Badass in Disguise Chapter 241

Selene had joined the fight, tipping the scales against me in this already precarious situation.

The irony wasn't lost on me. Here I was, fighting a man with the face of someone who once promised me a normal life, while the organization that had raised us both was determined to finish what they'd started in my previous life.

Selene lunged with her tactical knife, the blade whistling through the air. I ducked under her strike and pivoted, my body moving on pure instinct. The clone attacked simultaneously from my blind spot, but I sensed his movement before I saw him. I dropped to the ground, sweeping my leg in a wide arc that caught Selene's ankle.

As she stumbled, I kicked upward with explosive force, sending her knife flying from her grip. In one fluid motion, I snatched the weapon mid-air and immediately thrust it toward Dusk's clone. The blade caught his shoulder instead of his chest as he twisted away at the last second.

"You're outnumbered, Jade," QC called from her position of safety. "Don't make this harder than it needs to be."

My chest heaved with exertion, sweat mingling with blood on my skin. I could feel my reserves depleting rapidly—I'd been fighting too long, too hard, and against too many.

Selene circled to my left, her movements cautious now that she'd seen what I was capable of. The clone mirrored her from my right, his face an emotionless mask that was a mockery of Dusk's features.

I focused on Selene first, knowing she was the more vulnerable of the two. With a burst of speed that surprised even me, I closed the distance between us. She blocked my first strike but missed the second—a vicious elbow to her temple that sent her reeling.

I pressed my advantage, landing blow after blow until she collapsed to one knee, one hand braced against the floor as she struggled to remain conscious. Blood trickled from her split lip, and her breathing came in ragged gasps.

Then I turned to face the clone.

"Selene!" QC's voice boomed across the hall.

Despite her injuries, she dragged herself to her feet and rejoined the fight, forcing herself forward on sheer willpower.

I managed to knock Selene back again with a roundhouse kick, but the brief respite only gave the clone time to press his advantage.

The clone's fist caught me in the ribs, exactly where I'd been hit before. I doubled over involuntarily, and in that split second of vulnerability, I heard the distinctive whistle of something cutting through the air.

A green metal whip lashed out from QC's position, its barbed tip aimed directly at my heart. I twisted at the last moment, but not fast enough. The barbed end tore through my shoulder, ripping through muscle and scraping bone.

Blood sprayed from the wound as the whip retracted, the barbs tearing out chunks of flesh as they withdrew. I screamed in agony, my vision blurring from the pain.

The clone seized the opportunity, rushing forward and driving his foot into my chest. The impact sent me flying backward, crashing into the stone wall with bone-jarring force. I collapsed to the floor, coughing up blood, my shoulder a mass of torn flesh and exposed muscle.

"Not so invincible after all," QC said, retracting her whip with a satisfied smile. The barbed tip dripped with my blood.

I tried to push myself up, but my body wouldn't respond properly. Internal bleeding, probably from the impact against the wall. My broken ribs had likely punctured something vital. Cold sweat broke out across my skin as shock began to set in.

The clone approached slowly, methodically, like a predator certain of its kill. If Dusk could see this—his genetic duplicate using his skills to kill the person he'd died trying to protect—he would be turning in his grave.

The clone pulled a throwing dart from his belt, the same kind Dusk had favored. The irony was almost too much to bear.

"Finish her," QC commanded.

The clone raised the dart, aiming for my throat. I braced myself, searching frantically for any way out, but my options had run out.

Just as the clone lunged forward, something unexpected happened. Selene, who had been struggling to stand, suddenly launched herself between us. She caught the clone's wrist, stopping the dart mere inches from my face.

"Selene! What are you doing?" QC's voice was sharp with disbelief.

"Find a way out," Selene said to me, her voice low and strained. Then she hurled herself at QC with the last of her strength.

QC's face contorted with rage. "You ungrateful, worthless—"

I pressed my back against the wall, using it to support my weight as I stood. My shoulder was a mass of agony, and each breath sent shards of pain through my chest where my broken ribs had punctured something inside.

The clone recovered quickly, his emotionless face turning back toward me. He approached again, another dart ready in his hand.

I couldn't beat him in this condition. Not with internal bleeding and a mangled shoulder.

Just as the clone prepared to strike, a tremendous explosion rocked the fortress. The stone walls trembled, dust and debris raining down from the ceiling. The explosion was followed by another, and then another, each closer than the last.

One of the massive wooden doors exploded inward, reduced to splinters and smoke. Through the haze, a small metallic figure appeared—Maxi, my little robot, standing in the doorway like an unlikely savior.

"Self-destruct sequence initiated," Maxi announced, Ethan's voice emerging from its speakers. "Ten pounds of TNT ready. Blast radius: five hundred meters. Countdown commencing: ten, nine, eight..."

QC fled immediately, diving through a hidden doorway to the underground lab. The clone hesitated then followed QC's path. Selene dragged her injured body toward the exit, disappearing into the smoke.

"Three, two, one..." Maxi's countdown echoed through the empty hall.

And then... nothing.

Two small canisters dropped from Maxi's chassis, releasing thick clouds of smoke that quickly filled the hall.

By the time QC realized she'd been tricked and returned to the main hall, all she found was an empty room filled with smoke and the bodies of her fallen operatives.

I was already gone.

---

"Miss Morgan? How are you doing? Don't scare me, please. If you die, I'm dead too." Miguel's voice came, tense with worry as he glanced at me through the rearview mirror.

I was sprawled across the back seat of the military-grade SUV, blood soaking through my clothes and onto the upholstery. Maxi sat beside me, its small mechanical head swiveling with concern.

"Emergency contact Ethan Haxton has been notified with our coordinates yesterday," Maxi reported, its voice an uncanny replica of Ethan's. "Master, please hold on."

"Drive... smoother," I managed to say. The internal bleeding would only worsen with each bump and jolt of the vehicle.

Miguel grimaced apologetically. "They're following us," he said, checking the mirror again.

Miguel's phone showed no signal—we were too deep in the desert to contact anyone at Siwa Oasis for backup. Our only hope was that Ethan would send help, and soon.

"We have one tank of gas," Miguel muttered, more to himself than to me. "Not enough to reach Siwa Oasis."

"Medical kit," I gasped, forcing the words out. "Where is it?"

Maxi immediately opened a compartment in its chassis. "Here, Master," it said, producing a small black case.

With trembling hands, I opened the kit. There were painkillers and adrenaline shots that might keep me conscious long enough to formulate a plan.

As the desert night swallowed us, the headlights of our SUV cut two weak beams through the darkness.

Suddenly, the engine sputtered and died. The SUV coasted to a stop in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by endless sand dunes.

"Fuck!" Miguel slammed his hands against the steering wheel. "I knew this would happen!"

He tried the ignition again and again, but the engine remained silent. Grabbing a toolkit from under his seat, he turned to look at me, his face paling when he saw my condition.

"Hang on, Miss Morgan. I'll fix this."