just a washed up failure. You could not even protect your own body from a simple street poison."Ryker stood still and watched the assassin pace. He felt the residual Lotus toxin burning his nerve endings like hot needles under his skin. The poison required constant energy to suppress its paralyzing effects.Let him talk, Ryker processed the situation in his mind. Conserve the Qi. Wait for the opening. He wants a reaction. "A true soldier would have died a hero on the northern borders," the Instructor declared. He pointed an accusing finger at the Sovereign. "You failed your squad. You survived the coma just to terrorize innocent civilians in this city. You extort the wealthy to fund your delusions of grandeur."

"You let him bleed the pur accounts dry to pay for his street war."Flint yelled the accusation across the marble landing while he squeezed his eyes shut to force a fake tear onto his cheek. He pressed his advantage the moment Chloe grabbed her husband's sleeve in surrender.Chloe stepped in front of the wheelchair and absorbed the lie. She believed her uncle because she knew the Vanguard shadow division operated with vast sums of untraceable wealth."I did not authorize any transfers," Chloe defended herself. Her voice wavered under the immense pressure."The regional banks pulled our lines of credit because you brought a federal fugitive into our business," Flint argued. "The logistics reserves are empty. We cannot pay the truck drivers tomorrow morning."Flint gestured to the panicked elites fleeing toward the edges of the banquet hall. He painted Ryker as the villain who destroyed Patriarch Lin's life work."The mechanics will lose their homes because you chose to protect a crimin