Chapter 426: First Major Disaster


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    ***


    The first light of dawn barely broke through the heavy clouds hanging over the Sector as the Shadow Squad descended into the slums, moving silently through it.


    The ce provided ample cover for their covert operation, but they didn''t take it easy.


    Even though it was early, the slums were already stirring with life as people exited the ck market, done with their day.


    Still, the squad''s presence went unnoticed, as if they were nothing more than shadows.


    This small team consisted of the best of the best-Ben, the squad leader, the only one worthy enough to have his name remembered by Emir; Donovan, the techie of the group, his Netweaver prowess on par with Emir himself; Jax, the most experienced at infiltration, able to blend into most environments; and Joe, the master of face maniption, a man who could easily disguise himself as anyone or act in a waypletely fitting hisbel as the average Joe.


    They were Nathan''s best friends, so they were always close to him, acting super friendly like true family, but now...


    None of that showed.


    No matter how close they were to him, at this moment, he was their acting superior, and they followed hismands seriously, which in turn followed Emir''s.


    They were tasked with spying on the meeting and gathering as much intelligence as possible, which was set to take ce in just an hour as Lyra had finally cracked that person''s mind and reported the information.


    One might think that Temr would rx their protocols since they had ''seeded'' in tricking Emir, but no, they were extremely careful, setting up the meeting only a few hours before the attack.


    They didn''t even detect the Netweaver''s death, as she had infiltrated the pitiful man''s systems, showing that he was still alive. This indicated that they weren''t cautious since they caught on, but it was just their natural way of doing things.


    And unfortunately, Temr forces hadn''t gathered yet, preventing Jake and the others from striking preemptively.


    They needed to wait a little more.


    Soon, the squad reached their vantage point, an abandoned building overlooking the meeting ce, which was a few blocks away.


    The structure was dpidated, with sections of the roof caved in and walls barely holding together. It provided an excellent cover, though, with enough gaps in the walls and ceiling to observe the surrounding area without being seen.


    "Position set."


    Ben whispered, his eyes scanning the area below.


    "Keepms silent unless absolutely necessary. We can''t risk them picking up on us."


    The others responded with a series of quiet clicks, affirming themand.


    Donovan set up his portable surveince gear, linking into nearby cameras and feeding live data to their HUDs.


    Jax, as usual, seemed to melt into the shadows, his presence all but undetectable.


    Joe stationed himself near the entrance, getting himself ready to walk by the meeting.


    From their perch, they could see the meeting spot-an open area between two crumbling buildings, surrounded by makeshift barricades and debris.


    It wasn''t far from the ck market nor close, just in between, in an open enough area where no one would try to listen in.


    They likely didn''t do it inside their church in case moles were present, and they weren''t allowed in Lena Noir Cafe, so they opted for the next best thing. The public.


    It was a good ce for a ndestine meeting, isted and easily defensible.


    Temr had chosen well, but Shadow Squad was better.


    "Movement."


    Donavon whispered, his fingers flying over his console.


    "Four targets entering the perimeter. Looks like Temr."


    Ben adjusted his scope, zooming in on the figures moving into the meeting spot.


    They were heavily armed, all donning E-10 augmented suits, their chests marked with the insignia of Temr-a gold cross that had a white tree''s root circle around it, with an eye in the middle, its iris fully white.


    It was obvious those men and women weren''t going to be doing anything in secret. They wanted the world to know that this attack today was theirs to im, proud almost.


    It was apparent in the way they moved, confident, but there was an underlying tension to them, a wariness that suggested they weren''t entirely sure of their safety.


    "Confirm visual on targets."


    Ben quickly replied, his voice calm:


    "Jax, your time to move. Get closer. We need to know if it''s safe."


    Jax didn''t respond, but a momentter, he was gone, slipping out of the building and into the shadows below.


    His movements were so smooth and silent that even Ben, who knew him well, had trouble keeping track of him.


    Within minutes, he had positioned himself close enough to Temr''s group, a building away.


    Ben watched through his scope, awaiting his signal, and he got in the next second, as Jax waved his hand once.


    "Joe, go now. Distract them."


    "Roger."


    Nodding his head, he stepped off the building,nding softly on the ground.


    His dark clothes were gone, reced by a simple, worn-down shirt and jeans, a stark contrast


    to his previous appearance.


    Even his Asian features had shifted to European ones, making him look like apletely different person.


    Jax led Joe through the empty streets, while Joe appeared as though he was wandering


    aimlessly.


    It wasn''t until they neared the building that Joe shifted his demeanor.


    Two men stood on guard outside, their eyes scanning the area.


    Joe stumbled toward them, feigning drunkenness, and shed a sloppy grin, acting overly


    friendly.


    "Heeeey guys~, yall look like people with alotta credits! Mind if you spare lil old me some?" The response he received wasn''t so friendly however.


    "Human fucking filth."


    "Junkies."


    They approached him in a few steps, and the first of them kicked him to the ground without


    saying anything.


    "Ugh! What the hell, man?!"


    "Shut up, consider yourself lucky. I ain''t in a killing mood today."


    Ben, flicked his scope to the right, ignoring the guy acting tough, and focused on Jax, who got


    in behind the two, approaching listening distance to the meeting.


    There, he only saw the top of the fanatics'' heads, huddled together, speaking in what seemed


    to be low and urgent tones.


    Unfortunately, their mouths weren''t visible, otherwise, this operation would''ve been much easier, allowing them to extract information from afar.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Not long after, hisms crackled softly, and then Joe''s voice came through:


    [They''re discussing the final attack n...]


    He was slowly reporting what he was listening to, and Ben calmly watched.


    The first few bits of information they received weren''t too important, but then...


    [Hm, seems like they''ve got more moles.]


    Ben''s grip tightened on the scope.


    This confirmed what they had feared-there was more than one mole within the Academy''s


    ranks.


    It wasn''t just the security guard, someone higher in the food chain had been feeding them crucial information, enabling them to adapt their n of attack with every new development


    from the Academy''s side.


    [Any mention of who the insider is?]


    Ben asked, his tone controlled.