Chapter 137 - 135 The Authority That Entered Without a Name

Chapter 137: Chapter 135 The Authority That Entered Without a Name

The platform was left behind as the three of them moved into the station. At that hour, the flow of passengers had diminished, but it had not disappeared. Sebastián walked beside Helena, attentive to the reflections in the shop windows and to those who remained in the same place for too long. Selena walked half a step ahead of them, guiding them without consulting the panels.

The conversation from the train did not continue. Selena resumed the professional precision with which she had organized the trip; Helena kept part of her face hidden beneath the cap and scarf; Sebastián allowed the mask and the black uniform to return to his figure the purpose for which they had been chosen.

Between the three of them, silence stopped being a question and became a shared precaution.

They crossed the main concourse and descended to the nighttime exit. The glass doors parted before they reached them.

The air entered without the humid weight or the persistent smell of fuel that Sebastián had learned to ignore in other places. It was colder and cleaner, crossed by the faint scent of wet earth.

Along the avenue, rows of young trees occupied planters illuminated from below. No branch invaded the signs or concealed the cameras at the crossings.

Selena looked toward the pickup area.

A dark gray vehicle waited between two private cars. Its bodywork bore no corporate emblems, special identification, or windows opaque enough to draw attention. It looked like just another among those arriving to pick up travelers, although the height of the chassis and the thickness of the doors revealed protection that was not part of the standard model.

The driver got out when he saw them approaching. He wore a simple jacket and unmarked clothing. He did not raise a hand or say their names.

He opened the trunk after Selena checked the license plate. Sebastián compared his face with the image they had been sent and swept his gaze over the interior of the vehicle. Only then did he step aside so the man could take the two suitcases.

The driver arranged them and closed the trunk.

Helena and Selena took the back seats. Sebastián sat beside the man, from where he could watch the route, the mirrors, and any vehicle that decided to keep its distance for too long.

No one had to explain that choice to him.

They left the station along a four-lane avenue. The city was not empty, but even its movement seemed to obey a stricter order. The traffic lights distributed traffic without congestion; pedestrian routes remained separated from the roadway by green strips, and the white lights reached the sidewalks without spilling onto the façades. Automatic systems watered the central gardens with low arcs.

Sebastián followed the route through the mirrors and ruled out the cars that had departed near them. Selena checked the time once and put the device away again.

They still had some margin before eleven.

As they moved forward, the commercial buildings became lower and the advertisements disappeared. In their place appeared residential complexes separated by deep gardens and low walls. White surfaces, black frames, and large panes of glass predominated. Electric gates slid silently before vehicles recognized by sensors. Beyond them, mature trees covered stone paths, and still pools gathered the light from the homes.

Wealth was not announced through excess. It manifested itself in the unoccupied space, in the absence of visible cables, in the trimmed hedges, and in the surveillance integrated into the architecture.

Helena watched the exterior without changing her posture. Upon entering the district, Selena began observing the intersections.

The headquarters was already close.

The vehicle took an ascending road bordered by narrow-crowned trees.

At the end, the regional headquarters appeared.

The building occupied a large part of the block without imposing itself through height. Several rectangular sections of white stone and dark panels surrounded a central structure covered in glass. The lighting rose from the ground and ran along the edges without displaying a single lamp. Tiered gardens descended toward the street between sheets of water.

Even the breadth of the entrances spoke of the capital required to keep them clear.

The driver slowed before the main entrance and turned toward the access for authorized vehicles. Two lanes descended beneath a canopy supported by black columns. A barrier blocked the way in front of a glass booth, while mobile cameras tracked the vehicle’s approach.

The man brought a credential close to the reader.

A green light appeared and the barrier rose.

They moved forward to a reception area still located outside, in front of wide doors of dark glass. The vehicle stopped beneath the canopy. The driver shut off the engine and released the locks without turning toward them.

Sebastián opened the door first and examined the access before stepping away from it. Helena got out on the opposite side; Selena did so behind her and closed the door with a brief pressure of her hand.

The three of them stood before the headquarters’ vehicle entrance.

