It's like a game of chess, except I'm always one step ahead of you."
"In short, it's not just about speed, it's about anticipation that allows me to dodge."
As he spoke, his movements seemed unreal, nimbly dodging Jack's blows, who was slowly losing strength. A growing headache and confusion overwhelmed him.
"You can't stop me with force alone."
In one fluid motion, he grabs Jack's arm and, using his knee, delivers a violent blow to his stomach.
"Argh!"
Jack collapses to the ground, the pain paralyzing him.
"Let's get this over with."
Enigma smiles, then disappears into the thick smoke.
Jack urgently activates the earpiece in his left ear and turns to the control room.
"Captain?" he asks, panting.
"Close the exit immediately!" he shouts in desperation.
"....."
"I'm sorry," the voice on the other end replies, laced with resignation.
"The system is completely out of control."
The operator watches helplessly as the holographic screens fill with the image of a golden skull, smiling as the images distort and go crazy.
"Hahaah."
"Hahaha."
"The doors... are inaccessible," he adds in a faint voice.
***
Samuel cursed at their mistake.
"Damn it, Liam! We went to the wrong museum!"
The Museum of Wonders had nothing to do with the robbery, and now they were racing toward Museum V, where Enigma had already struck.
They had only found out at the last minute, when a news agency posted an update on the attack.
Liam, sitting next to him, was equally frustrated.
"We had no way of knowing… the clue he gave us was confusing."
"That's not an excuse!" Samuel said, his face twisted in anger.
"Enigma orchestrated this to fool us."
---
A moment earlier, they had been contacted by a mysterious woman. The call had come while Samuel and Liam were in the middle of the road to their destination, trying to pick up Enigma.
The woman's voice was calm, but sharp. "Enigma is at Museum V," she said without hesitation.
"You have to go now. There's no time to waste."
They had no idea who he was, but he seemed to know exactly what was going on.
Samuel, considering his firm tone, decided to consult with his assistant.
"Liam, what do you think? Should we trust him?"
"Whoever he is, he seems to know what he's doing," Liam replied.
"And our assumptions are vague and ambiguous too. We have no choice but to trust him."
"You're right," Samuel agreed.
They quickly changed coordinates and Samuel made a quick U-turn, heading toward Museum V.
"If Enigma is really there, we have to stop him before he can carry out his plan. We can't afford to fail again."
***
Now, at this point, it seemed like the woman had been right. Samuel was pushing the car to its limits, trying to get there in time.
By the time they finally arrived at Museum V, chaos had already broken out.
The scene before them was devastating: emergency lights flashing frantically, a frightened crowd running frantically out of the main doors with thick black smoke rising and disappearing in a flash once outside, without anyone noticing the true nature of the color.
Samuel and Liam ran out of the car, pushing through the crowd. They had to get in. They had to stop him.
"Captain Samuel, it's too late," one of the guards at the entrance announced, his face tense with excitement.
"Enigma has already escaped and taken the gem."
The words hit Samuel like a punch to the gut, but he wasn't ready to accept it and entered the museum with uncertain steps.
***
Inside the museum, Jack, the head of security, was still doubled over in pain. The blow inflicted on him by Enigma had left him paralyzed on the ground, while the thief had disappeared into the smoke.