137 THE PIZZA GUY WANTS PAYMENT IN LIFE
Exoren shrugged. "Interesting phrasing, when he says there are no permanent friends or enemies."
"What are your plans, cousin?" Garius asked.
"We change our plans," Exoren said. "Valtor Veyran is bringing back a large shipment from the space rift. That's a ripe target—and far less risky than attacking the Aukouma HQ."
"Understood," Garius said, already calculating their next move.
-----
"Brother, you're a genius. No wonder you brought so much aur to the fortress—you were planning to outmaneuver the Aukoumas all along," Belgore said with a grin, his eyes glinting in admiration.
Valtor gave a modest chuckle. "I was coming to the space rift anyway. It would be wasteful not to seize the opportunity. If Zairgid Aukouma could strike a deal with Lord Nicaesa, then so can we."
"But why did Fortress Myrone suddenly change its mind?" Belgore asked, frowning. "They rejected us for weeks, then out of nowhere they agreed to sell to us."
Valtor shrugged slightly, his gaze following the last of the crates being loaded into the armored trucks. "Negotiation tactics, perhaps. The fortress has its own games."
Outside, the cold wind swept across the plateau. The final convoy was sealed and ready to move.
At a distance, Eryn sat alone beside her mother's lifeless body, her shoulders trembling. Valtor watched her silently through the open hatch, but made no move to comfort her.
"Aren't you going to sit with your daughter?" Belgore asked softly.
"She must learn to grow up," Valtor said after a long pause. "She's too gentle—too sentimental... too weak. If she keeps this up, she'll never be able to lead the Veyran family." He exhaled heavily.
"She has to learn the world won't wait for her grief."
Moments later, the convoy rolled out, engines humming through the dust-choked plains. The sky was an iron gray, heavy and still.
But after a few kilometers, the lead vehicle came to an abrupt stop.
"What's going on?" Belgore barked over the intercom.
"There's been a crash ahead, sir," the driver replied. "Two civilian vehicles blocking the path."
"Move them aside. Quickly," Belgore ordered, irritation rising in his voice.
Before the crew could act, the silence was shattered by gunfire roaring through the air. Drones descended from the clouds and autocannons were blazing.
"Ambush!" someone shouted.
Valtor turned toward the holo-display, his eyes narrowing. "Who dares attack us—? Who knew our route?"
"Only a handful of us," Belgore hissed. "Someone leaked it."
"There's no time for that now," Valtor snapped. "They think a few drones can bring down the Veyran family? Let's show them otherwise."
The armored trucks swerved into formation, creating a defensive circle. Panels on their roofs slid open, revealing tall, antenna-like devices. Energy crackled along their spires, and within seconds a dome of shimmering force enveloped the convoy.
The drones' bullets ricocheted harmlessly against the barrier. The attackers circled, searching for a weak point—but none appeared.
Then, the light dimmed.
A strange darkness began to spiral above them, twisting the air. The sky itself seemed to tear open, and a massive shadow fell across the convoy, shrieking as it descended.
"Something's wrong with the force field!" a controller shouted over comms.
Valtor's heart pounded. "Report!"
"Our meta energy—it's being disrupted! Sir, it's an anti-meta field!"
Belgore's face went pale. "Anti-meta? Who in all of Melrose has access to that kind of weaponry?"
The force field began to flicker, sparks leaping across the antennas. One by one, the protective domes collapsed.
"Prepare for combat!" Valtor ordered, drawing his weapon.
The brothers stepped out of their vehicles just as the last barrier failed. The air grew heavy with static and the smell of ozone.
Above them, the shadow circled again—closer this time, darker, and almost alive.
Valtor clenched his fists, his meta aura struggling to manifest under the suppression field.
"Whoever you are," he muttered, eyes burning, "you've just declared war on the Veyran family."
-----
Damen slipped through the warehouse like a shadow.
Cameras were angled away, alarms muted — after two weeks of low activity the Zetheris' security had slackened, and the super-hacker who usually watched this facility was nowhere to be found.
"I've disabled all the drones inside, but there are three metas on site," Kail's voice crackled in his ear.
He moved toward them wearing a delivery uniform, hands tucked in the pockets of a stained jacket. One of the metas barked, "Who the hell are you? How did you get in here?"
Damen held up the pizza box with an exaggerated flourish.
"Didn't you order lunch? The door was open, and nobody answered—my deliveries are piled up, don't you know how to come to the door when you order grub?"
"Who ordered pizza?" another asked suspiciously.
"Maybe the system did. They didn't bring us food today, so the logistics AI sent one. It even buzzed the delivery guy in." The clever one shrugged, already buying the lie.
Damen set the box on a metal crate and fished out a payment terminal.
"Cash or card?" he asked, offering it.
One guard stepped forward, swearing about having been made to pay, "Why can't the damn system pay for this?" and then held his card for Damen.
Damen took it and swiped his hand.
Suddenly, the man convulsed with a spasm, then crumpled to the ground…. electrocuted.
"What did you do?" the nearest guard shouted.
"It's not me, this damn thing is leaking electricity", he cried dropping the device to the ground.
The two men came over to check on their friend. Suddenly, Damen appeared behind them, his hands on their neck and shoulder.
"Zzziiiiiizzzz"
"Electrocution."
Sparks licked the air. The two guards didn't get a second to react. They fell to the ground silently.
When the smoke cleared, Damen stared at the bodies. They'd been killed by electrocution.
"Damn, I turned up the voltage too high," he muttered, not expecting his electrocution to have directly killed the meta guards.
He'd only planned to shock them.
"My Core of electricity is amplifying my electrical power. I'll keep the cores off while in human form. Only during Black Halo time when I need the extra power," he thought.
He quickly moved to the room where Dorin was held.
Kail's voice was soft over the comms. "Big Brother, the containment field over Dorin is disabled."
Dorin's silhouette shivered into view, her eyes wide with relief when she saw him.
"Damen, you're here — what happened to Lander? I heard from those bastards he's…" she began, crying on the rumor.
"He's fine. Trust me. But we need to move now."
Damen unclipped the restraint from her wrist and guided her out.
Suddenly, Kail informed over the comms, "There is a problem. Eryn Veyran is in danger."
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