Chapter 13: Snow Leopard's Fury
Kat Volkov’s sleek, silent vehicle cut through the Aethelgard sky-nes, heading towards the district where her Crimson Fang contacts awaited. Her jaw was tight, annoyance simmering beneath her usual cool facade. Every second away from Kenji felt like an eternity, a grating inefficiency she couldn't stand. He should be back in the penthouse, safe, hers, waiting for her return. This Syndicate business was a necessary nuisance, but utterly secondary. Her thoughts kept drifting back to the feel of him beneath her, the bewildered look in his eyes, the possessive satisfaction that had bloomed within her – a feeling so potent, so consuming, it eclipsed everything else.
Suddenly, her secure comm impnt buzzed urgently – not a standard notification, but a Css Omega security alert. Simultaneously, multiple high-priority threat indicators fshed across the car's internal holographic dispy.
[ALERT: PENTHOUSE PERIMETER BREACH - SECTOR GAMMA WINDOW - EXPLOSIVE FORCE DETECTED!]
[ALERT: INTERNAL ALARMS TRIGGERED - UNAUTHORIZED PRESENCE DETECTED!]
[ALERT: BIOMETRIC LOCKDOWN OVERRIDDEN - MANUAL FAILSAFE ACTIVE!]
Kat’s blood ran cold. Her emerald eyes narrowed into icy slits. "Status report! Visual feed, penthouse interior, now!" she snapped, her voice dropping several degrees, losing all trace of earlier reluctance and gaining the sharp, lethal edge of command.
The holographic dispy flickered, accessing the penthouse's internal security cameras. The connection gged for a frustrating second, then stabilized, showing the devastating aftermath. Smoke, shattered gss glittering like malevolent diamonds across her expensive rug, arms fshing silently on the feed. And then… the pyback caught it. The masked figure dropping in. Kenji, struggling weakly, cd only in her silk robe. The tranquilizer dart. Kenji colpsing. The masked figure efficiently restraining her Kenji, hauling him like cargo towards the shattered window. Gone.
Taken.
The word echoed in the silent, luxurious interior of the car. A fury unlike anything she had ever known – cold, sharp, and utterly consuming – seized Kat Volkov. This wasn't business competition. This wasn't a territorial dispute over information or resources. This was personal. Someone had dared to enter her sanctuary, breach her defenses, and y hands on her most precious possession. Someone had stolen Kenji.
Her mind, honed by years of navigating treacherous underworld dealings and corporate espionage, worked with terrifying speed. Who had the audacity? Who had the resources? Who hated her enough to risk such a direct, provocative attack? The Crimson Fang? Possible, but this felt too personal, too targeted at disrupting her, not just her operations.
Then, the image of Isabel Leone’s smug, challenging stare across the Gilded Cage floor fshed in her mind. Leone, with her fiery temper and vast resources. Leone, who had looked at Kenji with that predatory, appraising gleam. Leone, whose pride wouldn't tolerate Kat having something – or someone – she couldn't possess or destroy. The timing, the boldness… it screamed Leone. The masked operative was likely Syndicate muscle, easily bought or leveraged by someone like Isabel.
A low, dangerous growl rumbled in Kat's chest, the sound barely human. The air in the car seemed to drop twenty degrees. Her knuckles were white where she gripped the armrest. The Crimson Fang meeting? Irrelevant dust. Her entire being focused onto a single, burning point: Isabel Leone.
"Driver," Kat commanded, her voice like chipped ice, "Change course. Leone Industries Tower. Override all traffic protocols. Maximum velocity."
The stoic Bear-woman driver didn't question, didn't hesitate. The vehicle banked sharply, G-forces pressing Kat back into the seat, accelerating with brutal speed towards the opulent skyscraper dominating the financial district – the heart of Leone's empire.
Kat accessed another secure panel. Her fingers flew across the holographic interface, activating specific assets, unlocking high-level security clearances, mobilizing her own elite operatives. This wouldn't be a negotiation. This wasn't about leverage.
This was about retrieval and retribution.
She would tear Leone Tower apart brick by brick if necessary. She would freeze the blood in Isabel Leone’s veins. She would get Kenji back. He belonged to her, and the fury of a Snow Leopard whose territory – whose mate – had been vioted was about to be unleashed upon Aethelgard. Isabel Leone had just signed her own death warrant.
