Apocalypse Trade Monopoly
Chapter 135: - Loadout

Chapter 135: - Loadout

The door slid open just as Ava slid the final casing panel into place.

Lucas stepped in, back straight, half-armored already—black combat mesh layered under a tactical vest, bracers active and syncing. He hadn’t shaved. Probably hadn’t eaten. His hair was damp like he’d washed it with cold water and a deadline.

She didn’t look up from the table.

"Good. You’re here. We’ve got toys."

Lucas raised an eyebrow. "Do any of them explode?"

Ava smirked. "Three of them."

He walked over, scanning the table. His eyes moved fast—trained, precise—but even he paused when he saw the fourth item.

"You finished Sovereign?"

Ava didn’t look smug. Just tired. "Finished enough. It’ll burn through skyfeed if the signal’s clean."

Lucas let out a low whistle. "That’s not just loud. That’s war."

"You asked for seismic."

He reached for Violet Dagger first. "This?"

"Compact disruptor," Ava said, tightening a screw without glancing at him. "One shot disables barrier fields and sensor grids for twelve seconds. Untraceable. Use it right before you breach the vault."

Lucas clipped it to his thigh harness. "Beautiful."

Next, he lifted Sundial. "This one scares me."

"It should," Ava said, handing him the trigger assembly. "It piggybacks onto local power nodes. Target a junction, and it turns the entire defense grid into a short-range lattice cannon. Ten-second charge. Then everything it touches? Gone."

Lucas tested the weight. "That’s new."

"I built it last winter after someone tried to shut off my air vent."

Lucas didn’t ask.

He moved on to the third: the spider-like Bridgewalker drone.

He bent low, tapping its back casing.

"This climbs?"

"And maps. It’ll find an entry point faster than you. And it doesn’t bleed."

Lucas grinned. "Rude. Accurate."

He loaded it into a side carrier on his belt.

Then reached the last one.

Sovereign.

His fingers hovered an inch above it.

"Are we really using this?"

Ava finally looked at him. "If they hit us first, we’re not going to ask for terms."

Lucas’s expression didn’t shift, but something behind his eyes darkened.

He nodded once. Picked up Sovereign. Slid it into the hardcase locked to his left hip.

"All right," he said. "Let’s talk entry."

Ava turned her bracer to project a 3D schematic. "Their west access tunnel’s sealed, but Sundial can get you through. Bridgewalker maps internal lanes while I route visual noise through their outer cams. Dagger gives you breach. Then I hit Sovereign if they drop a failsafe."

Lucas studied the rotating image. "And you?"

Ava shrugged. "I’ll be in the crawlspace above Sector B. Watching everything. Feeding you real-time."

"Dangerous."

She gave him a look. "So is working with you."

Lucas smiled faintly.

He looked back at the layout.

Then paused.

"I got a lead. Angle might be there," he said, quiet.

Ava didn’t flinch. "And if she is?"

"I don’t kill her without confirmation," he said. "But I will get what’s mine."

"You sure you’re ready for those?"

He looked at her. "You weren’t ready for Kai. You still got what we needed."

Ava didn’t reply.

He didn’t expect her to.

Instead, she moved to the wall, opening a concealed hatch. Inside sat a lined rack of injectors and energy vials—quick-boost mods and hard-hitters. She passed two to Lucas.

"Adrenaline mod. Quiet-style. Won’t mess with your head. Much."

Lucas loaded them without question.

Then finally—finally—he stopped moving.

Looked at her.

Really looked.

"You built all this in four hours."

Ava shrugged. "I had caffeine."

"You had rage."

"Same thing."

Lucas nodded, gaze holding hers for one second longer than it needed to.

Then he said, softer: "Don’t die."

"You too."

He paused. Then smirked. "You worried?"

"I just don’t want to lose my best bullet sponge."

Lucas turned halfway in the doorway. For a moment, he didn’t answer.

Then he said, voice lower than before, "I’m going to get him, Ava."

She blinked.

He nodded once. "The main goal is I’m walking in to pull him out."

His tone wasn’t sharp or angry. Just... anchored.

Ava straightened slightly. "You think he’s still in there? Still him?"

"I don’t think," Lucas said. "I know. My father was never just a name on a project file. He was the reason we had codes to survive the first collapse. Half the bunkers still run on his tech."

A beat passed.

Then Lucas added, more quietly, "Before all of this... before the earthquakes and the systems and the shifters—I wanted something boring."

Ava raised a brow.

Lucas kept going.

"I was going to take the Bai network global. Outplay the regulators. Marry someone sharp enough to bankrupt me in six languages. Build a city where I could write the rules."

