Maeve #2
His expression changed. “We haven't found him yet.”
Her stomach dropped. “What?”
“We've been searching,” Peak insisted.
Warden stepped forward. “Ruin and the brothers are clearing the eastern corridor. Peak and I split off to look for Captain.” Maeve looked toward the exit sign at the end of the hallway and then at the countdown on her phone screen. Four minutes.
They could leave. They could be outside before whatever Wren had started and finished destroying the facility, but Captain would still be down here.
The man had nearly died because he'd chosen to help her find Wren.
He'd protected her when he didn't know her and put his club at risk.
He had sent Peak with her, and now she was supposed to leave him behind?
“We need to go,” Wren insisted.
“No,” Maeve breathed. “We need to find Captain.”
Peak understood immediately. “Maeve.”
“We aren't leaving without him,” she insisted.
“We've got less than five minutes,” Wren said.
“Then we'd better move fast,” Maeve said.
“Maeve—” Peak started.
“Captain came to that motel because of me,” she said, not letting him finish what he was about to say.
“He came because he's the president of this club,” Peak said.
“And he was captured because the Director wanted leverage against us,” Maeve reminded.
Peak stepped closer. “That doesn't make him your responsibility.”
Maeve stared at him. “No.” She glanced toward Wren. “But he's family.” Something changed in Peak's face. She knew he understood. Captain wasn’t just his family now; he was hers too.
Warden gave one sharp nod. “Damn right.”
Peak muttered something beneath his breath, and then he looked at Wren. “You know this facility?”
“Every inch of it,” she boasted.
“Where would they keep a prisoner?” he asked.
Wren's expression changed. “I know exactly where they have him.”
Maeve's heart jumped. “Where?”
“Lower containment,” Wren said.
Warden frowned. “How far away is that?”
“Two levels down.” Peak looked at the countdown on Maeve’s phone.
03:58
“That's not enough time,” he said.
“It is if we use the service lift,” Wren said.
“Power's failing,” Peak reminded.
“I have backup access.” Of course she did.
Peak smiled. “I really like your sister.”
Maeve gave him a look. “Focus.”
“Right.” Wren ran toward a narrow passage.
“This way.” They followed her. The service corridor was barely wide enough for two people.
Pipes and electrical conduit covered the walls, and the concrete floor vibrated beneath Maeve's boots.
The facility was dying around them as lights blinked out, fans slowed, and somewhere behind them came a deep metallic groan.
Maeve tried not to think about what would happen if the structure collapsed.
Peak stayed close behind her and Warden brought up the rear.
Wren stopped at an unmarked metal door and slapped her palm against a black panel—nothing happened.
“Come on.” She tried again, and still nothing.
Peak moved beside her. “Move.” He pulled a cable from the tablet strapped to his forearm and connected it beneath the access panel.
“I need thirty seconds,” he said.
“We don't have thirty seconds,” Maeve breathed.
“I know.” His fingers moved quickly, and the panel flashed red, red, and then green before the doors opened.
Warden slapped Peak's shoulder as they crowded inside. “Useful little bastard.”
Peak glared at him. “Little?”
“Not the part you should've focused on,” Warden grumbled.
Wren hit the button for the lowest level, and the elevator dropped fast. Maeve's stomach rose into her throat. Peak looked at the countdown on his tablet. 03:12. “Where exactly is Captain?” he asked.
Wren stared at the descending floor numbers. “B-twelve.”
Warden went still. “You're sure?”
“Yes,” she said, rolling her eyes at him.
“How do you know?” he asked. Wren hesitated, and Maeve knew immediately she wasn't going to like the answer.
“Because they kept me there when I refused to work.” The air inside the elevator changed, and Peak's jaw tightened. Warden looked toward the doors as his expression hardened. Maeve reached for Wren's hand and her sister squeezed back.
“We'll talk about it later,” Maeve whispered. Wren nodded.
The elevator stopped, and the doors opened. Warden stepped out first. “Stay behind me.” For once, Maeve didn't argue. They moved quickly through the lower corridor. No mercenaries appeared, and that worried Maeve more than if they'd encountered twenty.
“They abandoned this level,” Peak said.
“Why?” she asked.
Wren answered. “Because they know what's coming.” The countdown continued. 02:41. They reached B-twelve, and the door was closed.
Warden reached for the handle, and Peak grabbed him. “Wait.”
“Why?” Warden asked. Peak pointed toward the floor. A nearly invisible wire stretched from the frame into the wall, and Warden swore.
“It’s a trap,” Peak said.
