Page 51 of Sloth
“Where do you think I learned that quote, Mr. Pinkerton?”
“From the books.”
“No. From your daughter’s books.”
Coldness grew from the pit in his stomach and they stared at each other while her intention soaked in.
“You bitch.”
“I don’t care what you call me.”
“You care about nothing at all.”
One of her shoulders lifted in a shrug.
“You could have been different,” Barry snapped. “You could have been very different.”
“But I’m not. And you have a job to do.” She hurried to the animal cages. “After the success of our experiment, we have received the all clear to pervade the city. Julius wants you to double production. He wants that city to be the first to fall.”
He frowned. Success? That animal had torn through the streets of Cardinal City with no purpose. To Barry, he couldn’t make sense of the targeting. The animal was meant to be attracted to the sin of greed, but it had gone wild in the end.
“You hesitate.”
He shook his head. Releasing so many into the city—no one would be safe. He didn’t want to do it, but he knew not how to stop it. Not without putting his daughter’s life in jeopardy.
“You have your instructions.” Despair straightened and headed for the exit. “I expect you to comply.”
“Don’t you have a heart?” he asked.
“My heart died in a burning building over two decades ago.” Then she left, lab door closing on soft hinges as her footsteps faded down the hall.
Fourteen
“Help me dragthem out of the way.” Sloan slipped her hands under the arms of a sleeping guard.
Half expecting Max to argue, it surprised her when he crouched low and asked, “Are you sure about this?”
When she gave a short, serious nod, he returned with his own. “Then I think we need to remove their uniforms and use them. Put them over our own. Take the balaclavas off and try to blend in. Looks like this base goes underground. Who knows how long we’ll be down there.”
“Good idea.” She tugged her guard around the side of the building, stopping in a pitch black shadow and began removing his shirt.
Max did the same, and soon, both had put the military uniform over their existing clothes. They removed their balaclavas, hid their Deadly jacket hoods under their new jackets and donned the army hats. She tucked her hair underneath. They were roasting, but it was temporary. Sloan had to leave her crossbow and quiver hidden, but retrieved a rifle and slung it over her shoulder.
If you looked closely, you’d see the lumpy undergarments, but Sloan wasn’t willing to risk this extra mission without her bulletproof armor.
With Max at her back, Sloan traveled through the base door, stopping just inside. She closed her eyes and focused on the sin. Her stomach rolled, and when she concentrated, she noticed multiple points triggered the feeling. Sloth blinked into existence beneath her, a hundred fold. She almost lost her breath and ran back to safety, all the way back to her apartment.
“What is it?” Max whispered.
“There are a lot of signatures beneath us.”
“And Barry?”
Sloan frowned. Like a beacon, his deadly sin tugged at her, pulling her from the core. An instinctual reaction sparked with purpose.End the sin. Destroy the sinner.But Mary had spent her life ensuring the Lazarus children didn’t react instinctually, that they assessed the danger, and approached the sin with a level head.
She didn’t have to destroy the person to destroy the sin. She could help him.
“He’s down a few levels.”
