Chapter 4: She Will Rule The New Ice World

On the rooftop, the sub-zero night wind whipped her hair as Maya lined up her scope against the icy ledge.

Down in the alley, Ironhead was roaring into a megaphone. "HAND OVER THE CASH AND THE SUPPLIES, OR WE BLOW THIS BUILDING TO HELL!"

Standing right behind Ironhead, trembling in a cheap jacket and pointing a shaky finger at the shop entrance, was Derek.

"She's in there!" Derek yelled greedily to the warlord.

"My ex-wife has millions in cash! Kill the guards and take everything!"

Through her scope, Maya locked her crosshairs directly onto the live RPG rocket resting on Ironhead's shoulder.

"You never learn, Derek," Maya murmured softly under her breath.

PULL.

BANG!

A gunshot shattered the night air. Hitting ironhead directly.

Derek screamed like a terrified pig as the shockwave threw him headfirst into the ground, his face bleeding.

Garrick and his Special Forces squad charged out of the ground entrance, taking positions behind the burning wreckage and laying down precise, heavy suppressing fire. 

Within sixty seconds, half of Ironhead's gang was neutralized, while the remaining bandits dropped their weapons and fled into the dark streets.

Garrick stepped up behind Derek, grabbing him by his collar and lifting his trembling body off the ground like a wet rat.

Maya walked down the rooftop stairs and she smiled coldly as she approached her whimpering ex-husband.

"Maya! Maya, please!" Derek sobbed, blood running down his forehead as he looked up at her in absolute terror.

 "Ironhead forced me! He threatened to kill me! I didn't want to bring them here!"

Maya stopped in front of him.

"You brought a gang to murder me for my money, Derek," Maya said.

"I'm sorry! I'll sign the divorce papers! I'll give up all rights to Leo!" Derek wept, crawling forward to clutch at her boots. "Just don't let him shoot me!"

"Mr. Harrison already finalized the divorce three hours ago," Maya said coldly, kicking his hands away. "You have nothing left to give."

She turned to Garrick. "General, drop him off at the federal detention center.

 Let him spend the next twenty seven days in a cold cell until the sky freezes."

"With pleasure, Miss Vance," Garrick growled, shoving Derek forcefully toward his soldiers.

As Garrick's men loaded the surviving prisoners into an armored transport, Garrick walked back over to Maya. 

"You shot a live RPG rocket out of a warlord's hand from seventy yards away in total darkness," Garrick said.

"And you materialize military weaponry out of thin air."

Maya looked up into his eyes "Do you have a problem with that, General?"

Garrick let out a low chuckle, reaching out his gloved hand to gently brush a stray strand of dark hair behind her ear. His thumb grazed her cheekbone, warm.

"No, Maya," Garrick whispered, using her first name for the first time as his gaze dropped to her lips before meeting her eyes again.

"I think you're the absolute leader this frozen this land needs. And my squad is officially at your command."

Maya felt a sudden, sharp pulse in her chest as his hand lingered on her cheek she felt the intense heat From his body

Before she could speak, her satellite tablet buzzed with an automated red system alert:

[SPATIAL CITADEL SYSTEM: ANOMALY DETECTED]

[Global Cosmic Radiation Spike Accelerating: Countdown reduced by 14 Days]

[Doomsday Arrival: 14 DAYS REMAINING]

Maya’s eyes widened in shock as she stared at the glowing blue screen.

The apocalypse wasn't coming in twenty eight days. It was coming in two weeks.

Garrick's eyes narrowed as he read the screen over her shoulder, his arm brushing against hers. "Fourteen days. That cuts our timeline in half."

"We don't have time to waste," Maya said, her voice snapping to him.

 "Garrick, clear out every arms rack in this shop. Load every box of ammunition, ceramic armor plate, sniper scope, and night-vision goggles into the shipping crates.

We move to Warehouse 4 immediately, and then we take the mountain highway to Apex Villa."

Garrick smirked with a look of pure respect in his eyes. "You heard the boss! Move out!"

Maya sat in the passenger seat beside Garrick.

"My logistics officer confirmed the four steel shipping crates are ready at Warehouse 4," Garrick said, "Once you absorb them into your spatial dimension, we secure your son at the Apex Citadel."

Maya looked at him, "Leo will be safe inside the Citadel. The titanium walls and geothermal heat will keep him protected."

Garrick glanced sideways at her, his expression softening with genuine warmth. "A woman who can shoot an RPG out of the sky and build an impenetrable fortress for her child... you're incredible, Maya."

Maya felt her heart skip a beat, but she maintained her cool, untouchable composure as she looked out the window at the quiet city.

 In fourteen days, this entire city would be buried under ten feet of sub-zero ice. Millions of unprepared citizens would freeze, starving and desperate.

Derek would freeze in a federal holding cell. Chloe would freeze in her stolen apartment.

Maya opened her spatial system status inside her mind, feeling the vast, infinite power resting at her fingertips.

"Let the world freeze," Maya whispered into the dark night air. "We are ready."

And inside her billion-dollar Apex Citadel, Maya Vance would rule the new ice world.