The overhead light fixture chose that exact moment to break free from its mounting, crashing down directly onto the attacker's head. The masked figure staggered, momentarily stunned.
Sophie didn't waste the opportunity. She drove her elbow into what remained of the mask, feeling something crack beneath the impact. The attacker stumbled backward, tripping over the very chair Sophie had kicked earlier, which had somehow repositioned itself perfectly behind their feet.
As they fell, their head struck the corner of Sophie's metal desk drawer—which had inexplicably slid open at precisely the right moment.
Sophie pressed her advantage, each strike now seeming to find the exact perfect angle for maximum damage. When the attacker tried to slash at her with their remaining blade, the weapon inexplicably slipped from their fingers, clattering across the floor and sliding perfectly into Sophie's reach.
She snatched it up, reversing it in one fluid motion.
