Chapter 23
ALEX
As the alarm klaxons continued to blare overhead, Alex clapped his hands over his ears, his heart pounding hard against his ribs. The shrill sound reverberated through his skull, making it nearly impossible to think.
He slammed the laptop lid shut before he clamped his hand over his ears again. Whatever was happening, he wondered if he could use it to his advantage.
Risking the assault on his eardrums, he reached out to grab the laptop and shove it under his t-shirt, securing it in his jeans. The metal walls of the cell seemed to close in on him, amplifying the noise and his sense of desperation.
With his features twisted into a wince from the loud noise, he crept to the door, pressing his ear against it.
He desperately tried to listen for something other than the alarm’s obnoxious call. Were people running? Was there something wrong? Was he being left to die here?
He pounded against the door. “Hey!”
No one answered him. “Hey, what’s going on?” He hammered his fist against the door again before he tried to pull it open. It didn’t budge.
With a growl, he yanked against it with his entire weight, but it only rattled in the jamb, the lock holding fast.
He collapsed against the door with a frustrated sigh before he tried banging again. “Hello? Hey, let me out of here!”
As his panic built, he raced across the room to grab the metal chair. With all the commotion, no one seemed to be paying any attention to him. Maybe he could break the door down.
He grabbed it by its back, returning to the door to line up his shot. With a wide swing, he smashed the leg into the door. Metal screeched on metal, assaulting his ear drums again.
The hit reverberated through his arms, making his shoulders ache. He groaned as he glanced at the door, hitting nothing more than a scrape on the paint.
He glanced down at the metal chair, finding its leg bent.
“Are you kidding me? How did this thing hold me up?”
He shook his head and tried again, slamming the bent leg into the door. It broke off and skittered across the floor.
Alex groaned as he threw the broken chair on the floor, his frustration building. He growled, curling his fingers into fists.
He glanced around his cell, desperate to find another way to escape. With all the commotion, this may be his only chance.
His fingers wrapped around the table and tried to lift it, but it was bolted to the floor. He moved over to the cot, ripping the mattress away and assessing the springs underneath. Could he pry one loose and pick the lock? “I couldn’t do it before when I had the piece of metal.”
With a sigh, he clapped his hands onto his head, collapsing onto the metal edge of the bed. His mind spun to Ava. Would he ever see her again?
His features pinched as he tried to picture her face in his mind. His nose wrinkled as Sebastian appeared with her, kissing her cheek. She twisted to offer him a soft smile, a new tattoo on her wrist indicating her alignment with The Board. “No, Ava,” he said, tightening his fists.
He leapt to his feet and rushed to the door, slamming his fists against them. “Hey! Hey! I need help! Help!”
He pounded on the door again, his chest tightening with frustration as nothing worked. Running his fingers through his hair, he paced the floor, the laptop still jiggling under his shirt. If he did have the chance to escape, he wasn’t leaving any piece of the program he’d started for The Board.
Even though it was nowhere near complete, it gave them too much of a start on a program no one should have.
His panic grew as the klaxons continued their bleating. Every passing second seemed like time lost.
As he spun on his heel, his mind whirling as he searched for a solution, the sound of the door lock unlatching echoed despite the loud noise.
His heart stopped. Who would walk through the door, and what would they want from him?
His gaze roamed the space in search of a weapon. He grabbed the broken leg of the chair, raising it over his head, ready to attack and run. Maybe in the chaos, he could find his way out of here.
He held his breath as the door swung open. His eyes went wide, his lower lip trembling as two figures entered. Ava, gun drawn, strode into the room followed by Kyle.
He dropped the chair leg on the floor, his eyes wide. “Ava?!”
She flicked a lock of blonde hair over her shoulder, a grin on her face. “Hey, Ace, sorry we took so long. It was trickier than I expected.”
His features melted with relief and disbelief before he raced to her and pulled her into a hug. She wrapped her arms around him for a quick squeeze.
“Uhh, guys,” Kyle said as he monitored the hall, “no time for a reunion now. We still need to fight our way out of here.”
Ava pulled back, her features settling into a serious expression. “He’s right. We didn’t expect the alarm.”
“Ava, this place is crawling with guards.”
“I know. Raven is drawing most of them off while we found you, but now we need to get out of here.”
“Raven?” he asked, his voice going an octave higher. “You brought Raven?”
“We didn’t have a choice, babe,” Ava answered as she grabbed his hand and tugged him toward the door, hesitating as she studied the hall. “We needed to get into this place, and Raven said it was a fortress.”
“Was he telling the truth?”
“Hell yes,” Kyle answered as he inched his weapon forward. “We needed a badge to unlock your door.”
“How did Raven get that?” Alex asked.
Ava shook her head. “I don’t know. But we really need to have a discussion with him after this.”
“Uh…yeah,” Alex said with a bob of his head.
