Incubus Ascension-Chapter 34

Liam and the two girls soon reached the ATLAS building downtown.

The place looked like it belonged in some fancy business district, all polished glass and steel rising straight up into the sky.

Beatrix stopped on the sidewalk and lifted her head, staring way up at the top floors.

"Drug lords are making banks!" she said, half under her breath but loud enough for him to hear.

Liam caught the way her face changed right after.

She clenched her head with one hand, still looking upstairs, like the words had hit her harder than she expected.

He figured she was thinking about her own dad again, how the old man had been even richer and way stronger than this Zalor guy.

And how she still had a long road ahead if she wanted to finish what she started.

She didn’t say any of it out loud, but the look in her eyes told him enough.

She still has a long way to go, he thought, but he kept it to himself. They had enough on their plate right now.

Beatrix shook it off quick, turned her head down, and spotted both Liam and Olivia already heading through the front doors.

"Wait for a moment," she called, jogging to catch up.

Meanwhile Liam was already moving fast inside the lobby, boots echoing on the marble floor.

I need to kill him fast before he calls reinforcements, he kept thinking. He didn’t even question it.

From everything he’d seen about how Zalor operated.

The guy must had to have a squad of level twenties and thirties stashed somewhere close.

All ready to burst in the second he smelled trouble.

He reached the secretary’s desk and forced his face to stay calm.

Alright, I need to act like I belong here, he told himself. No hesitation, no weird looks.

"Do you know where Zalor is?" he asked the woman behind the counter.

She looked him up and down. "What do you need him for?

Mr. Zalor doesn’t just talk to people like that. He needs an appointment."

Liam cursed under his breath. Just my luck.

Before he could figure out what to say next, Olivia stepped up beside him.

"Luna! It’s been a long time. This is me, Olivia. How’ve you been?"

Luna leaned a little to see past Liam and her eyes lit up.

"Olivia! We didn’t see each other since high school days. It’s been a long time."

Luna glanced between Olivia and Liam. "Who is he?"

Olivia smiled easy, like it was the most normal thing in the world.

"This handsome man here is my boyfriend."

Luna let out a short laugh. "I can’t believe even Olivia took a boyfriend now."

Then she waved them through. "It’s alright, you can go meet Mr. Zalor upstairs.

He’s on the 60th floor. Right turn when you get off the elevator."

Liam gave her a quick nod and pulled Olivia along with him toward the elevators.

"Thanks," he muttered to her as the doors slid open. She just squeezed his arm like it was no big deal.

Beatrix had slipped past the secretary’s desk without Luna noticing a thing and was right behind them.

She was quiet as a shadow, all the way up to the 60th floor.

They stepped out onto the quiet hallway and stopped right outside Zalor’s office door.

Liam and the girls took out their weapons slowly, keeping them low and ready. Liam put a finger to his lips.

"Shh. At my signal, be ready to barge in and attack Zalor." Both girls nodded, eyes locked on the door.

Liam wrapped his hand around the handle, took one last breath, and snapped it open.

They all rushed inside at once.

The room was bigger than he expected, but what hit him first was the sight in the middle of it.

Zalor wasn’t alone. A high-class woman stood there in a tight white micro dress that hugged every curve like it was painted on.

Zalor had his head pushed down, almost like he was taking orders from her instead of the other way around.

They jumped straight at Zalor, weapons raised, but the woman moved fast.

She shoved him behind her with one arm and looked them over with a cool smile.

"Look at what we got here? Zalor, you must be pretty hated to get circled even at your office."

Zalor’s eyes sharpened the second he spotted Liam and Olivia. He let out a laugh that sounded way too confident.

"This is the worst day for you guys! You just decided to attack my office the same day the handler decided to come!"

Liam’s heart hammered hard in his chest. Something about the way Zalor said it made his stomach drop.

He stared at the woman in the tight dress, the one who still had Zalor half-hidden behind her.

He quickly used his level appraising skill on her. The number that popped up made his blood run cold. Level 70.

Liam turned his head just enough to speak to the girls without taking his eyes off the woman.

"Be ready. She is highly dangerous."

The handler tilted her head at him, still smiling. "Oh? Is that a level appraising skill you have?"

She grabbed Zalor by the front of his shirt and yanked him closer.

"Unfortunately I can’t let you kill this insect now. We still need him for our deal."

Liam’s voice came out tighter than he wanted. "What do you mean ’we’?"

The handler laughed, low and easy, and rested one hand on her huge ass like she had all the time in the world. "We, the Simon company."

Liam saw the opening while she was still talking.

He snatched the nearest chair and hurled it straight at her. "Go kill Zalor!" he shouted to the girls.

The handler blocked the chair without even flinching and stepped right in front of Zalor, guarding him from both Olivia and Beatrix.

Liam didn’t wait. He lunged straight past her and reached Zalor in two strides.

He grabbed the man by the throat, fingers locking tight.

At the exact same second the handler’s hands shot out and caught Olivia and Beatrix by their throats.

She was holding one in each fist, lifting them just off the floor.

She looked straight at Liam, calm as ever. "How about we talk this through?"

Liam’s heart hammered so hard it felt like it was going to punch through his ribs. The situation is fucked up!