Maeve's blood went cold. “Is Captain inside?” Wren nodded.
Peak crouched to inspect the wire. “I can disarm it.”
“How long will that take?” Maeve asked.
“Depends,” he whispered.
“On what?” Maeve asked.
“Whether the Director wanted to kill whoever opened the door or collapse this entire corridor.”
Warden looked down at him. “That's comforting.”
“I'm known for my bedside manner.” Peak opened the small access panel beside the frame. Maeve looked toward the emergency display. 02:07
“Peak,” she breathed.
“I know, be careful,” he said.
“No, I was going to tell you to hurry the hell up,” Maeve admitted. His fingers moved carefully through the wiring. Maeve hated this. She hated standing still while watching Peak work. She hated knowing Captain might be ten feet away while a clock counted down over their heads.
“Peak,” she said again.
“Maeve,” he returned.
“I'm not trying to rush you.” She was, but that was beside the point.
“You're saying my name every eight seconds.”
“Because we have less than two minutes,” she hissed.
“I noticed.” Warden almost smiled before the red indicator beside the door went dark. Peak stood. “Done.”
Warden kicked the door open. “Captain!” Maeve followed them inside, and her heart stopped. Captain sat tied to a metal chair. His head hung forward, and blood covered the side of his face. For one horrifying second, Maeve thought they were too late, but then Captain groaned.
“About fucking time,” he mumbled.
Warden laughed. It was rough and full of relief. “You're welcome, Prez.” Captain slowly lifted his head. His swollen gaze moved from Warden to Peak and then landed on Maeve and Wren.
His eyebrows rose. “You found her.”
Maeve smiled through the tears filling her eyes. “We found her.”
Captain looked at Wren. “You must be trouble.”
Wren smiled. “So I've been told.”
Warden cut the restraints. “We're leaving.” Captain tried to stand, but his legs gave out. Peak caught one arm, and Warden grabbed the other.
“I can walk,” Captain growled.
“Clearly,” Peak said.
“Smart-ass,” Captain spat. Maeve laughed. She couldn't help it. The sound felt completely inappropriate considering the alarms, the collapsing criminal empire, and the countdown racing toward zero. But Captain was alive, Wren was alive, and Peak was alive. For one precious second, that was enough.
Wren looked at the emergency display and her face went pale.
01:19 “We need to run.” Nobody argued. Warden took most of Captain's weight, and Peak moved to his other side.
Maeve grabbed Wren's hand, and they started toward the service elevator.
The lights went out, and complete darkness swallowed them. Maeve froze, and her chest seized.
A flashlight clicked on, and Peak looked at her. Even with Captain's arm around his shoulders, he'd remembered. The beam found Maeve immediately, and their eyes met across the dark corridor. “You okay?” It was the same question he'd asked her in the motel in the darkness.
She tightened her grip on Wren's hand. “Yeah.” And this time, she meant it.
They kept moving. The elevator doors appeared ahead, and Wren hit the call button. Nothing happened. She hit it again, and still nothing.
Peak checked his tablet. “No power.”
Warden looked toward the stairwell. “How many floors to the surface?”
“Two,” Wren said.
Captain groaned. “Of course it is.”
They headed for the stairs. The countdown flashed on Peak's tablet. 00:47. Maeve's pulse hammered as they climbed the stairs. Warden practically carried Captain as Peak pushed from behind. Maeve stayed with Wren.
They had thirty seconds when they reached the second landing. The building shook, and Maeve nearly fell. Peak caught her around the waist. “Twenty seconds,” he breathed. “Go!”
They ran for the first floor with ten seconds to go. The upper corridor appeared as they ran down the hallway to the front entrance. “Five seconds,” Wren screamed. “Move!”
They reached the maintenance tunnel just as a deafening roar exploded beneath them; it felt like the entire floor was moving.
Heat blasted through the corridor, and every light went dark.
Behind them, something enormous collapsed, and Maeve stumbled forward.
Peak grabbed her before she hit the ground.
Warden dragged Captain out, and Wren ran beside them.
Nobody stopped, nobody looked back as they burst through the navigation tower door into gray morning light.
Fresh air hit Maeve's face, and she nearly collapsed.
Behind them, deep beneath the marsh, the facility continued to rumble as Wren's program destroyed the Director's servers one bank at a time.
Maeve turned and looked at Wren, who stood beside her.
Captain was alive, but just barely standing.
He was being held up by Warden, who was swearing like a sailor.
Peak was bent over with his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath, and Maeve crossed to him. He straightened just as she reached him. “You went back for Captain,” he said.