The air inside the St. Jude Cathedral was thick with the smell of ancient incense and modern chemicals. In the sanctuary, rows of wooden pews had been pushed aside to make room for stainless steel lab tables. It was a factory of sin hidden in a house of God.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy38LQiJYfU
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Lady Luck dropped from the organ loft, her green silk cape billowing like a poisonous cloud. She landed in the center of the aisle, her weighted fans snapping open with a lethal clack.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOAtRaqjY1j
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"The sanctuary is closed for the night," she announced, her voice echoing off the vaulted ceiling.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOKxhWBif1t
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The guards—Vane’s elite, gray-skinned "Omega" soldiers—didn't hesitate. They moved with the twitchy, terrifying speed of the high-grade serum.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL5O9lXJkqo
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Crack-crack-crack!13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr1n8TEFCjR
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Hardy burst through the side entrance, his service weapon barking. He moved with the precision of a man who had spent twenty years preparing for this exact moment. He took out two guards before they could level their rifles, providing the opening Brenda needed.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMYOVetYUrP
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"Go for the basement, Brenda!" Hardy shouted, ducking behind a marble altar as a hail of bullets tore into the stone. "I’ll hold the floor!"13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLWfn4Egl20
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Lady Luck didn't argue. She sprinted toward the trapdoor behind the pulpit, her fans blurring as she deflected a combat knife thrown by a staggering guard. She dove into the dark.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4VXCekp97Z
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The basement was a neon-lit nightmare. Director Vane stood at a central console, watching a digital map of the city’s distribution points. He looked up as Brenda entered, his face twisted into a smirk that held no humanity.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNZe0saHuup
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"The socialite and the policeman," Vane chuckled, his voice distorted by the gray veins pulsing in his neck. "A tragic little romance. Did you really think you could stop the future with a piece of silk and a badge?"13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3UZgJHMKnl
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"The future doesn't belong to a dealer, Marcus," Brenda hissed.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoZzu2Q9gMV
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Vane didn't reach for a gun. He smashed a glass canister at his feet. A cloud of pure, concentrated Omega Strain filled the small room.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtEikHLJlsE
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Brenda felt the drug hit her system through her skin. It was the ultimate temptation. Every cell in her body screamed for the "High" the gas offered. It wasn't just a physical need anymore; it was a psychological siren song. Her vision swam. The "Green" was calling her home.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7X5TcbCHJ3
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No.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjgVVMGEomj
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She thought of Hardy’s hand on her cheek. She thought of the way he looked at her in the morning light—seeing the broken girl and loving her anyway.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLbBIq2U5Y1
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"I’m done... with your fixes," she gasped, her lungs burning.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoJr74gBOw1
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She lunged. Vane was stronger, his skin like granite, but Brenda was desperate. She didn't fight like a duelist; she fought like a woman possessed. She used the sharp edges of her fans to slice through the cooling tubes of the main vat, flooding the floor with neutralizing chemicals.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2URqOqtaII
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Vane roared, swinging a fist that cracked her ribs. Brenda hit the wall, her veil slipping. She saw the master override switch on the console. If she flipped it, the entire lab would vent the neutralizing agent, destroying the shipment—but it would also trigger the building’s fire suppression system, trapping everyone inside a chemical fog.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE10ARRxX25
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Vane lunged again, his hands closing around her throat. "You’re nothing but a junkie, Brenda! Without the mask, you’re a ghost!"13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvm97a4P7hV
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"Then watch a ghost... win the house," she choked out.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡieOaXfeGOd
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She jammed her broken fan into the console’s power core.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNvFZsAsWF5
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BOOM.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnWpKhDiiIT
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A wall of white mist exploded outward. Vane screamed as the neutralizer hit his Omega-enhanced system, his body reacting violently to the sudden detox. He collapsed, his skin turning a sickly, mortal pale.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8ei9yPrXQH
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Brenda lay on the floor, the world turning gray. The withdrawal and the chemical shock were finally too much. Her heart slowed. The "Luck" had finally run out.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5LulfI63vD
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The doors to the basement were kicked open.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS6Dq4Ra1kT
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"Brenda!"13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡANH0hGiYdx
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Hardy stumbled through the fog, his face covered by a wet cloth. He found her slumped against the ruined console. He scooped her up, ignoring the alarms and the crashing sounds of the cathedral above.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO1hMYB844P
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He carried her out into the cold morning air. The rain had stopped. The sun was beginning to bleed over the horizon.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvXCva5PStH
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Brenda opened her eyes. She saw the flashing lights of a dozen police cruisers. She saw the ambulances. And she saw the handcuffs hanging from Hardy’s belt.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYnFbGAfmI0
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"You did it," Hardy whispered, his voice thick with emotion. "It’s over, Brenda. Vane is down. The shipment is gone."13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ8PgOUFLzM
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Brenda looked at the station across the street. She looked at the green veil clutched in her hand, now torn and soaked in grime. She reached up and placed the veil in Hardy’s hand.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKCApXrLclm
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"A deal is a deal, Tom," she said, her voice a faint whisper.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKmoHJGwpJi
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Hardy looked at the mask, then at the woman he loved. He didn't put the handcuffs on her. Not yet. He simply sat on the back of an ambulance with her, wrapped a shock blanket around her shoulders, and let her head rest on his.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL8kBGN47W2
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"I’m taking you to the clinic," he said. "Personally. And when you’re out... we’ll figure out how to tell the truth."13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9WMIwHTRqT
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Brenda looked at the city she had saved—the city that would soon know her as both a hero and a fallen daughter. The craving was still there, a dull ache in the back of her mind, but as she held Hardy’s hand, she realized for the first time that she didn't need the luck.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7mSwVgnSKV
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She just needed the truth.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs4ebj8ydDi
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THE END13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW8JkvCRitz
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1234 copyright protection9ＰＥＮＡＮＡJjBCrflC3l 尼13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0Qrz34piid