Page 79 of Rogue Hope
A sound from the corridor—boots on polished floors. Multiple sets.
“We’re out of time. Shoot me later if you want, but right now, we need to move.”
Kenji looked between them, confusion evident. “Zara?”
She hesitated for only a second before making her decision. “If this is another betrayal?—”
Harrison was deep into this. She believed that now. But that didn’t mean Finn wasn’t involved, too.
The footsteps were closer now, methodical and unhurried. Confident.
“Reynolds thinks he’s won.” Finn offered Kenji back his weapon. “Let’s prove him wrong.”
Kenji stepped forward and retrieved his Glock.
Zara lowered her gun, not holstering it, but no longer aiming at Finn’s heart. This wasn’t about trust—not yet—but about survival. About stopping a traitor who had used them both.
“Three exits,” she said crisply. “Service corridor, main hall, or ventilation shaft.”
Finn scanned the detention center, his eyes calculating. “Ventilation’s our best shot, but they’ll figure that out in a heartbeat, too.” His gaze settled on the security console. “We need a diversion.”
Kenji rubbed his throat, giving Finn a look that promised future reckoning. “The biomedical lab on level three has automated emergency activation capability.”
“Perfect,” Zara nodded sharply. “Can you trigger it from here?”
Finn was already moving to the detention control panel, prying open its casing. “If I crosswire this to the emergency systems network ...” His fingers worked deftly among the circuits. “Kenji, I need the override code for quarantine procedures.”
“Alpha-seven-delta-nine-three,” Kenji supplied without hesitation.
The sound of boots echoed in the corridor outside—Vanguard operatives taking position. They had seconds, not minutes.
Zara quickly gathered Kenji’s medical supplies from the floor where they’d scattered during the confrontation. “We’ll need these.” She tossed Finn a roll of surgical tape as she moved toward the ventilation panel.
“Got it,” Finn muttered, connecting two final wires. The console flickered, then displayed a flashing red warning.
Biocontainment breach in Laboratory 3. Automatic lockdown initiating.
Immediately, alarms blared throughout the facility. Emergency containment doors began slamming shut in distant corridors.
“That’ll send them scrambling,” Kenji observed, moving to help Zara with the ventilation grate. “Reynolds will have to redirect resources to investigate.”
Zara looked at Finn. “Use the medical tape.”
Immediately understanding, Finn joined them at the grate, quickly applying pieces of tape to the fasteners. “When they check this room, they’ll think we went out through the service corridor.”
“Exactly.” She crossed to the service door and deliberately damaged its access panel, leaving marks that suggested someone had forced it open. She grabbed a chair and positioned it beneath the panel, adding scattered tools to complete the illusion.
The footsteps outside slowed, then stopped. Voices conferring urgently.
“Now,” she whispered, as Finn finished removing the grate.
Kenji went first, his compact frame sliding easily into the opening. Zara followed, ignoring the burning protest from herjoints. Just as Finn prepared to enter, the detention center door began to unlock.
With lightning speed, he tossed Kenji’s medical bag through the vent, then slid in himself, replacing the grate from the inside an instant before the door opened.
They lay absolutely still in the narrow shaft, barely breathing as Vanguard operatives swept the room below.
“Clear,” a voice called. “Looks like they forced the service exit. Moving to intercept.”
