Chapter Fourteen #3
It wasn't a regular firearm. It was designed specifically for people like me—electronic manipulators. The technology dampened our abilities while delivering a neural shock that could render us unconscious without killing us. O'Rourke had developed it for capture, not elimination.
After all, what use was a dead battery to him?
Yuri moved with surprising speed, positioning himself between me and the intruder. His stance was protective, his weapon aimed directly at Denton's head.
"Touch him," Yuri warned with deadly calm, "and you'll never touch anything again."
Denton's grin didn't falter. "You're outnumbered and surrounded. The kid's half-dead already. Be smart and hand him over. Mr. O'Rourke still values his abilities."
"Mr. O'Rourke can go fuck himself," Yuri replied conversationally, as if discussing the weather. "The boy belongs to Nicolai Aleksandrovich now."
The declaration stunned me almost as much as it seemed to surprise Denton. Belongs to Nicolai. The phrasing should have bothered me—I'd spent my life ensuring I belonged to no one—but instead, it filled me with an unexpected warmth that had nothing to do with my failing body.
Behind me, the monitor showed the power fluctuations spreading throughout the facility as my final command executed itself. Lights flickered more violently now, and warning alarms began blaring in distant sections. The generators were approaching critical overload.
"This whole place is about to become a smoking crater," I managed to say, blood bubbling over my lips with each word. "Might want to run while you still can."
Denton's eyes narrowed, darting from me to the emergency lights now flashing across the control room. "You're bluffing. Even you wouldn't have the strength to trigger a complete meltdown in your condition."
I managed a bloody smile. "Wanna bet?"
As if on cue, a distant explosion shook the facility, the vibrations rattling through the floor beneath us. The first of the auxiliary systems failing catastrophically.
It wouldn't be the last.
Denton's confident expression faltered for the first time. "You crazy little—"
"Last chance," Yuri interrupted, his weapon never wavering. "Leave now, or die here."
For a moment, the three of us remained frozen in a deadly standoff— Denton in the doorway, Yuri between us, and me slumped against the console, barely conscious but still dangerous.
Through the surveillance feeds, I could see confusion spreading throughout the facility. O'Rourke's men were abandoning their posts, prioritizing escape over capturing intruders.
Denton must have seen it too. His jaw tightened as he calculated his odds. "This isn't over," he finally said, lowering his weapon slightly. "Mr. O'Rourke doesn't forget, and he doesn't forgive."
"Neither does Nicolai Aleksandrovich," Yuri replied coldly. "Remember that when you're running."
Another explosion rocked the facility, closer this time. Emergency lights flickered and died as backup systems failed one by one. The monitors displaying security feeds went dark, then flashed back to life, showing scenes of increasing chaos throughout the complex.
Denton took a step back, then another, his confidence replaced by the most human of instincts—survival. "You won't make it out," he said, a final attempt to salvage his pride. "Not with him in that condition."
"Watch us," Yuri growled.
The moment Denton disappeared down the corridor, Yuri was in motion, securing the door before turning to me. "Can you walk?"
I tried to push myself up, but my legs wouldn't cooperate. My body had finally reached its breaking point. "Don't think so," I admitted, the simple act of speaking requiring monumental effort.
Without hesitation, Yuri holstered his weapon and scooped me into his arms. The action should have been humiliating—I'd spent my life relying on no one but myself—but I couldn't summon the energy to feel anything but gratitude.
"Extraction point is two levels up, east wing," Yuri said, moving toward the door with me cradled against his chest. "Can you clear us a path?"
I nodded weakly, extending what little remained of my abilities to the security systems between us and freedom. Doors unlocked ahead of us, emergency bulkheads raised, pathway lights flickered in sequence—a breadcrumb trail leading to safety.
As Yuri carried me through the failing facility, I felt my consciousness slipping again. The darkness at the edges of my vision grew thicker, more insistent. I fought to stay awake, knowing that each second I maintained control over the facility's systems increased our chances of escape.
"Stay with me, kid," Yuri growled, his pace quickening as another explosion rocked the building. "Nicolai is waiting."
The thought of Nicolai waiting for me, worrying about me, was strangely powerful, enough to push back the darkness for a few more precious minutes.
Through the haze of pain and fading consciousness, I monitored O'Rourke's escape route. The private elevator he'd been heading for was now disabled, trapped between floors. He would be forced to take alternative paths—slower paths that exposed him to the chaos I'd created.
Good.
Let him feel what it was like to be hunted, to be afraid.
"Almost there," Yuri said, his voice seeming to come from very far away now. "Hold on, Mishka."
The use of my name again—so rare from him—pulled me back from the brink momentarily. I forced my eyes open, saw we were approaching a secured doorway that would lead to the extraction point.
With my last bit of strength, I unlocked it, the metal doors sliding open just as Yuri reached them. Beyond lay freedom—and Nicolai. I could see him at the far end of the corridor, powerful and imposing despite what he'd endured.
His eyes found mine instantly, widening at my condition. Even from this distance, I could read the mix of emotions on his face—relief, concern, and something deeper that I was too afraid to name.
As Yuri carried me toward him, I felt the last of my control over the facility's systems slip away. The lights throughout the complex gave one final, violent flicker before plunging into darkness. The generators had reached critical failure. The facility's destruction was inevitable now.
I'd done what I set out to do. O'Rourke's research was destroyed, his facility crumbling. Nicolai was safe. And somehow, against all odds, I was going home with him.
As darkness claimed me completely, I heard Nicolai's voice—urgent, worried, but achingly familiar.
"I've got you now, malysh. You're safe."
For the first time in my life, I believed it might be true.