She could stop him, but not without bringing the entire complex down and therefore destroying the one person she was trying to save.
She blew out a breath and directed some of the cold wind that swirled around her at the flames, forcing the heat and the fire away enough to form a corridor. Then she ran through.
The heat battered her, despite the swirling air. Sweat dribbled down her spine, her forehead. The smoke was fierce, a wall of darkness threatening to overwhelm her narrow corridor. She ran as fast as she could, following the screams, and praying for a miracle.
And after praying for such an occurrence all her life, it seemed someone was finally listening.
Mary was in the shower room with all the water taps turned on, so that she was surrounded by a ring of water. The heat was still enough to scald her skin and clothes, yet she was alive and awake and conscious. A miracle in itself since the outside walls of the shower rooms were a maelstrom of destruction.
Mary's expression was an odd mix of fear and hope as she spun around. "Josephine? What is happening? What have you done?"
"We're doing what we promised we'd do. Escaping." She hesitated and held out her hand. "Come with me. I'll keep you safe."
Mary studied her for a heartbeat, and then her gaze went to the flames. "The heat alone will kill us."
"No, it won't," a voice said behind Sam.
She turned and met her brother's gaze. Saw both the fury and the understanding. "Don't try to stop me, Josh. I have to do this."
"Even at the risk of recapture?"
"Even at." She hesitated. "But Lloyd is dead."
"Lloyd will never be dead." He smiled and touched a hand to her cheek. His fingertips were tinder hot, and yet inexplicably tender. "It seems you are not the weapon that either they or I might hope you to be. Not yet, anyway." He glanced past her.
"Mary, we haven't much time. Move it."
Though he was barely a teenager, Josh's voice held a depth of command not even their trainers had achieved. Mary obeyed.
He caught Mary's hand and said, "I have to do this for your own safety, so sorry in advance." Before Mary or she realized what he was doing, he'd knocked the older woman unconscious. But he didn't let her fall, catching her kinetically before glancing at Sam. "She'd have slowed us down, otherwise. You lead. I'll keep the flames at bay."
He did, but it was still a close run. He might be flame, but flames often gained a life of their own once given the freedom to run, and these flames had grown beyond the life—though maybe not the intent—of their creator.
They ran from the complex's maelstrom into the dark cold night. But it was a far from silent night—shouts, confusion and fear came from the many people who milled nearby. Some manned fire trucks, some hoses, and some whatever came to hand—like tractors scooping earth into the flames. But not one of them saw the three of them leave. Night was their ally, their only friend, and even when fire lit, it protected them from sight.
They ran up the hill and collapsed at the top, at the place where they'd spent so many nights staring at the stars and dreaming of this moment.
And, like when she'd confronted Lloyd, now that the moment was here, it didn't feel as good as it was supposed to.
She listened to the sounds filling the night, to the screams of people and the groan of a building ready to collapse, sounds that were interspersed with the harshness of their own breathing. It was Josh who broke the silence.
"You must finish it."
She closed her eyes, knowing that for those who still remained alive inside it was better to end it quickly, and yet not wanting to be the one who took their lives. "There are some who deserve death who are not in those buildings."
He nodded. "Blaine, for one."
"Yes."
"I have plans for him, never fear." His voice held the deadness that always chilled her. This was not her brother, but rather the weapon the military had bred but could never fully control.
"And those plans do not include death? After all he has done?"
His smile was bitter, and yet so cold. So very cold. "No.
Not as yet."
A shiver ran down her spine. "If I do this, I want out.