He smiled faintly. Not the cocky smirk she was used to. Just a small, tired curve of the mouth.

"Grow old. Throw dinner parties. Design dangerous things in my off time, just for fun. Get into arguments about art. Raise dogs. Maybe three."

Ava didn’t laugh.

She didn’t even smirk.

Because the way he said it—it wasn’t nostalgia.

It was intention.

He still planned to win all of it back.

Lucas looked at her again. Eyes steady. Golden. Unshakable.

"I’m still going to do it," he said. "After this, when my father’s out and Angle’s accounted for... I’m going to build."

He stepped closer—just one pace.

"And if you’re still standing when that time comes," he said, "I want you there."

He didn’t say it like a command.

Didn’t coat it in charm or hide behind strategy.

Just that simple. That honest.

Ava didn’t move. Didn’t breathe for a second.

Then—

The door behind them hissed open.

William stepped in, perfectly timed like always—his coat sharp, sleeves immaculate, and not a hint of surprise on his face as he glanced between them.

"Apologies," he said calmly. "But if you’re done declaring intentions, young master, I’ve got updates."

Lucas turned, that flicker of something in his eyes shuttering back into focus. "Let’s have them."

William stepped forward, offering a slim datachip between two fingers. "Drone teams are circling the west approach now. Minimal movement outside the cryo grid. Someone’s shut down nonessential sensors, likely to conserve power. That means your breach window’s just narrowed."

Lucas took the chip, scanning it. "Anything unexpected?"

"One thing," William said. He turned to Ava. "Her."

Ava blinked. "Me?"

William gave a small, respectful nod. "Your presence shifts the math."

Lucas raised an eyebrow. "Clarify."

William’s tone didn’t change. "You asked me for old school projections. Contingency survival rate with standard tech support—sixty-one percent. With Ava’s live-sync interference system, weapon builds, and countermap adjustments—eighty-four."

Lucas frowned. "That high?"

William nodded once. "It gets higher the more control you hand her mid-mission."

Lucas looked at Ava.

She didn’t flinch.

William continued. "And frankly, sir? You may not want to hear it—but taking her with you is the best move."

Lucas’s gaze narrowed. "You saying I can’t handle it?"

"I’m saying you could, sir," William said smoothly. "But if something goes wrong—and it will—you’ll need someone who doesn’t break. And she doesn’t."

Ava arched a brow. "I’m right here."

William looked at her. "Exactly."

Lucas stared between them. Thought fast. Silent.

Then he said, almost too quietly, "Guess we’ll ride together."

Ava smirked. "I call front seat."

Lucas shook his head. "No. I need you working mid-line. You’re not walking into the blast radius—yet."

Ava opened her mouth.

Lucas pointed at her. "That’s a ’not yet,’ not a ’never.’ Be grateful."

Ava opened her mouth, ready with something sharp, when the second set of footsteps interrupted them.

Measured.

Unhurried.

The doors opened without announcement.

The Butler entered.

"Uncle," he said.

The old man inclined his head, eyes sweeping over Lucas, then Ava. "Young Master. Miss Zhang."

Ava nodded slowly. "Sir."

He handed William a sealed slate—thin, military-style. "From the vault’s remote node. High-security orders."

Lucas took the slate and activated it.

His expression changed.

Just slightly.

A flicker in the jawline.

Then he turned the slate so Ava could see too.

[DIRECTIVE: OPERATIONAL DECRYPTION]

[ PERMISSION GRANTED: PRIMARY VAULT OVERRIDE KEY ACCEPTED]

[ALPHA ACCESS GRANTED: BAI HEIR + AUTHORIZED COMPANION ONLY]

Ava blinked. "You’re kidding."

Lucas wasn’t.

"The cryo vault," he said quietly, "has already registered me. And one other."

Uncle Ji folded his hands behind his back. "We received it two hours ago. The override was dormant until your biometric came back online."

Ava frowned. "Why not tell us earlier?"

"Because," Ji said, tone cool and exact, "I needed to confirm Miss Zhang’s role was not temporary."

Lucas gave Ava a look.

One brow raised. "Well?"

She folded her arms. "Tell him I’m great with knives."

William coughed softly into his fist.

Lucas smiled. "She’s essential."

Uncle Ji gave the faintest nod. "Then the path is yours. The system will not open for anyone else."

"Not even you?" Ava asked.

"No," Ji said. "Not anymore."

He turned to Lucas. "If your father is in there, you will find him. And if he’s not..." His gaze sharpened. "Then you will learn who lied."

Lucas pocketed the slate.

Ava tightened her gloves.

Everything had just changed.

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