Page 64 of Captured Immune

“What?”

She points at her cheek. “Right here in the face. And do it hard.”

“No way.”

“Trey, you have to. I can’t blow my cover. Why do you think I told you to drag me in here? When they review the camera feed, it needs to look like you attacked me, interrogated me in this closet, then stole my ID card.”

“There has to be another way.”

“There isn’t. And if you wanna continue dinking around in this closet forever, we can, but we’ve already spent a lot of precious time in here.”

“Goddammit,” I groan because she’s right.

“Look, Trey, my parents were killed by the Royals too. I was ten, and I’ve wanted to be a field agent ever since. I’ve been training since I was eleven, so I’ve gone through much worse than one punch.” She braces herself against the shelves, then closes her eyes. “Don’t hold back, okay?”

I can’t believe I’m about to do this.Sighing, I form a fist, draw back, then release.

Katie’s head snaps back as she moans. “Jesus, fuck. You couldn’t have held back just a little?”

“But you said?—”

“Kidding, kidding. Kind of.” She rubs her cheek with her palm as she slumps onto the floor. “Now go.”

14

TREY

The sign reads317 Weapons Technology Lab.

On the black device near the door handle, I wave Katie’s ID card. It beeps, and a little light flashes green. I let myself in and shut the door behind me.

The room is dark. Instead of turning the lights on, I toss a fireball into the air. My flames hover beside me as I pin my back against the door. My hands shake as my breaths turn ragged.

Can I really pull this off? Me against a hundred? Maybe two hundred?Fuck.The idea of that many people coming at me at once is gruesome. I won’t stand a chance. I can’t do this. This is crazy.Why the hell am I doing this?

An image of Arella pops into my head. She’s probably handcuffed to my old bed right now, scared out of her mind. She’s probably more freaked out than I am. Trapped in a place with people she doesn’t know? That’s frightening. I can’t imagine what went through her head when she saw everyone using their powers.

I have to do this. I have to save her. And if I die in the process, at least I died trying.

I expand my empathy outward. The closest emotions are from several rooms down the hall. It’s two people, and they’re... well, they’re having a good time, that’s for damn sure. I don’t think I’ll have to worry about them getting in my way.

Up in the security room, everything seems normal. Two people. Both are content. They’ve got too many screens to keep an eye on for them to have noticed me casually strolling into this room. The rest of the base seems clear too. No one feels alarmed or is running toward me. For the moment, I’m good, so I rush to the back cabinets.

Hold on...Did Katie say left or right?Shit!

I think she said right. I pull the door of the top cabinet. It clicks against the lock. I wave a hand at the keyhole and try again.

The cabinet opens. Inside are a bunch of small throwing knives lined up in four neat rows. Knowing ZIRDA, they’re probably much more than simple throwing knives. They could be laced with something. Either way, they aren’t perrizo guns.

Just in case, I take two knives and shove them blade-down into my back pockets. They’re fucking huge, though, so they stick out like Excalibur in the stone. With these things in my jeans, I won’t be able to walk around casually anymore.

I drag the leg of my jeans up. I’m about to stick one knife into my sock when I stop. Whatever this knife is laced with probably shouldn’t touch my skin. How can I—oh, I know!I kick my shoes off and take one sock off. Then I drag the sock over my other foot. I put one knife back where I found it, then stick the second knife between the two socks until it’s secure. When I shove my feet back into my shoes, it feels weird. One foot is bare while the other is double-socked. It’ll have to do though.

With a thunk, I shut the top cabinet, then unlock and open the bottom one. Three rows of handguns stare back at me.Which ones are the preloaded ones?I bring my fireball closer to them. On the bottom row, two of the weapons are facing the opposite way of the others. I pick one up. It feels heavy. I pick up one of the firearms from the top row. It’s definitely got less weight to it.Thank you, Katie!She definitely made this idiot-proof.

I shove the preloaded guns into the front of my jeans, then hide them behind my unzipped jacket. It’s been years since I’ve shot a gun, but with the help of my telekinesis, I’ll be able to make every shot count. I’ll have to, because what I have is enough shots to knock out thirty agents, which isn’t even close to what I need.

I leave room 317, acting as nonchalant as possible. Then I freeze. Down the hall, that security guard who was on his phone earlier steps out of a dark room with a short blonde girl. They both have guilty, satisfied smiles on their faces that drop the moment they see me.

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