Apocalypse Trade Monopoly
Chapter 74: : The Counteroffer

Chapter 74: : The Counteroffer

Lucas twirled the data key between his fingers, his smirk settling into something lazier—but not softer. Ava knew that look. It wasn’t amusement. It was calculation.

Locke had played his hand. Now, Lucas was deciding what it was actually worth.

Finally, Lucas exhaled, slipping the key into his coat pocket. "I have to say, Captain, I admire the confidence. You drop a priceless secret in my lap and expect me to take your word that ’out’ means exactly what you think it does."

Locke didn’t flinch. "Out is out."

Lucas hummed, tilting his head. "See, I think that’s where we disagree. You spent your whole career in military chains, following orders, watching the people above you play their little games. And now, you’re telling me you want to vanish? No connections? No safety net?"

Locke’s jaw tightened. "I don’t need a net."

Lucas chuckled, shaking his head. "That’s cute. Really. But let’s be honest, Captain—you wouldn’t be here if that were true."

Ava watched as Locke’s fingers curled slightly at his sides. Not a reaction of anger, but restraint.

Lucas took a slow step forward, voice smooth as glass. "I’ll make you a better offer."

Locke’s stare didn’t waver, but there was something sharper behind his eyes now.

Lucas continued, unbothered, confident, as if he already knew the answer."I don’t do charity. But I do investments. And you, Captain? You’re a man with value."

Ava’s system pinged softly, running silent calculations in the background. Lucas wasn’t just negotiating. He was setting the board.

"So here’s my deal." Lucas lifted a single finger. "Bunker tokens. You’ll need them if you plan to last more than a month outside Angel’s influence."

A second finger. "Trade routes. I control more than Angel thinks. I can make sure you’re not locked out of supply lines. That means food, weapons, medical access—the things that keep people from dying out there."

A third. "Resources for your future. Not just survival, but a real exit. Not the kind where you fade into nothing and wait for someone to find you. The kind where you can move, build, and actually do something with what you know."

Lucas smiled, slow and deliberate. "All of this, in exchange for one little thing."

Locke’s voice was steady. "And what’s that?"

Lucas’s golden gaze gleamed."Loyalty, Captain. Not now, not forever. But when the time comes, when I call? You answer."

Ava’s pulse slowed.

Lucas never made a deal without a leash.

Locke’s jaw clenched, but he didn’t immediately reject the offer. That was telling.

Lucas sighed, rolling his shoulders like this was all just an inconvenience. "Look, Captain. I have better things to do. I don’t need you. But I also don’t waste good pieces. You’re a free man, do what you want. But if you want a real out?"

His smirk sharpened. "Take the deal."

Locke didn’t speak. Didn’t move. But Ava could see the battle in his head, the way his stance had shifted—no longer rejecting outright, just measuring.

Lucas let the pause stretch, then exhaled, waving a lazy hand. "And if none of that tempts you? Fine. I’ll settle the score with Angel on your behalf."

Locke’s breath hitched—just slightly.

Lucas studied Locke, the same lazy smirk on his lips, but Ava could tell—for once, it wasn’t just a game to him.

Something had shifted.

Locke was silent, his jaw tight, his body locked in that perfect military stillness, but his eyes—his eyes were the giveaway.

Lucas sighed, shaking his head. "You know, Captain, I actually feel for you."

Locke didn’t react.

Ava blinked, frowning slightly. She hadn’t know him for long.

But this was not the speech she’d expect to hear. Lucas Bai did not do sympathy.

Lucas chuckled, low and knowing. "Oh, don’t get me wrong, I’m still enjoying this. But you? You got the beauty version of Angel."

Locke’s fingers curled slightly at his sides, a barely-there reaction, but enough.

Lucas tilted his head, golden eyes gleaming in the dim light. "You got the pretty Angel who smiled, who played house, who made you think you were part of something bigger than yourself."

Ava’s stomach twisted. She knew where this was going.

Lucas exhaled, voice dropping slightly. "I long since learned about Angel. The real her. Not the version she wanted people to see, not the one she wore for politics. I saw her at her worst. I saw what she did when she thought no one was watching."

He smirked, but there was something cold underneath it."You didn’t get that Angel, did you, Captain? You got the sugar coated pill."

Locke’s breath was controlled, too even. That kind of stillness only came when someone was forcing themselves not to react.

