"Elara, get under the floor panel behind the rack," Shaw whispered. "Now."Elara stared at him, her eyes wide with fear."Shaw, you can't even stand—""He doesn't know you're in here," Shaw said, grabbing her arm. "If he thinks I'm alone, he won't search the whole room. Hide. Let me draw his attention."Elara hesitated, seeing how serious he was. She swallowed her fear, nodded, and slipped under the low vent hatch hidden behind the server cabinet, pulling the door shut behind her.Shaw leaned against the steel desk, holding his bruised ribs with one hand and keeping his gun raised with the other. Sweat dripped down his face.‘Why didn't he attack five minutes ago?’ Shaw thought. ‘He waited. He followed the SUV, watched Zarek and Troll leave, and waited until the real threats were gone.’The footsteps stopped right at the door.A tall man stepped into the room, lit by the faint green light of the servers. He wore a heavy, wet coat over dark clothes. A thick scar ran across his left

Inside, Elara crawled toward the wall locker on her knees, her hands shaking as she pulled out a box of heavy zip-ties and a medical injector. Her breath came in short, scared gasps, but her eyes stayed fixed on the thin line of hot metal spreading across the door lock."Keep talking, old man," Elara called out, keeping her voice as steady as she could. She pressed the injector against Shaw's arm and pushed it down. "You're burning your fuel while Zarek hunts down Mathilda."Shaw gasped as the medicine entered his blood, his red eyes snapping open. He didn't say a word, but he reached out with a shaky hand, grabbed Elara's sleeve, and pointed up at the heavy metal support beam above the door.Saul laughed softly through the vents, a rough, cold sound."Zarek isn't coming back for you," Saul said quietly, bright sparks spraying off the door. "Mathilda already moved her drop point. By the time your leader realizes he's looking at an empty dock, this torch will be through the main lo

A sharp, thin red line opened on the side of his neck. A slow trickle of dark blood leaked out, running down his collar and soaking into his wet shirt. The mercenary flipped the blade in his hand and rested the flat side of the cold metal against Troll's collarbone."Next one cuts your throat, big guy," the merc said with a sneer, his breath turning to mist in the cold air. "Drop the heavy gear."Vivienne gasped, and her hand twitched toward her gun, but three red laser dots landed on her forehead, holding her in place.Zarek didn't flinch. He looked calmly at the blood dripping down Troll's neck, then looked up at the man standing on the high metal walkway."Do as he says," Zarek said softly.Troll spat blood onto the wet gravel and growled, but he slowly unclipped his shotgun strap and let the heavy gun fall to the ground. Vivienne carefully unbuckled her belt, letting her own gun fall into the puddle below."Smart," the leader on the walkway called down, waving a hand to his me

Behind his back, his bloody fingers grabbed the raw copper wire sticking out of the box.With a sudden burst of strength, he pulled the live wire straight out of the pipe.SPARK!A bright flash of blue and yellow electricity burst out of the pillar. The big shock traveled straight into the computer's power line.Above, the laptop screen flashed a bright purple. The small fan made a high noise before a sharp pop echoed through the warehouse, sending thick black smoke out of the computer vents.The green bar froze at ninety-eight percent. The screen went completely black."No... No, no, no!" Mathilda gasped, dropping to her knees beside the table. Her fingers hit the dead keyboard, her face turning pale as the fan stopped completely. "It was... it was two seconds away! The main code!"She stared at the dead screen, her chest moving fast, her mouth hanging open. She tried to speak, but no sound came out. The calm criminal who had been smiling seconds ago was completely gone, replac

Elara hit the steep, muddy slope hard, rolling head over heels into the dark pit. Wet branches and sharp bushes scraped her face and arms as she slid forty feet down into the thick plants at the bottom.Up on the ledge, the push drained the last bit of strength from Shaw's legs. He fell to his knees in the mud, coughing hard, his hands pressed flat against the wet ground as he stared up at Saul.Saul stopped at the edge of the drop-off, looking down into the dark, tangled brush where Elara had disappeared, then turned his cold eyes back to Shaw."Brave," Saul sneered, raising his knife as he stepped up to the kneeling man. "Unfortunate for you, but brave."Saul paused at the edge, his eyes fixed on Shaw like a cat watching a trapped mouse. He didn't rush. To him, the hurt man kneeling in the mud was no longer dangerous, just the end of a long, tiring hunt."You really thought pushing her down a ditch would save her?" Saul asked softly, spinning the heavy knife in his good hand. "O