"Unit 7, overriding security protocols," the squad leader's metallic voice echoed through the command center. "Initiating manual breach of Isolation Cell Alpha."
Envy hunched over his console, his breathing ragged and shallow. He wasn't blinking. His magnified eyes were glued to the screen labeled [B3-ISO].
On the monitor, the four heavy combat droids surrounded the massive circular blast door. Sparks showered the floor as they drilled into the locking mechanism, bypassing the electronic seals that Envy himself had designed to be unbreakable.
Vance watched Envy's back. The smell of Vinegar and Mold filling the room had changed. It was now sharp, bitter, and cold.
It was the scent of Realization dawning too late.
"You lost," Vance said calmly, his voice cutting through the mechanical whir of the cooling fans.
"I... I am verifying!" Envy stammered, pointing a shaking finger at the screen. "I am proving you wrong! Once that door opens, I will see him! I will win!"
"No," Vance shook his head slowly. "The rules were specific. You had ten seconds to verify using your system. You failed. You had to resort to brute force."
Vance leaned his head back against the metal chair, the ghost of a smile playing on his lips.
"That means your All-Seeing Eye is blind. You admitted defeat the moment you gave that order."
"It doesn't matter!" Envy shrieked, spinning his chair around. His face was twisted, sweat streaming down his pale skin. "I win when I see him! I win when I prove I am in control!"
"Control?" Vance laughed. It was a dry, humorless sound. "You think this is control?"
He looked at the screen. The droids had finished drilling. The heavy locking bars of the cell retracted with a deafening groan that vibrated through the facility's frame.
The massive door began to swing open.
"Look at the screen, Envy," Vance whispered. "Look at what you're doing."
"You couldn't see inside that cell. Neither could I. That door is three feet of lead-lined alloy. It blocks thermal, sonar, and x-ray."
Vance's eyes gleamed behind his sunglasses.
"My partner is down there. He's good with a knife, but he can't cut through three feet of steel. He was stuck in the hallway, waiting."
Envy froze. The blood drained from his face, leaving him ghostly white.
"Waiting?" Envy whispered. "Waiting for what?"
"Waiting for someone with the admin codes to open the door for him."
Vance nodded toward the screen.
"Thank you, Envy. You just unlocked the vault that I couldn't crack."
On the screen, the blast door swung fully open.
White nitrogen fog rolled out into the hallway, engulfing the droids.
"Visual confirmation required," the lead droid intoned, stepping into the mist.
Envy stared in horror. He realized, with a sickening lurch in his stomach, that he hadn't sent guards to check on a prisoner. He had sent them to release a monster.
"Close it!" Envy screamed, slamming his hands onto the control panel. "Unit 7! Retreat! Seal the door! SEAL IT!"
But it was too late.
The command signal took 0.5 seconds to travel down to the basement.
In that half-second, a shadow moved inside the fog.
It wasn't the slow, shuffling movement of a prisoner waking from stasis. It was the explosive, kinetic violence of a predator springing a trap.
"You wanted to see if Nyar was inside," Vance said, his voice dropping to a terrifying low. "Well, take a good look."
"Because once he's out, you won't be seeing anything ever again."
Vance sniffed the air.
The bitter scent of realization had vanished. The room was now flooded with the overwhelming, copper-tang of Total System Failure.
"Checkmate," Vance whispered.