Henry stayed where he was and listened to the echo of footsteps rolling through the long corridor, each step bouncing off the walls and coming back to him heavier, darker, and more dangerous than the last.
It had been many years since he became the Defense Minister of Shelter City 9. In that time, he and his city had passed through more crises than he could neatly list in his mind.
There had been political pressure from other Shelter Cities, quiet power struggles that could turn into open conflict with a single wrong move. There had been terrorist organizations lurking beyond the walls, testing the city's defenses whenever they sensed weakness. There had been first generation mutants slipping past patrols and launching sudden attacks inside the city itself.
Many kinds of threats. Many levels of danger. And up until today, Henry had always managed to find a way around them, over them, or straight through them. One way or another, he solved it.
