Chapter 252: The Golden Nugget Hotel [2]

"Don’t move a single muscle."

My outstretched hand stopped mid-reach toward the glowing Starakian Matrix, fingers mere inches from its humming surface.

I started to turn my head to identify who had discovered me, but immediately felt the distinct pressure of a gun muzzle pressed firmly against the back of my skull.

"Didn’t you hear me the first time? I said don’t move," the voice repeated.

That voice... I recognized it instantly from the corridor conversation I’d overheard just minutes ago.

Lucy.

It seemed she’d returned to this area and discovered my presence. Either through exceptional instinct, routine security checks, or simply bad luck on my part.

Damn it. This complicated everything.

"Stand up slowly," she said. "Keep your hands where I can see them."

I complied carefully, rising from my crouched position with non-threatening movements—showing I understood the danger of having a firearm pointed at my head from point-blank range.

"Raise your arms above your head."

I raised both arms in the universal gesture of surrender, keeping my fingers spread and visible.

"Now turn around. Slowly. Any sudden movement and I pull this trigger without hesitation."

I turned my head gradually, rotating to face my captor while maintaining my raised hands.

When Lucy finally got a clear view of my face in the dim light from the glowing Matrix, her eyes widened slightly with what appeared to be genuine surprise.

"You’re just a kid," she said, her tone shifting from pure hostility to something more complex—confusion mixed with curiosity. "Couldn’t be more than nineteen or twenty. Who are you, and what the hell are you doing sneaking around in here?"

I kept complete silence, offering no response to her question.

"I’d genuinely rather not shoot you," Lucy continued, scanning my face carefully while keeping her weapon trained steadily on me. "But judging by your expression and body language, you don’t seem remotely scared despite the fact that I have a loaded gun pointed directly at your head. So either you’re just playing tough to maintain composure, or you’ve legitimately seen worse threats than this. Which is it?"

"I’ve seen considerably worse," I replied honestly.

Lucy’s expression shifted slightly—a flicker of respect or perhaps recognition.

"Then tell me what you’re doing here," she asked. "Are you affiliated with Marlon’s Boardwalk Community? One of his scout sent to gather intelligence? I doubt that he would sent a man to the slaughter like this unless you aren’t alone?"

"No," I replied curtly, offering nothing beyond that single word.

Lucy stared at me for a long moment, clearly trying to assess whether I was telling the truth and what my actual allegiance might be.

Then her expression hardened with decision as she lowered her aim from my head down toward my leg.

"I’m sorry about this, but you’re not giving me much choice—"

I moved with speed before she could finish speaking or react to my sudden motion.

My hand shot out faster than normal human reflexes could track, flying to her shoulder and shoving her backward forcefully while simultaneously grasping her gun hand with my other hand.

In one fluid, I twisted her arm behind her back—applying exactly enough pressure to cause pain and force compliance without breaking bones—and maintained the hold strongly until she had no choice but to release her grip on the firearm.

The gun clattered to the floor as I simultaneously wrapped my other arm around her throat, applying a controlled chokehold that compressed her carotid arteries—hard enough to prevent any loud cry for help that might alert nearby guards, but not so hard as to cause permanent damage.

"Y...you..." Lucy choked out, her voice strangled and barely audible as she tried desperately to struggle free.

She attempted to kick backward at my legs, to elbow my ribs, to break free through sheer force—but nothing worked against my Symbiote-enhanced strength and leverage advantage.

"I’m genuinely sorry about this," I said quietly near her ear, meaning it despite the necessity of my actions.

Then I strengthened my hold on her neck, compressing the blood vessels supplying her brain until the oxygen deprivation forced her into unconsciousness.

Her struggles gradually weakened, her movements becoming uncoordinated and sluggish, until finally her arms went completely limp and her eyes rolled back as consciousness fled.

When I was certain she was fully unconscious rather than faking, I lowered her gently to the floor, positioning her carefully so she wouldn’t injure herself.

I needed to act extremely fast now. Her disappearance would be noticed within minutes.

I turned my attention immediately back to the Starakian Matrix device humming on its improvised stand.

It wasn’t prohibitively large—maybe the size of a basketball. I could definitely fit it into my backpack if I rearranged the contents.

I was obviously not going to miss this perfect opportunity to steal advanced Starakian technology.

I reached out carefully and began disconnecting all the human-made wires that had been connected to various ports and interfaces on the cube’s surface—pulling out cables and unplugging connections as quickly as I could manage.

But the instant I removed the final wire connecting the Matrix to the external power system, everything suddenly went completely dark.

Every light in the building—the lamps in this room, the corridor illumination visible through the doorway, even the distant glow from other sections—all snuffed out simultaneously as if a master switch had been thrown.

I turned around in shock, my eyes widening with surprise.

Then I looked back down at the now-dormant Matrix cube in my hands.

"This thing was providing all the electricity for the entire place?"

I stood frozen for a moment, genuinely shocked by that.

What in the hell?

That’s why the guards’ rounds had been so confident and well-lit. That’s why they’d been able to maintain such effective security. All of it depended on this single alien power source.

How the hell did they get this and understood this? Did Zakthar tell them maybe under threats?

I shook off my surprise and quickly opened my backpack, removing some less-essential supplies to make room. I managed to fit the Matrix cube inside, though my backpack now bulged awkwardly in a distinctly cubic shape that would make it obvious I was carrying something unusual.

But that didn’t matter right now. Stealth was already compromised.

Then I turned my attention to Lucy’s unconscious form.

I picked up her dropped handgun from the floor—a quality 9mm pistol with what felt like a nearly-full magazine—and secured it in my belt.

