The contract enforcers advanced without raising their voices. Two carried hooked shields. Two held narrow spears designed for the storage gallery's tight lanes. The final pair remained behind the leader with black seals already glowing between their hands. Martin stepped in front of the wounded courier and summoned Breakwater Aegis.
"The seal is disputed," Katherine said from the floor. One hand remained above the courier's chest while Kinnami held the golden barrier beneath the fused metal. "Removing it will kill him."
The masked leader did not slow. "His survival is not part of our contract."
"It is part of ours," Martin replied.
The first spear struck. Breakwater Aegis caught the point near its center. Martin turned it toward the nearest storage rack instead of letting the shaft slide past him toward Katherine. The hooked shield behind it snapped around the Aegis's edge and pulled. Unyielding Grip locked through his forearms.
