The highest recorded vault is barely seven meters, achieved with a proper four-meter pole, not a six-meter steel beam.
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Maximillian and Julia stared in disbelief at the warped iron bars. Once immaculately straight and sturdy, they now jutted at impossible angles, forming a gaping hole in the middle.
"Let me get this straight," Maximillian finally said, his voice slow with dawning realization. "This morning, with his bare hands, he bent these bars, escaped his cell, overpowered the guards, and then... jumped the fence?"
The police inspector and the shift detention officer in charge of the previous night swallowed hard.
"That is correct."
Julia's gaze swept over the blood stains on the concrete floor and the wall.
"Any casualties?"
"Five guards, all alphas, had been sent to the hospital this morning. No death so far."
"A stroke of luck," Julia commented.
"He was in a hurry. He had no time to kill anyone," Maximillian said as he pushed the door, heading outside of the building.
A sheer concrete wall rose before them, a twenty-centimeter-thick behemoth stretching at least seven meters high. One meter above its unforgiving peak, an electric field crackled ominously.
"Scaling the wall is impossible," Maximillian muttered, his gaze sweeping across the sheer expanse of concrete. "He must have jumped at least nine meters to clear the top."
Then, a detail snagged his attention -- an unnatural indentation in the ground some distance away from the wall.
The imprint dipped into the soil at a sharp angle, forming a perfect "I", as if someone had slammed the object into the ground with incredible force.
Nearby, a six-meter steel beam lay abandoned. The end of the beam bore a matching impression to the indentation on the ground.
"He used one of the steel beams for our ongoing construction project as a vaulting pole," the police inspector explained. "And then he escaped just like that."
Maximillian and Julia fell silent. Certainly, it was a feasible escape route, but which normal human being would think about using a six-meter steel beam as a vaulting pole? It weighed at least 200 kg!
"This guy is super strong," Julia could hardly believe what she was saying. "Could it be that he ingested a new, illegal steroid recently?"
"No steroid known to man could produce this kind of strength," Maximillian muttered, shaking his head. "Even the Guinness Book records pale in comparison. The highest recorded vault is barely seven meters, achieved with a proper four-meter pole, not a six-meter steel beam."
"Anyway, at least we got some of his samples before he escaped."
Julia turned to look at the police inspector. "Have you sent it over to the laboratory, Inspector?"
Eager to be useful, the police inspector quickly responded, "Yes! Our errand boy left twenty minutes ago with the blood and saliva samples, heading for the National Research Institute for Diagnostic Testing."
Julia could not help but break into a chuckle.
"Dr. Lily-Anne Koch is going to explode," she said. "But she likes you a lot, Agent Grant. Kindly deal with her on behalf of the both of us."
Dr. Lily-Anne Koch, the director of the sprawling facility, harbored a particular dislike for Bureau agents. Their requests were invariably urgent, throwing her meticulously planned schedule into disarray and forcing her to prioritize their needs above all else.
Still, the National Bureau of Security would never pick other facilities over the National Research Institute for Diagnostic Testing. No other laboratories could match its unparalleled combination of speed, accuracy, and a keen intuition that often proved invaluable in cracking even the most cryptic cases.
At this very moment, a young police officer, a blur of blue and chrome astride his Nimbus motorbike, rocketed toward his destination on an empty street. The important blood and saliva samples, neatly secured in his satchel, thrummed with urgency against his back.
The wind tore at his helmet as he pushed the machine to its limits, a thrill coursing through him despite the gravity of the situation.
"Wooohoooo...!!!" He cried out in excitement.
He was riding so fast that he almost did not notice a person crossing the street. Eyes wide in shock, he stopped his motorbike in the last second. Wide-eyed with shock, the man crumpled onto the asphalt.
"Shit, shit, shit..."
The young officer dismounted his bike with a jolt, concern twisting his gut. "I'm so sorry, are you hurt? Can you stand?" He knelt beside the dazed figure sprawled on the asphalt.
The man with dark blond curls slowly lifted his head, and the police officer's mind went blank. All he could see were the most captivating grayish-blue eyes staring back at him. The man was undeniably an omega. And the most breathtaking one the young police officer had ever laid his eyes on.
"Ouch..." the unknown omega winced when he tried to stand up. "I think I hurt my knee."
"Oh, gosh, I... May I please touch you? I mean, HELP you?"
The young police officer was mortified. He would love to dig a hole in the asphalt road and bury himself inside for good.
Julian held a hand up in rejection.
"Thank you, but no. If you can give me some first aid, it would be great."
The young police officer was baffled. First aid? In the middle of an empty street?
"Uhh... ahh... what about this? Let me take you to my destination. I am heading to the National Research Institute for Diagnostic Testing to bring some samples for testing. They will have some first aid kit. I can treat you over there!"
Julian gave him a suspicious look.
"Really?"
Lone omegas usually refused the company of foreign alphas, thus Julian's reluctance made perfect sense to the young police officer.
"Yes, really! Look!"
The young police officer took off the satchel from his back and opened it to show Julian the two samples he was supposed to deliver. Both sample collection tubes were labeled with the same name : "Bruno Cadwick".
Julian's lips curled up in a smile.
"In that case, please take me with you."