Then I crouched down and carefully lifted Lucy’s limp body, draping her over my shoulder in a fireman’s carry.

I wasn’t going to miss this opportunity to take a high-value hostage from Callighan’s group either—someone who clearly held significant authority in his command based on how those guards had spoken about her.

I could be able to exchange her against Mei hopefully.

Anyway, the sudden darkness was actually a perfect advantage for me specifically. My vision allowed me to see clearly in conditions that would leave normal humans essentially blind and helpless.

Moving through the pitch-black building would be easier than trying to infiltrate while everything was illuminated.

I smiled with satisfaction at how circumstances had unexpectedly turned in my favor, then rushed toward the exit.

I hadn’t found Mei yet but things hadn’t turned into utter disappointment as I expected at first.

I moved quickly back through the connecting corridor toward the casino gaming room, my hearing picking up approaching footsteps and the bobbing beams of flashlights cutting through the darkness ahead.

Obviously Callighan’s people were already responding to the power failure—rushing to investigate what had gone wrong with their electrical supply and the Matrix device that powered it.

I spotted the approaching lights and quickly ducked behind one of the large slot machines, crouching low with Lucy’s unconscious weight balanced on my shoulder.

Five armed guards rushed past my position, their flashlight beams sweeping erratically as they hurried toward the room where the Matrix had been installed.

Once I was confident no one else was immediately nearby, I emerged from concealment and rushed ahead toward the staircase I’d used to reach the upper casino level—intending to descend back to the main casino hall and exit through the front entrance I’d originally infiltrated.

But when I reached the top of the stairs and looked down into the main gambling floor below, I froze.

At least a dozen guards were now gathered in that space—far more than had been present when I’d entered. They were organizing quickly improving, distributing flashlights, clearly preparing for a fight.

I stepped back quickly before anyone could spot my silhouette, then looked around desperately for an alternative escape route.

"Secure that alien bastrad first!"

"Where is Lucy!"

"Find her quickly!"

"We have to quickly inform her!"

"Be read, that bastard might have escaped!"

It seemed they were thinking Zakthar may have escaped and caused this.

My eyes caught on a nearby window that had been left partially open then?

I rushed toward it and pushed it fully open, then looked down to assess the drop.

The window faced the western side of the building. Most of the guards who’d been patrolling outside had rushed inside to respond after the light went off, leaving that approach relatively clear.

The fall was considerable—maybe fifteen or twenty feet to the ground below. And I had significant extra weight on my shoulders with Lucy’s unconscious body.

The landing might sting a bit.

But there was no better option available and I had faced worse fall like in that radio station when that Enhanced infected throwing me down the building until I reached down floor. My back still remembers it..

I positioned myself carefully in the window frame, adjusted Lucy’s weight to ensure she wouldn’t slip during the fall, then launched myself outward into the darkness.

I plummeted through the night air and hit the ground in a controlled crouch, my legs absorbing the impact quickly.

Alright, I’m fine! Now I just needed to reach Christopher and get out of this area before they organized a proper pursuit.

The parking lot was right there, just a few hundred meters away across relatively open ground.

I carefully tracked the erratic movements of flashlight beams sweeping through the darkness, waiting for the right moment when attention was focused elsewhere, then burst into a fast sprint toward the isolated parking area where Christopher and I had agreed to rendezvous.

From the corner of my eye, I could see the guards who’d been searching through the marina boats for Christopher now retreating rapidly back toward the hotel’s illuminated gathering point. They weren’t foolish enough to remain scattered in the pitch darkness with a potential enemy outside.

After a sustained, adrenaline-fueled run with Lucy’s unconscious weight bouncing on my shoulder, I finally reached the parking lot and immediately stopped, looking around frantically in the shadows.

"Christopher?" I whispered, calling out for him while trying to keep my voice low enough not to carry to distant guards.

But I received no answer.

Damn it. Don’t do this to me.

My heart rate spiked with genuine worry as I moved quickly between the abandoned vehicles, checking each shadowed corner and potential hiding spot.

"Christopher!" I raised my voice slightly.

"I’m right here, man. No need to panic."

I spun around instantly and exhaled with profound relief seeing Christopher emerging from behind a van—completely drenched, water still dripping from his soaked clothing, but very much alive and apparently uninjured.

"You scared the hell out of me," I said, quickly looking him over to verify he hadn’t taken any bullets. "You’re alright? No injuries?"

"Perfectly fine," Christopher grinned widely, clearly pleased with himself. "Those dumbasses were looking in completely the opposite direction from where I was hiding. Amateur hour."

Then he blinked and focused on Lucy’s unconscious form draped over my shoulder, his grin widening further.

"Ryan, man... don’t you already have enough girlfriends without collecting unconscious women like this?"

"Shut up," I groaned. "She’s with Callighan, someone important in his group I think. I’m taking her as a hostage for potential negotiations."

"Ah, eye for an eye. They take Mei, you take their woman," Christopher nodded with understanding, still grinning. "Smart play."

"Exactly," I smiled back at him. "Let’s get out of this area before they organize themselves. I also found something extremely interesting that you need to see."

I shifted slightly so he could see the awkwardly bulging cubic shape distorting my backpack.

"Very eager to see what you grabbed," Christopher smiled.

With that, we began making our way carefully but quickly back toward the Whitesun Hotel, staying to shadowed routes and avoiding the main thoroughfares where Callighan’s people might establish roadblocks.

As we moved through the darkened streets, I turned briefly and glanced back over my shoulder toward the distant Absecon Inlet—the water separating Atlantic City from Brigantine, where Callighan’s was and definitely Mei as well.

Just wait a little bit longer, Mei.

I will definitely get you back.