Lucas stepped closer, not pressing, just observing.

"It must have been painful," he murmured, golden gaze unreadable. "Being a Mutant without a system. Being surrounded by Shifters who were always stronger, always faster. Always looking down at you, even when they smiled."

Ava didn’t breathe.

Lucas wasn’t mocking him.

That was what made it worse.

Locke’s gaze finally flickered. Just for a second. But it was enough.

Lucas exhaled, a small huff of laughter, but it wasn’t mocking. "Yeah. I figured."

Ava saw it now.

Locke wasn’t just an outsider.

He had been trapped. A Mutant raised in a world where Shifters were superior, where having a system made you valuable, and he had neither.

Angel had kept him close. Had made him feel important, necessary.

But he had never been one of them.

Not really.

Lucas’s voice was quieter now, but not softer. "Tell me, Captain. How long did it take you to realize she never really saw you?"

Locke exhaled slowly. A long, measured breath.

Then, finally—"Too long."

Ava swallowed.

Lucas grinned. But this time, it wasn’t amusement.

It was understanding.

Ava exhaled sharply, pushing off the rusted pillar. "Alright. We get it."

Lucas and Locke both turned to her.

She rolled her shoulders, arms crossed, gaze sharp. "You’re right, Lucas. Locke got played. Angel is worse than she lets people believe."

Lucas smirked, amused. Locke remained silent.

Ava tilted her head. "Let’s stop talking about it and start planning how to burn her to the ground."

Lucas chuckled, golden eyes gleaming. "Finally, Beauty. I was starting to think you enjoyed the heart-to-heart."

Ava rolled her eyes. "You wish."

She turned to Locke, gaze steady. "You want out? You want revenge? Then we move now."

Locke exhaled slowly, but his stance shifted. Resolute. Committed."I’m in."

Lucas grinned, clapping his hands together. "Well then. Let’s ruin an empire, shall we?"

Ava nodded look directly at him.

Lucas stepped forward, golden eyes lit with something colder than mischief—this wasn’t just another trade. This was a long-awaited strike.

"Plan D it is."

Ava blinked. "Plan D? What happened to A, B, and C?"

Lucas smirked over his shoulder. "Already burned through them."

He looked at Locke, eyes narrowing slightly. "I calculated for this. The moment you showed up? I moved the board."

Locke didn’t flinch. "How many moves ahead?"

Lucas chuckled. "Enough."

He reached into his coat, pulled a slim holo-tablet from the hidden inner pocket, and tapped the surface once. It lit up with a glowing interface—mapped city sectors, bunker access codes, shifting blueprints of Angel’s underground network.

Ava leaned in, her system syncing instantly.

Level Two. Sector Twelve. Angel’s storage hub.

"She’s consolidating," Lucas said, voice crisp. "Moving assets out of Level One. That’s her fallback point. She’s preparing for pressure."

Locke crossed his arms. "She knows something’s coming."

Lucas nodded. "But not from us."

He zoomed in on the map. A blinking red marker appeared in a dead zone just beyond military surveillance range.

"This—" Lucas tapped it, "—is where we hit first."

Ava narrowed her eyes. "That bunker’s off-grid."

"Exactly," Lucas replied. "Unofficial storage. Weapons, backup drives, shipment manifests, all of it unregistered. The council doesn’t know it exists. But I do."

Locke tilted his head slightly. "You’ve been planning this for a while."

Lucas didn’t deny it. "I plan for everyone eventually."

He pointed to a secondary line branching from the bunker—a private channel.

"This is her personal comm relay. If we crack it, we don’t just disrupt her logistics." His smile sharpened. "We take her voice."

Ava’s pulse jumped. No comms. No command. No control.

Locke was already processing. "How secure is the channel?"

Lucas grinned. "It was designed by the same engineer I stole my encryption shell from." He tapped the map again. "It’s secure."

Ava folded her arms. "You have a team?"

Lucas shook his head. "We are the team."

Ava exhaled slowly. "And you calculated for that too."

Lucas grinned wider. "Of course I did."

Locke stepped forward, voice even. "What’s the timeline?"

Lucas’s golden eyes gleamed. "We move in four hours. Enough time for Angel to relax. Not enough for her to see it coming."

Ava glanced at the flickering blueprint. The storm was already gathering—and they were going to be the ones who lit the fuse.

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