Chapter 116

Kate

Sitting down and leaning against the wall behind her, Kate had grown weary of this entire charade. She wasn’t tired from her last fight against Dan’s teammate. Actually, the level of martial arts skill the silver-clad agent possessed was impressive. She had the anxious feeling that if their stats were equalized, she had no clue who would have come out on top in that fight.

But on top of that, Li Phantom was a freak just like Dan. In the final stretches of the previous round, she saw Li suddenly pop into existence on the roof of the facility. A teleport ability that no one outside the Church of Nano-Evolution should possess. Li and the strawberry blond girl who can curve her projectiles had their own unique powers.

Even when she made it back to her team, she caught Dan staring daggers in her direction. She knew she had successfully stirred the pot with him by disrespecting his teammate right before his eyes, even if it was excessive. She had done so on the orders of Judith Blight, or “Rachel” in this case.

By igniting Dan’s anger, their target would refuse to hold back once he got matched up with any of them and he would not approach the battle with a level head. Dan’s most valuable trait has been the ability to survive and pull through any situation, no matter how overwhelming the odds were against his favor. Kate remembered all too well from the mess back in Amethyst and the heist at the hotel.

Somehow, Dan always pulled through and Kate needed him to be off balance to guarantee the best odds for their next confrontation.

Kate turned her head and looked up at her leader Judith. The agent stood and watched the uneventful duel between a Genesis Talon and Hellhound. Judith shook her head and then opened up a private channel with Kate.

“Weaklings. All of them,” she said. “But that should be expected. I guess things won’t get interesting until Dan and I get in the ring together.”

Kate kissed her teeth, which caught the attention of her superior.

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“Is something wrong, Adriana?” she said over the private channel.

“We’re wasting our time here. When are we going to wrap this up and snatch up Dan Orion? How long are we going to keep up this act?”

“Aren’t you having fun?” Judith asked candidly.

“I took part in this ridiculous mission so that I can prevent Colleen from snapping my neck, not because I needed a girls night out,” Kate seethed, not bothering to hide her growing annoyance with Judith. “This final round in the Combat Games is our last chance to get grab him and get out.”

“After your… middling performance in the last round against Li, I’m altering our objective.”

“Wait, what? What the hell are you planning this late into the mission?” Kate stood up and faced her superior.

“While our boy Clark Dagger has his match, I need you to leave and find out where Li is being held. You placed the tracker on his armor, did you?”

Kate remembered Judith’s insistence on putting the small tracking device on Li once she gained the upper hand in their fight. After she kicked him a few times, she lifted him up and that was when she placed the device on Li’s coat. It was the perfect time to do so without drawing any suspicion from the crowds of spectators. Then her stunt of tossing Li’s body added another smokescreen so that the others, including Dan and his teammate, would view Kate’s actions as unsportsman-like rather than anything else.

“I did, but does that matter? Why did you need that tracker on him anyway?” Kate asked, but she knew what Judith had in mind. And it only frustrated her further.

“Why get one when you can get two for the same price?” Judith said. “When it comes time to snatch up Dan for ourselves, one of you will grab Li as well. Both will make excellent test subjects to study their powers.”

Kate knew that this wasn’t the time for her to openly challenge her superior. And by now, she knew her protests wouldn’t go anywhere. Whatever crazy alterations Judith made to their mission, she was forced to go along with them.

“I hope you know what you’re doing,” Kate said.

“You certainly don’t. You would have been dead numerous times over without my intervention,” Judith said calmly. Kate could hear the subtle edge in her voice.

She returned her focus on the current match between the two opposing subsidiary agents. The Genesis Talon gained the upper hand and kicked the Hellhound agent hard enough to send him tumbling off the arena.

Winner: Barns Skyline!

Kate gritted her teeth. She just wanted to get this shit over with.