The realization punched her chest hollow. She staggered back a step, eyes locked on the screen as the intruders advanced down the corridor leading to her sanctuary.
And then—she moved.
Fast.
She bolted toward the east wall, slamming her palm against a hidden panel. A section of the wall hissed open, revealing a narrow tunnel lined with carbon mesh.
She dove in headfirst, crawling through the crawlspace as fast as her body would allow.
Her breath came in sharp gasps. Pupils trembled. Eyes darted like a cornered animal.
'How?!'
'How did they find me?!'
'Why now?!'
She reached the emergency chamber—a room no larger than a prison cell, lined with a suit she'd spent months building.
It hung on a rack like a soldier awaiting deployment: high-tech, armored plating fused with cybernetic mesh, gauntlets armed with taser prongs, shoulder guards rigged to deflect standard rounds, a shield generator on the left arm, and a compact RPG launcher clipped to the back.
