The wall didn't just crumble; it exploded inward.
Concrete dust billowed out in a choking grey cloud, blinding us instantly. The roar of the engine was deafening—a guttural, mechanical grinding that vibrated through the soles of my bare feet.
"Move!" Cyprian bellowed, grabbing the back of my ruined jacket.
He hurled me toward the rear exit of the maintenance bay just as the nose of an armored tactical vehicle—a matte-black BearCat with a battering ram—tore through the brickwork.
Searchlights mounted on the vehicle’s roof sliced through the dust, pinning the resistance kid to his chair.
"Go!" the kid screamed, grabbing a heavy server rack and toppling it into the path of the vehicle. "I'll jam the entrance!"
"Kid, no!" I shouted, reaching back.
"Leave him!" Elara grabbed my arm, her
