Chapter 19 #2
I keep flipping through cameras and adding to my rough sketch until I think I’ve been through them all.
The others aren’t here.
But I can at least get the rest of the Guild free. I counted a few boats along a dock that would fit all of us. That leaves freeing them and fighting off the numerous scientists and patrolling agents.
With a scalpel and scissors.
I run my hand back and forth over my hair, scowling at the stupidity of that plan.
Think.
Think.
What would Jack do?
Scratch that. Jackson would just walk out there and start killing people. Aiden, then.
“We need a distraction,” I murmur. Something to keep their attention elsewhere while I get everyone free and able to fight. “A fire.”
“Uh, are you crazy? We’re in this building, too.”
“Look.” I push my sketched map over for her to see, and she peers over my shoulder.
“We’re on the far end of the building. If we start a fire in the break room here, that’ll draw anyone around to try putting it out while we sneak over here”—I draw my finger along the hallway lines to a larger rectangle where the others are being held—“to free the others. Their vitals all looked good, so once we unhook them, they should be able to move and fight.” I slide my finger across the hallways that lead to an exit, then tap the docks.
“We run and grab a boat, fighting anyone who gets in our way.”
Alice shakes her head, crossing her arms. “I'm not fighting anyone.”
“What?” I ask, frowning, unsure if I’d heard her right.
“What?” she demands back. “I freed you. You get us off this island. That’s the deal.”
“You realize there is no getting off the island without fighting some people. And you, being invisible, have the biggest advantage.”
She shrugs and gives me a look that says she’s not going to budge on this.
It’s a fucking waste, but I stop trying to argue it.
There are enough strong fighters here that we should be fine without her help.
Raegan wants me to keep her safe, for her and Harvey, and—fuck, I owe him that, too.
We’ll need to talk about her invisible stalking habits when we get home, but at least this time it worked out.
“Fine, no fighting. But you’re going to start the fire.” She opens her mouth, but I keep going. “Start it here, in the break room. I’m sure you’ll find something to get it going. Make sure enough things catch fire that it can’t be put out easily. Then get out of there and meet me in my old room.”
“Why can’t you do it?”
“Because I’m going to be setting this guy”—I kick the scientist at my feet while pocketing my two weapons—“up in that bed and covering him up so no one thinks I’m missing. Unless you want to drag him back to that room, lift him on the bed, and put all the monitors and IVs on him.”
She makes a face.
I continue, “Good. It’s settled. Get going. And obviously don’t make it too big and get yourself trapped in there.”
Alice rolls her eyes. “Obviously.” She vanishes from her head down to her feet, and the door cracks open. I fold my sketch and shove it in my pocket, then push the chair out of my way to lift the scientist under his arms. “It’s clear,” she reports.
The door opens all the way, and I hurriedly drag the unconscious man backward, pausing at the doorway for a quick check of my own, before I beeline it to the room where they’d had me.
Pushing through the curtains, I get him on my bed and work the straps over him. All the monitors, and lastly, the IVs.
I can't say if I did those right, but at this point, I couldn’t care less. This guy was watching me suffer from his office and did nothing about it. So, if I jab him a bit harder than necessary when sticking it in, then it is what it is.
The smell of something burning enters the room.
I finish up, tossing a sheet over him and turning his head away from the doorway and camera, then stand at the curtain. Something taps my arm.
Alice.
“Do you smell that?” I hear down the hallway.
A door opens.
“What’s going on?”
“Did someone burn something in the break room again?”
“Oh my god! Fire! Get the fire extinguisher! Hurry!”
A flock of white lab coats run down the hallway to the break room. I wait until they’ve all passed, giving another few seconds to make sure no others are going to follow, before slipping out of the room. “Keep up,” I whisper to Alice, then run in the opposite direction.
The scent continues even after we turn a couple of hallways. “How big did you—”
An explosion cuts me off, the sound deafening as a wave of heat rolls down the corridor. I reach for Alice, grabbing whatever I touch first and shoving her into the nearest room, then slamming the door behind us. “What the fuck did you use?” I demand.
“It wasn’t me! Maybe they had something in the next room that did that!”
I curse, hoping it didn’t cause the fire to spread to other areas of the building. The hallway’s back to normal when I poke my hand out. Maybe a couple degrees warmer than usual, but nothing to worry about. “Come on.”
The hallway isn’t as quiet this time around with more scientists running around.
I keep my head down or to the side, blending in with the lab coat and pretending I’m looking for someone in all the chaos.
When we reach the room with the Guild members, I rush to the connecting office first and launch myself at one of the two scientists with the scalpel.
The first one is easy to take out with the element of surprise on my side. The second one jumps on my back and starts choking me out. I cut his arm, pressing deep with the precision blade. He releases me with a scream.
Fuck.
I slap my hand over his mouth and slam him to the wall, finishing the kill.
The click-clack of a bullet being chambered makes me freeze.
“Don’t move.”