Chapter <b>208 </b>
<b>The </b>Solemnity Burld had ticked Hudson, and now he was out for blood.
A sh of silver–Hudson drew a knife and lunged straight for Aria’s threat.
She dodged sideways, but he immediately shifted his grip and shed horizontally.
The two of them shed in a furious flurry of moves, moving so quickly the rest of the Thirteenth Sigil didn’t dare risk firing.
That split second of hesitation gave Owen his chance he turned and struck, forcing them all to focus on defending themselves.
Every one of Hudson’s attacks aimed to kill, but Aria was no less lethal.
Up in the car, Isaias watched in horror as their own men dropped like flies–Hudson was actually losing.
Isaias shouted, “Go! Drive! Now!”
The man behind the wheel, a Huthailian, fumbled with trembling hands and mmed on the gas, fleeing into the night.
Down in the fight, Hudson was already outmatched–Aria had dislocated both his arms.
She slipped a medical tool from her sleeve and jabbed it in; Hudson copsed, unconscious, before he even hit the ground.
The factory fell eerily silent, the air heavy with the stench of blood.
Aria reached for her earlobe and frowned. “Lost my earring.”
Owen’s voice was calm, almost amused. “Mr. Fletcher won’t mind.”
Half an hour earlier, Fryderyk had ordered his team to speed up.
The forest was littered with traps, and though they had the map and avoided most of them<b>, </b>it still slowed their advance.
Then the sound of gunfire echoed from Aria’s location, and by the time they arrived, the carnage was breathtaking.
It seemed their help wasn’t even needed–Aria and Owen had taken out everyone.
That was terrifying.
Owen reminded quietly, “Two of them got away.”
Fryderyk radioed, “Rx–they’re not going far.”
Hidden in the shadows, two men clung to each other, shaking with nerves. “She’s Echohawk, right?”
“No one else could kill like that with just a medical tool. It has to be her.”
“We got nothing out of this<b>, </b>came all this way for nothing.”
“Not quite. Now we know who Echohawk is–and she probably posted that bounty, too. Let’s get out of here. The police here aren’t ying around.”
And so, thest two slipped away into the darkness.
Hudson, even as he cked out, never realized that four separate groups had been hunting him tonight–he couldn’t <b>have </b><b>escaped</b>”
Aria nced sideways into the darkness, thinking she owed those frencers a tip–couldn’t have them go home empty<b>–</b><b>handed</b>.
<b>grown </b><b>wing </b>
<b>Originally, </b><b>she’d </b><b>nned </b>to handle everything herself<b>, </b>but hadn’t expected <b>Owen </b>to jump in two,
<b>She </b>asked<b>, </b><b>“</b><b>Did </b><b>we </b>catch the other group<b>?</b><b>” </b>
<b>Fryderyk </b>nodded. <b>“</b><b>We </b><b>did</b>. Their ounts have already been hacked and frozen. This case is a huge <b>win </b>the <b>higher </b>ops are taking || very chea thank your friend for <b>us</b><b>. </b>She came to the station and things went much smoother with her help.
<b>That </bpany was tougher than they’d anticipated, with partnerships across several firms, and the money they recovered <b>was </b>enormous,
It would take some time to sort it all out, but Aria and Owen’s money had only been bait–it was never actually moved.
On the way back, Aria leaned her head against the seat, eyes closed, deep in thought.
Everything had gone a little too smoothly.
She couldn’t shake the feeling there was still another yer in the shadows.
“Sir, Thirteenth Sigil has been wiped out. All the funds in that shellpany’s ount have been recovered by the Huthailian police.
High above the city, a man sat in an executive chair, gazing out over the sparkling skyline.
He replied coolly, “Just as expected.”
His subordinate added, “Hudson isn’t dead.”
“He’s not?” The man’s expression barely shifted. “She really let him live?”
“We have three survivors–do you want them silenced?<b>” </b>
“That would be a waste of effort,” the man answered, waving a hand. “Leave them be.”
“Understood, sir.”
Hashtags like “Vanessa Walks Out Of New Year Show“, “Vanessa Angers TV Network“, and “Vanessa Disrupts Live Program And Faces <b>Fines</b><b>” </b>exploded Vanessa trended once again.
[Vanessa will do anything to get attention. She just walked out in the middle of the show.]