beyond appeared empty. Ian’s concern had been well-founded but unnecessary. I listened in on the signals I could hear, but the teams on this floor had gone silent.
I eased out into the tunnel. There were three gates between me and the next set of elevators. The tunnel wasn’t perfectly straight, so I couldn’t see any of the gates from here. Several dark doorways lined either side of the main passage, smaller tunnels that led into the maze of the mine. I couldn’t possibly clear them all.
If I was setting up an ambush to capture rather than kill, I’d position a few soldiers in the side tunnels to come in from behind and trap us against the main force of soldiers. It would also prevent us from retreating.
I set off slowly, keeping a mental ear on the wireless signals, searching for Ian’s specific signature or for soldiers trying to flank me, but everything stayed quiet.
The codebreaker opened the first gate in less than ten seconds. I wondered if the stairwell had locked doors, and if so, how Ian planned to get through them. I really should’ve asked more questions instead of letting that kiss scramble my brain. I left the gate open.
A few meters farther down the tunnel, a flurry of messages spiked through my head. The virus had been loose for a little less than ten minutes. The cybersecurity team was trying to get ahead of it and not having a lot of success.
Thirty seconds and several messages later, the lights went out. My smart glasses adjusted, then adjusted again when the intermittent emergency lighting came on. Vast sections of the hallway were now bathed in shadow.
Coms went down and silence rang in my head. An emergency evacuation alarm went off, stopped, then went off again. I chuckled. I’d never seen this particular virus in use, but it was even better than advertised. I’d have to send my contact a bonus for a job well done.
I moved toward the next gate, keeping to the shadows as much as possible. Various alarms went off and were silenced, but the coms didn’t come back up. The second gate appeared in the distance. As I approached, I caught the whisper of a com signal. Someone was transmitting nearby, but no one was responding.
I crept forward, trying to determine the location. Dark spots flashed in my vision. I was using my dubious gift too much and paying for the effort. Pain was my constant companion, but I needed every edge I could get.
I peeked into the next tunnel and found a soldier, com to his ear. I’m not sure who was more surprised, him or me, but I recovered faster and shot first. I’d been aiming for center mass, but I must’ve pulled it at the last second. The soldier fell dead, a perfect shot through the middle of his head.
Well, that was my allotment of luck for this century.
That proved true a second later when the soldier behind him shot me twice with a stun pistol before I even realized she was there. I went down with a scream of agony. I clung to consciousness by the tiniest of threads. Stun pistols packed less of a wallop than stunsticks, but my brain implant still did not appreciate the jolt.
“You stupid bitch! You killed Katz!” Her steel-toed boot to my stomach drove the breath from my lungs. She pulled back for another kick, but a third soldier stopped her. “Imbor wants her alive!” he said.
“Imbor can fuck off,” she growled, struggling.
The male soldier shook her. “I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that, Private. Now help me cuff her before she regains muscle control.”
The private rolled me over none too gently and drove a knee into my spine. I couldn’t prevent my groan. She wrenched my arms around and secured them behind my back. My left arm throbbed with pain as the blaster wound reopened.
“You’re a dead woman,” she whispered into my ear.
She would have to get in line.
The male soldier searched me and took my blaster, smart glasses, and codebreaker. He left my inactive shielding cuff, thinking it jewelry. It dug into my arm above the restraints, but the pain meant I still had one form of protection if I needed it.
The man picked me up and tossed me over his shoulder. Blood rushed into my head and his shoulder dug into my bruised stomach. If I vomited on him he was totally going to deserve it.