Chapter 99 - The Sovereign Citadel
Sarah’s ship—a heavily retrofitted former naval frigate dubbed the *Valkyrie*—cut through the swelling sea, throwing up giant sprays of foam as its heavy deck guns opened fire on the approaching Directorate escort vessels. Tracers of depleted uranium lit up the gloomy sky, creating a wall of lead and fire between our tiny escape pod and the encroaching stealth destroyer.
A crane system dropped rapidly from the *Valkyrie’s* stern, latching onto our pod’s magnetic hoist with an authoritative clang. Within minutes, the capsule was hauled onto the fortified deck, where heavily armed private security personnel in unmarked tactical gear swarmed to secure our perimeter.
When the hatch hissed open, cool sea air rushed over me. I climbed out, weak-kneed, clutching Noah tightly to my chest.
Sarah Vance stepped forward, lowering her assault rifle and letting it hang by its tactical sling. She looked so much like Julian in the bone structure of her face, but her eyes held none of his cowardice, none of his pathetic vanity. They held the cold fire of a survivor who had fought her way out of hell.
"You look terrible, sister-in-law," Sarah said, a faint, wry smile touching her lips before her gaze softened as she looked down at Noah. "Is he whole?"
"He's alive," I breathed, my legs threatening to give out beneath me. Two medics rushed forward with heated blankets and specialized pediatric monitoring equipment, surrounding us with immediate, professional care. "Your brother... Julian... he's—"
"Julian got what was coming to him the moment he signed a contract with the Directorate," Sarah interrupted coldly. "I told him five years ago: you dance with the devil, you don't get to choose when the music stops. He thought he was playing them. They were always going to harvest his child and discard him like trash."
May you like
She turned, pointing toward the western horizon where the storm clouds parted slightly to reveal a terrifying sight. Rising from the sea, surrounded by artificial sea-walls and automated anti-air batteries, was an immense offshore fortress—a sprawling, modern citadel of black steel and glass.
"Sector Zero," Sarah said grimly. "The central vault of the Sovereign Directorate. That's where they hold the primary server matrix that controls global biological patents, shadow banking nodes, and every corrupted politician in the western hemisphere."