The driver remained beside the vehicle while they approached the dark glass doors. The two suitcases remained inside the trunk. They contained nothing they would need during the inspection, and carrying them would have turned a discreet visit into an arrival that was too visible.

To the right of the access was a narrow panel integrated into one of the columns. Selena stopped in front of it and checked that the screen was active.

Helena opened her coat, took out a black piece the size of a card, and handed it to her without saying a word. It bore no name, emblem, or surface that would allow its function to be recognized.

Selena placed the piece against the reader and kept two fingers on the edge while entering a sequence on the screen. Each number disappeared as soon as she touched it.

The master code did not identify Helena to the headquarters. It generated an encrypted contingency authorization and left in the record only the confirmation of a higher-level access.

A white line traveled across the panel.

The lock released.

Sebastián opened the door and entered first.

The vehicle lobby was small, separated from the rest of the building by a second checkpoint. Two guards occupied the interior post.

One stood when he saw the mask and extended a hand to block his path; the other moved his fingers toward the communicator attached to his shoulder.

—Identify yourself —the first demanded.

Sebastián was already within his reach.

He seized the extended wrist, redirected the arm, and applied brief pressure beneath the jaw. The guard’s legs gave way before he could finish drawing breath. Sebastián supported his weight with his forearm as he turned toward the second.

The man’s hand barely brushed the communicator.

Two fingers closed over the lateral point of his neck and cut off his resistance. The man lost his strength without managing to issue an alert.

Sebastián lowered both bodies behind the security post.

Neither head struck the floor.

He looked toward the entrance.

—Come through.

Selena crossed first. Her eyes swept over the guards, the interior doors, and the cameras installed in the corners. Helena entered afterward, without quickening her pace.

Behind them, the glass closed again and left the driver, the vehicle, and the suitcases outside the building.

Selena put away Helena’s authorization and drew from the inner pocket of her coat a square device with rounded edges, barely wider than her palm.

She crouched in front of the security panel. With her fingernail, she removed a lower cover, exposed the maintenance port, and attached the device there.

A white flash ran across the surface.

The lighting went out all at once.

For less than a second, the building was completely dark.

Then red lines appeared near the floor and small indicators above the doors. The screens at the security post shut off; one of them came back with a minimal image showing the protected file core.

On the ceiling, the cameras stopped tracking them.

A neutral voice descended from the speakers.

—Main power interrupted. Auxiliary protocol active. Power redirected to the file core and priority systems. Personnel must remain in their assigned areas.

Selena watched the sequence of indicators until the last one changed from white to green. Only then did she remove her hand from the device.

She left it connected.

Helena looked at the interior door.

—Let us continue.

Sebastián kept his attention on the sounds beginning to spread through the building: chairs being moved, restrained voices, radios requesting confirmations, and footsteps heading toward the security routes.

—As long as everything continues as you prepared it, you guide the way —he said—. If that changes, I will take command.

Helena held his gaze for an instant and nodded once.

Selena was already kneeling beside the guards. She opened a narrow case and removed two black microneedles. She did not insert them into their bodies. She connected each one to the data port of one of the communicators and waited for them to copy the voice signatures stored in them.

Two green dots confirmed the link.

—They will respond to routine checks —she explained, closing the case—. A new question will reveal the substitution.

Sebastián opened the interior door a few centimeters and listened.

—That will be enough.

The corridor led to a service core located behind reception. Selena pointed to an unmarked door, and Sebastián advanced toward it.

Before touching the lock, he raised his fist.

The two women stopped.

From the other side came the scrape of a sole against the steps. A guard was coming down from the first floor with a flashlight in one hand and the radio in the other.

Sebastián waited until the beam of light crossed beneath the door. When the man’s shadow covered the gap, he opened it.

The guard managed to turn his face.

Sebastián caught the wrist holding the radio and brought the arm toward the man’s chest. His other hand rested behind his neck. Exact pressure was enough to extinguish his resistance.

Before the flashlight could fall, Sebastián caught it and laid the body on the landing, away from the line of passage.

Selena crouched beside him. She took out another microneedle, inserted it into the radio connector, and checked the green light with a glance.

Helena remained beside the door, one hand resting on the railing. She did not look at the guard any longer than necessary.

