Page 87 of Static/Cling

“And you knew this. You asked him to do something to the file that’s going to get him killed.”

“I gave him the opportunity.”

“You lured him here knowing he was dead either way. If he refused, dead. If he succeeds, dead. What kind of fucked-up family are you people?”

“I’ll get him out if I can, obviously.”

“But this first. This before family. Before your own brother.”

“He came.”

“Because he wasn’t about to let a bunch of innocent people get hurt!”

Rufus clenched his jaw again. “He came,” he said again, taking a step forward. “He didn’t have to take the bait.”

“But you knew he would.”

Rufus sagged. “I had no other play. I wasn’t going to let that list get out, either. This was all I could think of. All there was. And I’ve already almost lost one brother to this madness.”

“So what? Kassian’s the expendable one?”

“You’re judging something you don’t understand.”

“And you’ve given in to hopelessness,” Bjorn spat. “You’ve decided sacrificing something as important as a brother, as family, is the only way. You stopped looking for a better way out.”

“You don’t know me.”

“I know Kassian didn’t want to get you involved. He didn’t want to risk you getting in trouble. But I guess that was before he found you’re willing to risk his actual life.”

“I’m not—that isn’t—” But he never got a chance to explain what he may or may not have been willing to risk, because the lights flickered and a second later, boots clattered along the floor, and voices called out.

“I’m out of time,” Bjorn said, at the same time Rufus muttered, “He wasn’t quick enough.”

Earlier…

Leif flattened himself against a wall and peered back around towards the haunted stairwell.

Two figures were striding towards that last storage room door. He glanced down at the boots he still carried, relieved he’d accidentally gone back in and found them.

“I think there’s more frost than earlier,” one of them said, bringing his attention back around to them.

In the eerie silence of the abandoned floor, their voices carried surprisingly far.

“Relax. It comes and goes.”

“That much, though?”

“Who cares? I’m not opening it to find out.”

“Jesus fuck, please don’t open it,” Leif whispered.

“Twice in one day, though.”

“Be my guest, if you want, but wait until I’m at the other end of the building. Trust me. You don’t want to know what’s down there.”

“What is it?”

“Honestly, no one knows for sure, and I’m not interested in being the SOB who finds out.”

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