Chapter 896
“Grab them! They’re working with the assassin p>
At Harvey’s shout, a wave of students surged forward, aggressively tackling the fleeing grifters and pinning them to the concrete.
Mira’s eyes swept the chaotic perimeter, instantly locking onto Seraphina Quinn and Luna Lance, who were standing conspicuously a short distance away.
It wasn’t paranoia; their presence there was undeniably suspicious.
“Ghost-Needle!” Silas reached down, preparing to yank the sleek dart from the fabric of his jacket.
“Wait.” Mira barked, stopping his hand.
The needle hadn’t pierced his skin, but there was a high probability the tip was coated in a lethal toxin.
She methodically pulled on a pair of sleek leather gloves, carefully extracted the Ghost-Needle, wrapped it securely in a thick layer of tissues, and sealed it inside a plastic evidence bag. She immediately dialed Jordan to report the escalation.
The police arrived within minutes, sirens blaring. They swiftly cuffed the suspects, hauled them into the cruisers, recorded statements from Mira and her team, and peeled away.
“Thank you for stepping up, everyone. I owe you all a dinner sometime,” Mira told the breathless students who had tackled the decoys.
“Don’t worry about it! We’re classmates, we’ve got to watch each other’s backs p>
As she finally stepped through the campus gates, Mira paused at the security booth to give strict instructions. “Security is compromised right now. Do not let anyone without a valid student or faculty ID onto these grounds. If anything looks off, call this number immediately p>
The guards exchanged a hesitant look. “Miss p>
They recognized her, of course. She was the Vanguard Icon, a young billionaire.
But bypassing protocol was a massive breach of discipline. In an emergency, their strict orders were to contact the Campus Security Office first.
“I’ll be blunt. An assassin just made an attempt on my life right outside these gates. I’m sure you saw the commotion p>
“We did see it, but there are only two of us on shift. We couldn’t abandon our post.” “I’m not blaming you. You did your jobs. But if you’re worried about breaking protocol, you can call my number first, then immediately call Campus Security. Or call both simultaneously. I’ll personally clear this arrangement with your director, so there won’t be any blowback on you p>
Mira had no intention of making their lives difficult.
“Understood. If you clear it, we’re fully on board p>
“Have you downloaded Emerald Messenger yet?” Mira asked.
“Uh… no, not yet p>
“Download it right now and add me. I’m sending you each a thousand dollars. Keep this perimeter secure, and there will be more bonuses coming your way p>
These men worked long hours for a meager salary of three to five thousand a month.
Aethelgard University had a strict hiring policy, employing exclusively ex-military personnel for the gates. Mira saw immense value in utilizing their skills.
“Wait, isn’t… isn’t this bribery?” one asked nervously.
“Hardly. I’m not paying you to look the other way or break the law. Consider it a private performance bonus for vigilance p>
Put that way, it made perfect sense.
“Alright, we’re downloading it now p>
Mira waited until their accounts were set up, transferred the funds seamlessly, and turned to leave.
“When the next shift rotates in, brief them on my instructions and make sure they add my Emerald Messenger account p>
“How… how do we pitch it to them p>
Harvey lightly tapped his watch. “Mira, we’re going to be late for our lecture p>
Mira nodded, leaving Silas behind to walk the guards through linking their bank accounts to the app. Once he was done, he had orders to rush the Ghost-Needle straight to Jordan.
As they walked toward the academic buildings, Jax leaned in. “Why would a highly trained assassin risk a frontal assault at the main gates? He could have vaulted the perimeter wall in a heartbeat p>
“No, he couldn’t. Professional hitmen will always opt for a disguised entry you’re
through a pub point
forgetting the cameras. The
perimeter walls are lined with them,
zero blind spots p>
It didn’t matter how skilled an infiltrator was; the moment the digital eyes caught someone scaling the wall, the campus-wide alarms would trigger, bringing a swarm of guards down on them in seconds.
“Make sense. I didn’t think modern tech would pose such a massive hurdle for the underground p>
After the morning lectures concluded, Mira didn’t join Elara Finn and Jillian Lowe for lunch. Instead, she marched straight to the Campus Security Department.
She knew there was always an officer manning the front desk during the lunch hour. “Mira!” The guard on duty bolted upright the second he saw her.