They went up.

Sebastián did not need to see the next section to know that two people were approaching from above. He could distinguish the difference between their footsteps, the rustle of their uniforms, and the brief pauses with which they listened to the instructions transmitted over the radio.

He extended two fingers toward Selena and Helena.

Both remained on the first landing.

The guards appeared as they rounded the staircase. The first had his hand near the holster of his weapon; the second was looking toward the lower floor while reporting that the auxiliary system had activated correctly.

Sebastián went out to meet them before they finished descending.

He grabbed the first by the front of his uniform and spun him out of his companion’s sight. The movement looked like a stumble until the second tried to step back.

Sebastián had already crossed the distance.

A sharp contact beneath his ear took away his balance; controlled pressure finished leaving him unconscious.

The first tried to recover his breath and reach his weapon. Sebastián immobilized the arm against his back, closed his hand around the side of his neck, and waited until he felt the body stop resisting.

Then he positioned both of them against the wall.

Selena arrived without running. She knelt, removed the radios, and connected the microneedles. As she adjusted the second one, one of the devices emitted the voice of the guard they had just left behind.

—Lower access without anomalies. We continue the inspection.

The transmission ended with a low click.

Selena looked up at Sebastián.

—The checks have already begun.

He looked toward the upper section.

—Let us move forward.

The ascent was not fast.

At each landing, Sebastián stopped before exposing his body and separated the sounds of the building: employees talking inside offices, ventilation systems sustained by the reserve, and patrols changing direction.

Selena waited behind him without asking for confirmation. Helena climbed at a steady pace; when they had to stop, she barely rested her fingers on the railing and returned to stillness without showing impatience.

Between the second and third floors, they encountered the last guard on the staircase.

He was coming down with the stun weapon already out of its holster.

Sebastián heard him disengage the safety before his shadow appeared. He pressed himself against the wall, allowed the man to descend one more step, and seized the armed forearm from behind.

The barrel remained pointed toward the floor.

The guard tried to turn, but brief pressure on his neck made him lose consciousness.

Sebastián removed the weapon from his hand and left it beside the body. Selena connected another microneedle to the radio.

Helena waited until she put the case away and then raised her gaze toward the number marked on the wall.

Third floor.

Sebastián approached the fire door and remained still. Beneath the reduced hum of the auxiliary systems, he distinguished breathing, heartbeats, and restrained movements on the other side. Some remained at their posts; others had gathered near the administrative areas.

—There are twenty people on this floor —he said—. None beside the door.

Selena pulled a thin screen from inside her coat. The floor plan appeared with the brightness reduced to the minimum.

—The director’s office is at the northern end. We can reach it through the central corridor or go around the administrative rooms.

Sebastián placed one hand on the latch, released it slowly, and opened it just enough to observe the first stretch.

The ceiling lights remained off. Only the emergency lines, battery-powered screens, and a few indicators on the desks broke the darkness.

He made a brief signal.

Selena passed behind him. Helena entered last and closed the door without letting the mechanism strike.

—Left —Selena whispered, pointing with two fingers—. After the meeting area, the corridor splits.

Sebastián advanced to the first intersection and raised his palm.

An employee was approaching from the side corridor with a tablet illuminating her face. He stepped back once and opened the door to an empty meeting room.

Selena entered sideways, without taking her eyes off the floor plan. Helena followed her, and Sebastián closed the door until only a narrow gap remained.

The woman passed in front of them. She stopped to read a message, switched the tablet to her other hand, and continued toward the central area.

Sebastián waited until her footsteps moved away before opening again. 𝑓𝑟ℯℴ𝓂

The next few meters took them several minutes.

They crossed a work area following the shadows of the dividers. When two employees left their desks at the same time, Sebastián indicated that they should lower themselves.

Selena crouched behind a powered-down workstation and gathered the edge of her coat to keep it from brushing the floor. Helena lowered herself beside her with one hand on the desk, without making a protest or asking for help.

The men spoke quietly about the power outage. One wanted to head toward the northern corridor, but received an instruction over the radio and changed direction.

Only when both disappeared did Sebastián straighten two fingers.

