Chapter 13 — The Shadow That Breaks Its Chains

  The Operation Begins

  The interrogation room door opened the instant Ray pushed it.

  No lock.

  No resistance.

  As if Marcus had deliberately handed him the key to this game.

  Emergency lights flickered along the deep underground hall.

  Three Iron Shade soldiers patrolled ahead—relaxed, unaware.

  None of them expected a prisoner to step out this calmly.

  Ray stopped in the middle of the corridor.

  High-tech lenses slid into place over his eyes.

  Magnetic gloves hummed softly.

  A sling cable rested along his arm, ready.

  One second passed.

  Then—

  Ray vanished.

  First Strike

  The first Iron Shade soldier didn’t even have time to turn.

  Ray’s shadow burst from the wall as if torn from the air itself.

  Crack!

  The magnetic glove snapped back with brutal force, smashing into the soldier’s jaw.

  He dropped instantly.

  The other two reacted, rifles snapping up—

  Too slow.

  Ray’s sling cable fired.

  If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  Fssht!

  It hooked the second soldier’s neck and yanked hard.

  The man spun midair before slamming into the floor with a violent crash.

  The last soldier fired.

  Ray kicked off the wall, vaulted over him in a fluid arc, and landed in a roll.

  A short carbon blade flashed.

  The pommel struck the back of the helmet.

  Thud.

  Three bodies hit the ground.

  Unconscious.

  Alive.

  Ray glanced around calmly.

  This was only a warm-up.

  “…Guess I can start trying now.”

  He sprinted deeper into the prison.

  The Alarm and the Wall of Iron

  Sirens screamed.

  Red light flooded the corridors.

  High-Level Escape Alert.

  Five minutes later, a long passage near Tatt and Dr. Amporn’s cells was blocked.

  Ten Iron Shade soldiers stood in formation, weapons raised, helmet lights glowing crimson.

  “Target ahead!” the squad leader shouted.

  “Fire!”

  Energy rounds tore through the air—

  But Ray wasn’t there.

  Unchained Acrobatics

  Ray ran up the left wall.

  Kicked off the ceiling.

  Twisted midair into a spiraling descent.

  Shots chased him—but Ray moved faster than sight.

  He activated Holo-Splitter.

  Three decoy bodies scattered in different directions.

  Iron Shade soldiers fired in confusion, shredding illusions into sparks.

  Ray—the real one—appeared behind them.

  Snap. Snap. Snap.

  Perfect strikes to neural points.

  Bodies collapsed in sequence.

  Three more rushed him.

  Ray slid under their legs, hooked an ankle, kicked a hip, and smashed a visor—

  sending a soldier flying into the wall.

  The last four regrouped.

  Ray tapped his wrist.

  A localized EMP pulse detonated.

  Weapons.

  Armor.

  Systems.

  Dead.

  Ray walked through the center.

  Tapped each helmet lightly.

  Thump.

  Thump.

  Thump.

  Thump.

  All four fell.

  Less than twenty seconds.

  From inside a cell, a voice shouted:

  “What the hell was that!?”

  “Are you even human, or some kind of super-cockroach hero!?”

  Dr. Amporn said nothing.

  But the shock in his eyes spoke volumes.

  The Release

  Ray stopped at the detention doors.

  He activated a bypass device—one Marcus had conveniently provided.

  The control panel flickered.

  Power died.

  Locks disengaged.

  Tatt staggered back in alarm.

  Dr. Amporn remained still, watching carefully.

  “We’re leaving,” Ray said.

  “Before Iron Shade seals every exit.”

  Tatt pointed at him, panicked.

  “You just dropped ten Iron Shade without even breathing!”

  “How do I know you’re not one of them!?”

  Ray didn’t answer.

  He placed a flash-charge on the wall.

  “Forty seconds,” Ray said calmly.

  “This sector will overload.”

  “Move.”

  Dr. Amporn grabbed Tatt’s arm.

  “Go,” he said.

  “He’s helping us.”

  Run

  Ray led them into the corridor.

  Lights flickered violently.

  Warning systems screamed.

  Everything unfolded exactly as Marcus had planned.

  But none of them knew.

  They ran past fallen Iron Shade soldiers scattered like broken traps.

  Ray moved ahead—

  a black panther guiding prey out of a cage.

  Just before the first outer gate, Ray spoke without looking back.

  “Start running.”

  “Don’t stop—no matter what happens.”

  The three of them burst through the darkened exit.

  Sirens wailed behind them, stretching into the distance.

  Ray’s prison break—

  had only just begun.

  Fade out.