Chapter 52

FIFTY-TWO

“ I ’ll be in your head the whole time,” Asher reminded him. “And Levi needs backup with enhanced senses to track Lori. You know I’m right.”

His eyes glowed with barely contained dragon fire. “Two minutes to reach the junction. Then we regroup. If anything feels wrong-”

“I’ll signal faster than you can say ‘quantum entanglement.’“ She managed a small smile. “Besides, someone has to make sure Levi doesn’t kill everyone before we can question them.”

Levi’s soft growl suggested he didn’t find that particularly amusing.

“Two minutes,” Talon repeated, cupping her face.

“Time me.” She kissed him again quickly. “And try not to break too many walls on your way down. Some of us appreciate functional architecture.”

His laugh was rough but real. Then they were moving, separating at the next junction. Asher headed toward the maintenance access while Talon and Levi took the path to the detention level. The mate bond stretched between them, humming with shared purpose and constant awareness.

Be safe, his thoughts brushed hers.

Be efficient, she sent back. I have calculations to verify and a best friend to rescue. Not necessarily in that order.

The maintenance shaft proved significantly less maintained than its name suggested. Asher crawled through dusty spaces barely large enough for her small frame, grateful again for her relatively compact size compared to dragon shifters.

“Note to self,” she muttered, wriggling past a particularly tight bend. “Submit strongly worded feedback about accessibility standards in evil lairs. Possibly write a paper on ergonomic considerations in villainous architecture.”

Her powers sparked erratically in the confined space, casting weird shadows on metal walls. The neural shield hummed against her chest, working overtime to mask her energy signature. She monitored Talon and Levi’s progress - already encountering resistance two levels down.

“All right, evil junction box of doom,” she muttered, reaching the central hub. “Let’s see what kind of chaos we can create with a little applied science.”

Her tablet connected to the system, screens filling with data streams. More pain lanced through her shoulder as she typed, making her fingers stumble. Not now, she thought fiercely. We have work to do.

She sensed Talon’s immediate concern. I’m fine, she sent quickly. Just negotiating with some uncooperative infrastructure.

The dragon wants to come get you.

The dragon needs to focus on not getting shot while I commit various acts of scientific terrorism. She smiled despite the pain. Besides, I’m about to make things very interesting for everyone.

Her fingers typed, electricity occasionally arcing between her and the controls. The facility’s systems were sophisticated but ultimately predictable. Like most things in her experience, they yielded to proper application of scientific principles. And creative reprogramming.

“Let’s see how your security handles simultaneous failures in the ventilation system, fire suppression protocols, and - because I’m feeling petty - the coffee machines.”

Alarms blared as systems began failing in carefully calculated patterns. Through surveillance feeds on her tablet, she watched guards scrambling to respond to multiple crises. Her smile held zero humor as she triggered another wave of malfunctions.

“That’s for taking my best friend, you quantum nightmares.”

A noise behind her made her spin, tablet raised defensively. A fierce-looking guy in camo stood blocking the shaft entrance, his cold eyes narrowing at the sight of her.

“Miss Andrews,” he drawled. “How convenient of you to come for a visit.”

He moved with inhuman speed, but her training with Talon’s security team paid off. She ducked his first strike, electricity crackling along her arms as defensive instincts kicked in.

Asher! Talon’s alarm pounded into her mind. We’re coming-

Stay on mission, she sent back, dodging another attack. I can handle one overgrown lizard with delusions of adequacy.

To prove her point, she sent a surge of power through her tablet into the junction box. Sparks exploded outward as systems overloaded, momentarily blinding the shifter. She took advantage of his distraction to slam her neural shield into his chest, the quantum frequencies disrupting his dragon energy.

“That’s for underestimating scientists,” she muttered, slipping past him into the corridor. Her shoulder burned with cold fire, powers fluctuating wildly, but her mind remained sharp as ever. “Now, let’s test your adaptation to rapidly changing circumstances.”