His hand joined hers behind his back. His fingers ran warmth across her skin, briefly caressing, then he grasped one of the lasers. His gaze met hers, and then it flickered to the guard. She wrapped her hand around the second laser and carefully pulled. The tape tore loose, and she coughed to cover the sound. But the cough became a groan of pain as fire burned down her right side. For an instant, the whole room spun. She leaned her head back against the panel and took several deep breaths.
Gabriel's hand touched hers again. She released the laser, wrapping her fingers in his, drawing strength from the comfort of his touch. It was odd, really, that a man she barely knew could offer her such solace. Especially when she'd never found that sort of comfort in a man's touch.
When the pain began to ebb again, she squeezed his hand lightly and let go. "I'm okay," she said, opening her eyes.
His hazel eyes were full of concern. "You need a doctor."
"I need an ending."
Understanding flickered through his eyes. "Wait," he said softly, holding up four fingers.
"We wait and the PM dies."
"No." There was certainty in his voice.
She glanced at the clock. Six minutes to four. She clenched the Holcroft laser and waited. A minute later, an explosion ripped across the silence.
"About time," Jack muttered. "Battle stations, boys."
The wristcoms buzzed to life. "Stern, Redfern, there's been an explosion in the kitchen. Batten down the tower and keep the PM under wraps until we give the okay."
Jack picked up the wristcom. "Bringing up the second launch screen."
He pressed a button. Motors hummed and a metal screen began to ease upwards, covering the windows. Light flared overhead as the room became darker.
"Let the game begin." Jack's voice was flat and cold. "Positions, boys."
The two men stepped back, weapons raised and ready. Jack stood in the middle of the room, facing the elevator, gun armed and held by his side.
"Your plan won't work," Gabriel said into the silence. "No bomb ever destroys all the evidence. They'll run autopsies on the remains, cell tests. They'll discover the truth."
Despite the casualness of his voice, Sam sensed an underlying urgency in his words. He didn't want the PM shot any more than she did, so why was he talking rather than acting?
Jack's smile was almost bitter. "I'm not a fool, Stern. There won't be anything left for them to autopsy."
"All it'll take is one piece of skull showing a laser burn, and your plan will come undone."
"Tell me Stern, have they found any pieces of Hanrahan for you to identify? No? How tragic." Jack's voice was cold, mocking. "The bomb we're using is bigger than the car bomb that destroyed the SIU. Even so, we're not taking chances. They won't find any skull fragments bearing laser burns, believe me."
Sam raised an eyebrow. The car bomb hadn't destroyed the SIU — even she knew that. Had Jack failed to keep updated on current events? Would that help them, somehow? She glanced at Gabriel. His eyes were calm, despite the tension and anger she felt in him.
"We have to stop them," she said.
"Move and you both die," Jack said, not looking at them.
They were going to die anyway, so why not die trying to stop a fiend? As if reading her thoughts, Gabriel squeezed her hand. Patience, his eyes seemed to say. She frowned and bit her lip. The elevator chimed softly, and the doors slid open. Five men were inside. The PM, David Flint, stood at the rear of the elevator, his body shielded by the four Fed boys.
She clenched the laser. They were dead meat if someone didn't do something. Gabriel wrapped his fingers round her arm, holding her hand down and preventing her from moving. She glared at him.
"Wait," he repeated. "Just wait."
Wait for Jack's plan to succeed? What sort of game was he playing now?
"Welcome, Prime Minister," Jack said, then raised his gun and fired.
The men in the lift didn't have a chance. Blood sprayed against the elevator walls as the five of them went down.
"Mike," Jack said, then turned and fired at the guard near them. The bullet took him in the shoulder and flung him back. He fell to the floor. Jack rounded his gun immediately on them. "Don't even think about moving."