THE ARCHITECT OF STARS: SEASON 1
ARYO PURNOMO SAGA
CHAPTER 9: OPERATION SURGICAL SILENCE
Central Hospital of Jakarta, 5th Floor - VVIP Suite.
Outside, the rain lashed against the hospital windows like angry spirits demanding entry. Inside, the atmosphere was suffocating. Eva's mother lay weak on the bed, hooked up to oxygen, her eyes wide with terror.
Eva sat in a chair in the corner, weeping silently. A massive Red Syndicate mercenary pressed a pistol to her temple. Three other soldiers guarded the door and windows with assault rifles at the ready.
"Boss says the target hasn't appeared on radar yet," reported one guard holding a tracking tablet.
The squad leader, a man with a burn scar covering half his face, snorted. He pressed the barrel of his gun harder against Eva's head.
"He will come. Hardi said this kid has a sentimental weakness for his ex," the leader said with a raspy voice. He looked at Eva with disgust. "Though I wonder why he'd risk his life for a woman who dumped him for money."
Eva sobbed. Regret pierced her chest more painfully than the gun barrel. She had sold her soul to Hardi's family, and this was the result—becoming live bait for these monsters.
"Please... let my mother go," Eva begged softly.
"Shut up," the leader snapped. "If your hero boyfriend doesn't show up in ten minutes, I'll start cutting off your fingers one by one and send him the video."
***
Outside the Hospital, inside the parked Koenigsegg Jesko in a dark alley.
The rain masked the presence of the hypercar, its engine silent. Inside, Aryo and Alia sat in a stillness of pure concentration.
Aryo's combat helmet was sealed, the HUD (Heads-Up Display) on his visor projecting a 3D schematic of the hospital. Red heat signatures indicated the positions of the hostage-takers on the 5th floor.
"Status," Aryo commanded, his voice digitized through the helmet modulator.
Alia's gold-flecked eyes stared blankly ahead—a sign she was surfing the datastream.
"I have hijacked the hospital CCTV and looped empty footage. Thermal sensors in the 5th-floor corridor are disabled. They are blind outside that room, Master."
Alia turned to Aryo. Her beautiful face now radiated the cold aura of a predator.
"Four targets inside. The leader holds the primary hostage (Eva). Three guards on the room perimeter. The Madame's (Eva's mother) heart rate is unstable. We must be fast."
"We can't go through the door. Too risky for the hostages," Aryo analyzed, studying the blueprints.
"Agreed," Alia replied. She raised her hand. Her combat gloves solidified, forming small metal claws capable of gripping any surface. "I will take the vertical route. The window."
"Fifth floor, Alia. That glass is bulletproof."
Alia smiled faintly. "Nothing is Alia-proof now, Master. I will provide the surprise. You breach when they are distracted."
"Copy. Operation 'Scalpel' begins. Zero civilian casualties. Eliminate the rest."
***
VVIP Suite.
"Five minutes left!" the Red Syndicate leader shouted, losing patience. "Get the camera ready!"
One guard lowered his rifle to pick up a video camera. That was when the silence of the night shattered.
CRASH-BOOM!
The thick VVIP window didn't just break; it exploded inward.
Not by a bullet, but by a black-and-silver figure crashing through from the stormy exterior of the fifth floor.
Alia landed in the center of the room in a perfect combat stance. Glass shards scattered like deadly diamonds.
"WHAT THE—?!"
Before the guards could raise their weapons, Alia moved.
Her speed had been enhanced by the Master Key beyond reasonable limits. She was no longer a maid robot; she was an elegant weapon of mass destruction.
Alia lunged at the nearest guard by the window. Her armored hand struck his chest with a palm strike. The sickening sound of cracking ribs echoed as the guard flew back, smashing into the wall and falling unconscious instantly.
The other two guards panicked and opened fire.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Alia didn't dodge. She danced between the bullets. The predictive systems in her satellite-linked brain read the trajectories before the triggers were pulled. She tilted her body, deflecting rounds with her armored forearms, sparks flying as metal met metal.
She closed the distance to the second guard. With a spinning motion, she delivered a roundhouse kick that slammed into his helmet, twisting him 180 degrees.
"Shoot her! Shoot that damn robot!" screamed the squad leader, still holding Eva. He aimed his pistol at Alia, forgetting Eva for a split second in his panic.
It was a fatal mistake.
The door to the VVIP suite slid open soundlessly.
Aryo stepped in. His black combat suit absorbed the light, making him look like a shadow of death.
He didn't shout. He gave no warning.
He raised his right arm. A small device on his wrist fired high-voltage taser darts.
ZAP!
Two needles embedded themselves in the leader's neck. The man convulsed violently as thousands of volts surged through his nervous system. He dropped the gun and collapsed to the floor, foaming at the mouth.
Eva screamed and crawled away.
The last remaining guard, seeing his comrades fall in seconds, tried to reach for his leader's fallen pistol.
Aryo was already there. Assisted by his suit's hydraulics, he moved like a blur.
Aryo stomped on the guard's hand reaching for the gun.
CRACK.
"Arghhh!"
Aryo then grabbed the guard by his tactical vest with one hand, lifted the 90-kilogram man into the air as if he were made of cotton, and slammed him into the marble floor.
Silence.
In less than 20 seconds, four elite Red Syndicate mercenaries had been brutally neutralized.
Aryo retracted his helmet. His face was cold, devoid of emotion, his eyes sharp and terrifying.
He walked past Eva, who was still trembling on the floor. He didn't even look at his ex-lover.
Aryo went straight to Eva's mother's bed. He checked the heart monitor, then gently adjusted the blanket over the old woman who had fainted from shock.
"Alia, summon an anonymous emergency medical team to this location. Ensure they are safe after we leave," Aryo ordered calmly.
"Done, Master. Ambulance arrives in 4 minutes."
Only then did Aryo turn to face Eva.
Eva looked up at Aryo with a mix of fear, awe, and desperate hope. The man before her was not the Aryo she once knew. This was a lethal king.
"Aryo..." Eva tried to stand, tears streaming down her beautiful face. "You came... you saved me. I knew you still cared. Forgive me, Aryo. I was stupid. Take me with you. Protect me..."
Aryo stared at her flatly. The look was more painful than a slap.
"I didn't come for you, Eva," Aryo said, his voice chilling to the bone. "I came because they broke the rules by involving your innocent mother."
Aryo put his helmet back on, hiding his human face behind a mask of cold machinery.
"You chose your path with Hardi and Bayu. Enjoy the consequences."
"Aryo, wait! They'll kill me if I go back!" Eva shrieked.
Aryo didn't stop. He walked toward the shattered exit.
"They won't have time to deal with you," Aryo said before disappearing into the dark corridor. "Because tonight, I will hunt them down to whatever rat hole they are hiding in."
Alia glanced at Eva one last time with her glowing golden eyes—a look of pity from a superior being—before dashing off to follow her master. Leaving Eva alone amongst the unconscious bodies of mercenaries, realizing she had lost everything, forever.