Whispers of Viper

The interrogation tent was quiet only Rina, the man, and the faint whine of the portable scanner. Her team was close enough to yell, in case things went bad, but they knew Captain Hunter liked to get up close.

The man fidgeted under her examination, sweat bursting on his forehead.

"You don't get it… I was just hired to transport it. I don't even know what it is!"

Rina slanted forward, her voice a low murmur.

"You don't need to know. You simply need to tell me who paid you."

 He hesitated, but the vial of serum sitting on the table was louder than any words.

Finally, he breathed a name.

"Viper."

Rina's gaze tightened.

That name again.

Viper. 

The smuggler. Arms dealer. Ghost in the city's underbelly. 

And now serum runner?

She tapped the glass vial with her finger. 

"This? Combat enhancers?" 

The man swallowed hard. 

"Augments… Illegal enhancements. The kind that rewrite your DNA. Overclock your body. Military-grade… but off the books. Permanent. Risky." 

Rina's jaw tightened. 

This wasn't just black-market junk.

This was city-shaking power.

"Who's buying it?" she demanded.

The man shook his head.

"I don't know. People who have money. People who wish to be greater than human."

Rina settled back.

Her heart was calm but that fire within her the one she always kept in hiding flickered.

Because she knew what occurred when humans attempted to mess with power they didn't know.

She'd seen it. 

She'd survived it.

And now, it was here.

In her city.