Rielle "stumbled," her foot kicking out with precise, brutal force. It wasn't an accident. It was a demolition.
The server cried out. The tray flew. A symphony of shattering glass and screaming patrons erupted. Champagne rained down like expensive acid.
As planned, every head turned. The bodyguards stiffened. The courier leaned over the railing, a look of annoyed contempt on his face.
That's it, you prick. Look down here. Look at the mess.
On the tower, Rin saw the commotion through her scope. The perfect distraction.
She exhaled fully.
And squeezed the trigger.
There was no loud report. Just a soft thump of compressed air.
The projectile crossed the distance in a heartbeat.
It struck the maintenance port.
For a single, horrifying second, nothing happened.
Then—
The world broke.
The music died mid-beat. The lights didn't just go out; they stuttered, flickering madly like a dying man's heartbeat. The club was plunged into a frantic, silent, strobbing chaos. The only sound was the confused, rising panic of the crowd.
In the Aerie, the courier jerked upright in surprise, blinded by the erratic lights.
That was all Rielle needed.
She was already moving. A shadow in the madness. She vaulted the banister, her movements a study of lethal economy. Three long strides brought her to the courier. He sensed her, started to turn.
Too late.
Her hand shot out, fingers striking a specific cluster of nerves on his wrist. His hand spasmed open involuntarily. The case was free of his grip, still cuffed, but dangling.
She didn't fight the cuff. Her other hand was already moving, a micro-pick tool flashing in the crazed light. It was inside the lock on the case in a nanosecond. A twist. A click.
The case fell free.
The entire maneuver took less than three seconds.
She snatched the falling case, spun, and was at the railing. Below, Kara was there, medical bag open.
Rielle dropped it.
Kara caught it smoothly, tucked it into her bag, and snapped it closed. She immediately turned and melted into the disoriented crowd, a woman leaving a medical emergency, nothing to see here.
The lights surged back on. The music blared back to life, twice as loud.
The courier was shouting, clutching his wrist, pointing wildly. His bodyguards were drawing weapons, confused, aiming at nothing.
Rielle didn't run. She created a new truth. She shoved the courier hard into his guards, creating a tangle of furious, flailing limbs.
"HIM!" she screamed, pointing randomly into the crowd below. "He went that way! Stop him!"
In the confusion, amidst the chaos she had authored, she simply took two steps back and disappeared into the throng of startled, wealthy patrons, just another shocked partygoer.
Seven seconds.
It was over.
On the tower, Rin allowed herself a single, shallow breath. She broke down her rifle with practiced, unhurried movements. The first part was done.
Now, they had to get away with it.