Selena stood first and offered Helena her forearm. She used it only to return upright and let go as soon as she was steady.

When they reached the second split, Selena pointed toward the central corridor.

—It is the shortest route. The office is beyond two checkpoints.

Sebastián barely tilted his face, attending to what she could not hear.

—Three people are coming from there. Service staff.

Selena moved the floor plan with her thumb and located another connection.

—To the right. It will leave us behind the administrative archive.

Sebastián took that direction.

They were not advancing by hiding from a present gaze, but by avoiding the place each person would occupy a few seconds later. Sebastián regulated the pace according to footsteps and breathing; Selena corrected the destination each time they abandoned the planned route; Helena remained behind both of them, following every signal with the same discipline with which she would have directed a meeting from the other side of a table.

They waited inside a supply room while a patrol crossed in front of the door. They then went around the administrative archive and passed between two rows of terminals that remained powered under the reserve.

On one occasion, they had to retreat as far as a column because a secretary returned for a forgotten communicator. None of them tried to rush the moment. Each pause preserved the silence the next one needed.

At the end of the northern corridor, Sebastián stopped.

A double door occupied the center of the wall. It did not bear the name of the person in charge; only the discreet emblem of the headquarters.

Selena turned off the screen and put it away. Helena adjusted the edge of the scarf with two fingers without uncovering her face yet.

Sebastián listened to the interior.

Five breaths.

Four remained distributed around the room; the fifth was behind a desk. From the rustle of the holsters and the metallic weight that accompanied every change in posture, the first four were armed.

He turned his face slightly toward Helena.

—Five. Four guards. I can subdue them before you enter.

Helena directed her eyes toward the door. Her expression did not change.

—No. Keep them still. I want to speak with the director before he prepares a convenient response.

Sebastián held her gaze for an instant.

—Understood.

He positioned himself in front of the door, pressed the control, and waited for the lock to retract. He did not force the mechanism or try to conceal his entrance.

He opened it with one hand and crossed the threshold.

The office was larger than the administrative rooms they had left behind. A window occupied the entire right wall and showed the city spread out beneath the night. At the back, facing the entrance, a long desk with a dark surface divided the room.

The regional director remained behind it. He was a man close to forty years old, with short hair, a gray suit, and a tie without a single deviation. He had a tablet open in front of him and one hand resting beside several documents.

The four guards were distributed between the desk, the window, and the side walls.

Behind the director, two elements occupied symmetrical positions.

On the left stood the metallic statue of a combat robot nearly two meters tall. It had a broad torso, heavy shoulders, thick forearms, and legs built with the solidity of a mechanical fighter. Its fists rested at both sides of its body, and its compact head was sunk between the upper protections.

It emitted no light and made no movement. Inside that office, it served as a decorative representation of industrial strength.

On the other side grew an ornamental tree of similar height, contained in a black base. Its pale trunk divided into precisely pruned branches and balanced the dark mass of the statue without imitating it.

The director looked up.

His eyebrows drew together when he found a masked figure standing in the middle of the doorway.

—Who are you? How dare you enter like this...?

The nearest guard moved his hand toward his weapon.

The other three reacted an instant later.

Sebastián stopped restraining a minimal portion of his killing intent.

He did not release Qi.

No energy traveled through the room, nor did any pressure appear capable of touching the objects.

It was something directed solely at those in front of him: the naked killing intent of someone who knew how to kill each one of them and could do so before they completed a single movement.

The first guard remained with his fingers resting on the grip. Another managed to spread his feet apart, but his body refused to continue. The third held his breath; the fourth fixed his gaze on the mask without daring to blink.

Behind the desk, the director’s voice died before he could finish the question.

Sebastián said nothing.

He kept all five within his field of vision, extended one hand behind him, and opened the door completely.

Selena entered and moved to one side, from where she could observe the guards and the desk.

Helena crossed afterward with the same restrained pace she had maintained since the vehicle entrance.

She stopped beside Sebastián.

With one hand, she removed her cap.

With the other, she lowered the scarf until her face was completely uncovered.

________________________________________

END OF Chapter 135 The path continues...

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