The thick air made it hard to breathe and the echo of footsteps and confused screams filled the room.
He had grabbed every resource available to stop Enigma, but the ability to increase speed for short moments was not enough, Enigma had proven too cunning.
The masked man was not very fast, but he always managed to be one step ahead, anticipating Jack's every move and thus compensating for his superiority in agility.
It was at that moment that Samuel and Liam entered the room where he was. The black smoke had now almost completely disappeared and only the red lights remained.
They stopped short when they saw him on the ground, breathing heavily.
"Jack, what happened to you?" Samuel asked, worried.
"Captain Samuel..." Jack murmured with difficulty.
Samuel... The last time he had seen him was at that conference on neighborhood safety.
He had immediately impressed him: not only for his experience, but also for his icy calm, even under pressure. He never would have thought to meet him in a situation like this, in which everything he had certainty was crumbling.
He would never have let Enigma slip away like this...
"Wait, I'll help you up," Liam said, offering him a hand.
With Liam's help, Jack managed to stand up, although still unsteady and in pain.
"Can you tell me what happened?" Samuel asked in a firm tone.
"Okay," Jack nodded, trying to recover.
He then began to tell the story, explaining the sudden appearance of the smoke and Enigma's escape, emphasizing his skills as a hacker and his ability to anticipate their every move.
***
Outside the museum, a growing crowd was wondering what had happened. Hungry journalists peppered the security guards with pressing questions, while onlookers and passersby crowded in, trying to understand the situation.
One of them, microphone tightly in hand, approached a police officer who was trying to maintain order.
The journalist, wearing a dark jacket that billowed slightly in the wind and a pin of his network clearly visible on his lapel, had his eyes fixed on the officer.
He was determined to get an answer.
"I saw people running in all directions. There was smoke coming out of the doors of the museum. Something serious must have happened," he said, in the tone of someone seeking confirmation.
Another reporter, with a grim expression, added that it was a robbery and that Enigma, the mysterious masked thief, was involved.
A passerby joined the conversation: "Enigma? That thief who struck last time? Why can't they stop him?" he asked loudly, addressing the security guards.
A guard, visibly under pressure, raised his voice in an attempt to restore order: "Make room! We need to evacuate the area and check for injuries!" he exclaimed, barely keeping his composure.
Meanwhile, another reporter, anxious, was looking for answers about the situation inside: "Are there any injuries? How many are trapped?"
A nervous passerby stepped forward: "I heard someone was hit. The guard at the entrance didn't look well," he added, his voice shaking.
The first reporter, determined, insisted: "We need official information. We can't let anything slip!" But his colleague, more skeptical, retorted: "In the midst of this chaos? Who will give us answers?"
Another spectator, shocked, shook his head in disbelief: "Who would have thought that something like this could happen in a museum? It's absurd."
The security guard, increasingly nervous, raised his voice again: "Move away, it's not safe to be here!" A passerby, his eyes wide with terror, muttered: "I hope there are no deaths. This is a real nightmare."
Finally, a reporter with a mischievous smile said: "This could be the scoop of the year! I need to interview someone who was inside." His colleague looked at him disapprovingly: "Yes, but at what cost? People's safety comes first."
No one in the confusion noticed Enigma – or rather, Orion – who was walking away calmly, in stark contrast to the crazy and playful look he had shown moments before.