"Boom!"
All four bulletproof glass curtain walls exploded inward at once.
Gale-force winds swept torrential rain and countless shards of glass into the warm office like a roaring beast. The fireplace was instantly snuffed out, and documents scattered through the air.
Four dark figures landed soundlessly, as though they were part of the darkness itself.
There were no wasted movements.
Four poison-coated Amber Gold Daggers struck from vicious angles, cutting off every possible escape around Yang Ming.
Two went straight for his throat and heart.
The other two lunged to either side, one toward the medical case in front of Yang Ming, the other toward Mayor Hamilton, who had retreated behind his desk.
Attack, cover, cut off the retreat.
The Court's killing machines were cold and efficient.
Hamilton's lips had already curled into a smile of certain victory. His script went like this: the Talons would keep Yang Ming occupied while he calmly retrieved the owl mask from the table, then activated the hidden camera to capture perfect evidence of Yang Ming's "armed assault."
But Yang Ming never even looked at the four daggers closing in.
He did not touch the medical case filled with "evidence," either.
The instant before the blades pierced his coat, Yang Ming raised his right hand.
"Snap."
A crisp snap of his fingers.
A cheap Pink Wooden Door appeared out of thin air between Yang Ming and the coffee table.
An invisible suction took hold.
The medical case on the table, the pure white owl mask, the two half-finished glasses of red wine, and even the miniature recording device Hamilton had planted in the pen holder were swallowed by the door.
The door closed instantly.
For the first time, the smile froze on Hamilton's face.
*What was this? Spatial powers? Was the Court's intelligence department