The corridor was a tunnel of red light and sirens.
I ran.
Boots pounded behind me.
Shouts echoed off the steel walls.
“Target sighted!
Mezzanine level!”
I ducked left.
Slid under a closing blast door.
It slammed shut behind me.
For now, I was alone.
I checked the drive.
Black.
No label.
Harlan’s master key.
I slid it into my pocket.
Then I pulled out the phone.
One bar of signal.
I dialed Ferryman.
He answered on the first ring.
“You’re late.”
“Change of plan,” I said.
“Rhea’s in the terminal.
Harlan’s playing games.”
“Games cost extra,” Ferryman said.
“Name it.”
“Double,” he said.
“And a boat ready at Pier 9.”
“Done,” I said.
“But I need a distraction.”
A pause.
Then: “How big?”
“Big enough to draw tacticals away from the lower levels.”
Ferryman chuckled.
“I can do that.
Ten minutes.”
He hung up.
I moved.
Fast.
Low.
Using the maintenance corridors.
The terminal was a maze.
I knew every turn.
Every blind spot.
Every camera loop.
I reached the stairwell.
Descended.
Level 1.
Level 2.
Level 3.
The alarms grew louder.
Then the explosion hit.
Above.
Far away.
But close enough.
Fire roared.
Metal screamed.
Shouts erupted.
Boots ran upward.
I smiled.
Ferryman always delivered.
I slipped into the lower corridor.
Doors lined the walls.
Storage.
Utility.
Holding cells.
I checked each one.
Empty.
Empty.
Then I saw it.
Door 314.
Reinforced.
Biometric.
I placed my palm on the scanner.
It didn’t recognize me.
I pulled the pistol.
Shot the lock.
Kicked the door.
It opened.
Inside: a single room.
White walls.
A chair.
Cables.
And Rhea.
Bound.
Gagged.
Eyes wide.
She saw me.
Struggled.
I rushed to her.
Untied the ropes.
Pulled the gag.
“Kael,” she gasped.
“You came.”
“I told you I would.”
She grabbed my arm.
“Harlan’s lying.
Phase Two isn’t just Seattle.
It’s twelve cities.
Simultaneous.”
“I know,” I said.
“We’re stopping it.”
She stood.
Wobbled.
I caught her.
“Can you walk?”
She nodded.
“Yes.”
“Then let’s go.”
We moved.
Fast.
Down the corridor.
Toward the exit.
Then the lights went out.
Red strips flickered on.
A voice boomed: “Intruder alert.
Lower level.
Lockdown initiated.”
I grabbed Rhea’s hand.
“Run.”
We ran.
Boots echoed behind us.
Shouts.
Gunfire.
Bullets sparked off the walls.
We reached the stairwell.
Climbed.
Level 2.
Level 3.
Level 4.
At the top, two tacticals waited.
I fired.
Both dropped.
We burst onto the mezzanine.
The terminal was chaos.
Fire.
Bodies.
And in the center: Harlan.
Standing.
Pistol in hand.
Smiling.
“Kael,” he called.
“You’re too late.”
I raised my pistol.
“Am I?”
He laughed.
“Phase Two has already begun.
The first wave is airborne.”
I froze.
“Airborne?”
“Drones,” he said.
“Vector dispersal.
Twelve cities.
Simultaneous.”
He raised the pistol.
“Goodbye, Kael.”
I fired.
He dropped.
But he was still smiling.
I ran to him.
Kneeled.
Checked his pulse.
Faint.
But there.
“Where are the drones?” I demanded.
He laughed.
Blood on his teeth.
“Too late.”
I grabbed the drive.
“Tell me.”
He shook his head.
“You can’t stop it.”
I put the pistol to his temple.
“Tell me.”
He smiled.
Then whispered a single word.
“Zurich.”
And went still.
I stood.
Looked at Rhea.
“We’re going to Zurich.”
She didn’t argue.
She just nodded.
And we ran.
Into the rain.
Into the smoke.
Into the next chapter.
My phone buzzed.
A message from Ije: “Vault empty.
Harlan lied.
Master key is a decoy.
Real one is in Zurich.
But there’s a problem.”
Attached: a photo.
Dr.
Lin.
Bound.
Gagged.
In a room I didn’t recognize.
The message read: “They have her.
And they know about the kill-switch.”
The timer in my head started.
And it wasn’t the kill-switch counting down.