“Hall looks clear. What do you want to do, Ava?” Kyle said.
“You two stay behind me,” she said as she crept into the hall.
Kyle grabbed her arm. “Wait, no.”
“I agree with Doc, except, I don’t have a gun, so maybe swap with me and–”
“Ace, you aren’t very good with a gun,” Ava answered. “Doc, neither are you. Both of you, stay behind me. I’ve got the gun, the experience, and the ability to take someone down if I have to.”
“She has a point,” Alex said. “And I really want to get out of here without all of us being thrown back into cells.”
Kyle winced as he glanced at Alex. “I can’t be in a cell. I’ll go crazy in there.”
“Well, then maybe we should let the person with the experience lead the–”
His words cut off as a guard raced around the corner, spotting them.
“Uh-oh,” Kyle said. “Ava, shoot him.”
Before she could aim, footsteps sounded behind them. Miranda and two guards rounded the other corner, trapping them.
“Oh, you’re kidding me,” Ava groaned, her gaze shifting back and forth between the two sets of trouble.
“Where do you think you’re going, Alex?” Miranda asked. “We’re not finished with you yet.”
With a wince, Ava shook her head. “You just can’t stop being annoying, can you?”
Ava aimed her weapon, but before she could pull the trigger, the guards raced toward her.
She shoved Alex away before she ducked, sweeping a leg out as she attempted to trip them. She hit one, knocking his legs out from under him.
The second guard rammed into her, driving her back against the wall as he grabbed her wrist, trying to knock the weapon from her hands.
Alex wrapped an arm around the man’s neck, tugging him backward in an attempt to pull him away from Ava. “Get off of her.”
Ava kneed him in the groin. He released his grip on her, stumbling backward and slamming Alex against the wall behind him, knocking the air from his lungs.
Ava peeled herself from the wall as the second guard scrambled to his feet.
The guard whipped around to face Alex, wrapping his hands around his throat and squeezing.
Alex gasped for air, grabbing at the man’s hands as he tried to pull them away from his neck.
Gun fire erupted as Kyle fired two shots at the lone guard approaching from the end of the hall.
Ava twisted to eye Kyle as the other guard reached her, wrapping his arms around her in a bear hug. She elbowed him, leaning forward to toss him over her head onto the floor.
“Ava!” Kyle shouted as the other guard continued toward them, unfazed by the gunfire that didn’t come close to hitting him.
“Yeah, I’m trying, Doc,” she said as she peeled the other guard from off of Alex. “Why don’t you pick on someone your own size, buddy?”
Alex stumbled forward from the wall, gasping for breath as Ava flipped the guard onto his back.
The second man threw a punch at Ava which she blocked before she landed a hit to his gut.
The first man pushed himself up to stand.
“Ava!” Alex shouted as he leapt forward. The guard landed a blow to his jaw, knocking him sideways. He sprawled on the floor, unable to help in time as the man continued toward Ava.
Before he could climb to his feet again, Ava landed a roundhouse kick to the man’s jaw. It sent him stumbling sideways, and he hit his head against the wall, knocking him out cold.
“Way to go, Ava,” Kyle said. “One down…”
The other guard grabbed her arms from behind her. She braced herself, driving her head back into his nose. He grabbed at it as it gushed blood while she landed a kick against his gut.
As he staggered backward, Alex stuck his foot out to trip him. He landed hard against the floor, smacking his head and knocking himself unconscious.
“Good going, babe,” Ava said with a grin before she twisted to handle the guard making his way toward Kyle.
She raised her weapon and fired a round, hitting him in the shoulder. Blood bloomed and the man grabbed at his shoulder before he twisted to run down the hall.
“Oh, wow, nice going, Ava,” Kyle said, spinning to face her with a grin.
The grin slid off his face, and he raised his hands in the air. “Uhhh…”
Ava glanced over her shoulder as Alex climbed to his feet, raising his hands in the air.
“That was an impressive display, Ava, but unfortunately, it’s just not enough,” Miranda said as she held a gun on them, aimed at Alex. “I will shoot him before you ever get a round off, so drop that gun and kick it to me.”
Alex’s heart pounded against his ribs as he slid his gaze sideways to Ava. “Don’t, Ava. We’ll never–”
“Shut up, Alex. Do what I say, Ava, or Alex takes a bullet for you. And the other one…I won’t be so nice to.”
Alex’s lower lip trembled as Ava slowly lowered her weapon to the floor and kicked it away.
Kyle glanced at Ava. “Ava?”
“Drop your gun, Doc. Do as she says.”
He set his gun on the ground and kicked it toward Miranda.
She offered them a smirk. “Well, well, well, it looks like I just caught quite a big break, didn’t I?”
As she grinned at them, Alex’s heart dropped. There would be no saving them now. The klaxons continued to blare, echoing the hopelessness he felt inside.