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.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr0dgg0x4Uv
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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.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr2cmU3Ffvq
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"The sanctuary is closed for the night," she announced, her voice echoing off the vaulted ceiling.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIPNOOr2DIh
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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.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC3YYe8ULN3
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Crack-crack-crack!14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQvCXBn5tyu
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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.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz1Vm9SJKV0
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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!"14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT8hbdO4IEv
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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.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl3ePYy6BSQ
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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.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv4DMDeSfsi
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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?"14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpP4H3VLVIt
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"The future doesn't belong to a dealer, Marcus," Brenda hissed.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4FZEJGmgWg
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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.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5SGTsI1iQw
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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.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGUxTrDjKRW
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No.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpNIrNTkSMu
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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.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB8icsj7ES8
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"I’m done... with your fixes," she gasped, her lungs burning.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnHdqsEzO9R
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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.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFhdjucvQ31
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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.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKJ0QK3HC0N
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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!"14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbAqaGtDO0Q
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"Then watch a ghost... win the house," she choked out.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZG0lnzrYJa
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She jammed her broken fan into the console’s power core.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7qh2gUtJng
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BOOM.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdktMawxjjO
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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.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeuqYYvvgQN
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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.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKbzmb9svNn
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The doors to the basement were kicked open.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhLIhEkUOls
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"Brenda!"14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbyqk1sxivn
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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.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFFPeIa36y7
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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.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaFu0tIQoiS
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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.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMpt9oSmRt7
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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."14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgKbpCUqq6m
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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.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3fKUNgLh8y
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"A deal is a deal, Tom," she said, her voice a faint whisper.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI6EbguDiRJ
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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.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcfGM71bo1o
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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."14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaPL9bO2f1q
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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.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGmtN5IhVzs
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She just needed the truth.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnUjDeUAVWf
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THE END14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPxvaJ2fkv9
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1234 copyright protection10ＰＥＮＡＮＡzaBxAiU8yZ 尼14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjr3OpYdByV