Viktor Kane's silence stretched for thirty seconds that felt like hours.
I stood in his command aircraft, silver light pulsing gently around my hands while tactical displays showed the scope of his defeat. Eight hundred Enhanced Protocol operatives reduced to baseline human. Every piece of advanced technology neutralized. A military operation that had taken years to plan, destroyed in minutes by someone he'd thought he could capture and study.
"You're offering me terms," Viktor said finally, his ice-blue eyes showing a man trying to process impossible realities. "After demonstrating capabilities that exceed every threat assessment model we've developed."
