“All right.”
She pocketed her cell phone and stood. Squeezing Gailen, she tugged him with her to the wall between the cafeteria and the food prep area and pressed the emergency button.
The pyramid lit up, blue and yellow lights reflecting through every pane of glass.
Ryerson shrieked. “What are you doing?”
Bob’s voice crackled over the intercom. “Control.”
“There are bombs planted all over the platform. They could blow at any moment. I’m not sure where it’s safe to evacuate.” Starr rattled off the bomb locations she remembered. “Two on the old rig. They’re in rooms marked A11 and N225 on the map.”
“N225 is my office, and I’m sitting in it right now. I don’t see anything out of place in here unless you count the new…hold on. Is that…”
The intercom shut off. Emergency lights flooded the walkways, lighting the whole oval and shining beacons into the stormy darkness.
Isag raced across the outer pavilion.
“Tell the warriors patrolling the platform,” she murmured to Gailen, crossing the cafeteria past the still-frozen Ryerson. Starr sent photos of the bomb and the schematics to an internet friend as she walked. “They might be able to help us evacuate, but then they have to get as far away as they can. I don’t know how big the explosion will be.”
He released her and jogged to Isag at the entrance. They exchanged tense messages, and Isag raced away.
Gailen returned to her side. “There is a problem.”
“What now?”
Bob’s voice echoed across the platform from the external speakers. “Evacuate. All platform personnel must immediately evacuate.”
“The All-Council army has the platform surrounded.” Gailen blocked her from heading after Isag into the water. “Queen Elyssa and King Kadir are trapped below. They cannot help anyone with the evacuation. We cannot dive to escape the bombs.”
Seventeen
The All-Council army has the platform surrounded.
Starr struggled to take a calming breath. Panic was rising. All she wanted to do was retreat.
But there were bombs on the platform, an enemy army beneath it, and nowhere to go.
Gailen waited for her to tell him what to do.
“Maybe we can disarm it,” she said faintly.
They returned to the kitchen, and he walked around the counter with her. She braved the peanut dust—at this point, it honestly felt like the least of her worries.
How crazy was that?
The stingray was wired to the bomb. She took a few more pictures for her online friend, BomberDude22.
Looks like a satchel charge mashed to a pager trigger, BomberDude22 texted back.
Is there an easy way to shut off power? Or…?
The answer returned with a swift ping. Not unless you know there’s no deadman switch.
How do I disarm this?
BomberDude22 sent a laughing emoji. Evacuate a city block and call in the robots.
Well, she’d already done step one.
Or catch the bomber and make him do it.
“You’ve ruined everything,” Ryerson moaned in the middle of the cafeteria. “It’s over now.”
She straightened. “There’s still a chance to stop this.”
“My reputation… How can I deny my involvement? Why must everyone disappoint me?”
“You have to convince the bomb maker to disarm it.”
Ryerson’s face blanked, and then he laughed dryly. “And how to do you propose I do that? How do you propose I convince a tin-hat red-pilled crazy man who has wired up my entire future not to press the button?”
Gailen stood beside her. “The same way you convinced so many humans that the mer meant you harm.”
“Convincing someone to fear their own shadow is ridiculously easy. Convincing them otherwise?” Ryerson sobered. “Here’s a tip. If you see them before they see you, run.”
It sounded like running was their only option.
Starr held Gailen’s hand as they started across the cafeteria again.
Outside, platform workers in orange exposure suits hurried toward the dock ships.
A group in military fatigues too calmly crossed the outside pavilion and converged on the pyramid.
Bad news. The platform didn’t have an organized security force. Especially not in camo.
Starr pivoted and raced with Gailen up the ramp to the shadowed upper balcony. How crazy that only a few days ago, Ryerson had been up here eating breakfast like it was just another day, when the whole time, he knew the platform was wired to blow. They could maybe get to the outside balcony and slide down the glass to safety. She pushed the outside door.
It was locked.
Oh, no.
She rattled the door. Where was the lock?
Gailen worked on the door. She crept around the dim cafeteria, seeking another exit.
From the floor beneath them, voices rose as Ryerson greeted the military men with friendly chiding. “Gentlemen, gentlemen. What is this? I leave for a