The two stared at the scene for a while, the implications setting in slowly.
They had both witnessed the battle — Zade taking part in it personally, and Priya having observed much of it from the shadows. Because of that, they knew the clones were weaker than the main body… or what they thought was the main body.
In that case, if this so-called main body wasn't the real one in the first place… then how powerful was Van Hollen really?
They had only just had the thought when the screams and chaos reached their ears. Priya shuddered as she heard a woman's voice echoing from the elevator shaft, the splatter of what must have been a body coming soon after.
The elevator doors never opened, but one could imagine what must have happened.
Zade's expression changed, and he struggled in an attempt to stand.
"Did you… notice him… leave?"
"I didn't have a full range of vision on the entire lobby. It's possible."
Priya had been watching the fight from a small square window on the doorway to the stairwell. The amount she could see was limited, especially during the beginning sequence of the battle. It could be said that Zade was very lucky they eventually came into her sights.
There was more than one stairwell in a high-rise this large, so if Van Hollen was so inclined, he could have easily slipped away while Zade couldn't even see straight due to his concussion.
It made sense from the Sakks' point of view. He didn't know what Zade's Talent was, and there was no guarantee that he could deal with the man. So instead of banking on an uncertain possibility, he split his focus and placed his main chips on completing their most important mission…
Sowing chaos.
Right then, the blaring sounds of a fire alarm echoed through the building.
'Better late than never…' Priya thought. Hopefully, that would alert enough people to the chaos that was coming for them and make it harder for the Firm to get their way. But unfortunately, not hard enough.
Priya looked to the glass doorways. The lobby was dark, mostly lit by the rays of crimson moonlight from the outside and sparse candlelight here and there. Soon, there would probably be a stampede of people coming through, and then those fools would find themselves rushing out into a Crimson Rain, thinking they were heading toward safety — only to forge themselves into a sea of Turned.
The outcome was obvious, but Priya didn't know of any way to stop it. She also couldn't leave because she was facing the same issue. She too was susceptible to the Crimson Rain, even though her tolerance was far beyond most here.
Taking a deep breath, Priya calmed herself. She knew Zarek. He seemed careless, but he was actually the most meticulous person she knew — even more so than her parents. The only reason he didn't give her a detailed plan of action was because he didn't want to.
She needed to be able to think for herself. In all likelihood, Zarek was already on his way back. Until then, she had to do the protecting.
"Drink it."
Priya threw Zade the Healing Elixir Zarek had given her. It could be said this was the one thing Zarek had left her other than training and her weapons. It was meant to be used for herself, but she made a different decision this time.
"What is this?" Zade asked, finally pulling himself to his feet.
"Healing tonic."
Zade blinked for a moment. Then, considering the fact Priya was standing a decent distance away and could have just put a bullet through him if she were so inclined, he chugged it.
Almost immediately, he felt a heat pulsing through his chest. A crackling came from his bones again — but this time, rather than it coming from injuring himself further, he found himself feeling fresh and alive.
"…Wow…"
He looked to Priya, realizing just how valuable what she had given him was. But he didn't really have the words to say, other than…
"Thank you… again."
He clenched his staff and the kink was undone once more. Gripping it tightly, he wanted to set off, but Priya shook her head.
"Going now won't make a difference. The damage is done. Without the elevators, the only way to access the various exits is by coming through here. We need to stay and try to stabilize whoever does make it down — maybe form a defensive team to deal with them too."
Zade's mouth opened slightly, but then he nodded. Priya was right.
As sharp as he was in the fields of medicine, business, and fitness, all of them were new to this trial by combat the system was running them through the gauntlet of.
No, there was an exception.
The government. Or more accurately, the military. They would be teeming with people who had experience in this exact sort of field.
He had to get better.
Unfortunately, he had only just had that thought when Priya said something that made him feel quite inadequate again.
"The corpses."
"Excuse me?" Zade asked in confusion.
"When they come down here, they'll panic and be less likely to listen if there are corpses and blood littered everywhere. There's probably no time to clean up the blood, but it's dark, so we might be able to get away with it as a trick of the light. But the corpses — we definitely have to hide."
Zade blinked, and then nodded again.
Why did he suddenly feel like he wasn't leading the situation here anymore?
Either way, he rushed to work. Feeling a bit useless, he went all out. With his stats, lugging around a few 180-pound men wasn't a problem at all.
He stuffed them all behind the receptionist's desk, moving so fast he surprised even himself.
Priya just watched, never getting too close to Zade, while also scanning the lobby — from exit to the several stairwell entrances. All the while, she had two hands on her gun at all times.
She'd still be standing when her man got back.
That was her promise to herself — and to him.
**
Zarek's steps slowed, his head turning up to the skies.
'Hm?'
He blinked once — and then, as though a trick of the light, a silhouette flashed and then disappeared. They had just been standing on a building not far off… but now they were gone.
Zarek, however, only seemed confused for a short while before he turned his gaze to the side. There, in a dark alley, there was nothing to see at all. But his gaze never left it… until a shadowy figure walked out.
Van Hollen.
Obscured by the thick, gel-like body armor that coated him from head to toe, he stood there like a sentry ready to do battle.
He took a strong step forward — suddenly splitting into a dozen figures that circled Zarek from all sides.
All of them sent out a punch in unison… before suddenly snapping into one form.
Van Hollen repeated the very same actions, his acceleration and power all reaching a new threshold.
Zarek's blade flashed — and a head flew into the skies.
"I'm not in the mood to play with clones. Send your real body next time."