Page 200 of The Vigilante's Lover
She steps back from the table. I recognize the smirk on her face and immediately my senses go on alert. She’s about to do something unexpected.
She coughs into her hand as if she’s swallowed something. “Water,please,” she chokes out, waving to a pitcher at the end of the table.
The elderly man picks up the pitcher, plucking it from a circle of glasses.
My neck hair prickles. Why is she asking for this now? The timing is off.
I pull Mia to me. Something’s wrong with the water, the way it pours. It’s too slow. The man sees it too, he’s trained, but he’s too late. The first splash hits the bottom of the glass and the room fills with the sound of an explosion.
I drag Mia to the floor. The boom is deafening. Smoke fills the air.
“Lockdown!” I hear Jovana cry.
The system responds, and the lights over the door go out.
The screens all change as scanners go through the room, seeking out damage. Next to each committee member is a health report. The sound of coughing and choking drowns out everything.
The explosion was small, but the smoke and chemical gas are debilitating. I pull a handkerchief out of my pocket and press it to Mia’s mouth.
One of the committee members tries to open the door, but it’s sealed shut.
“System,” one shouts. “Open the door.”
The screens flash. “Lockdown activated. Unanimous authentication required.”
“What’s that?” Mia asks.
I can barely make her out in the smoke. “During lockdown, the system requires everyone to agree to open the doors. Safety precaution.”
The scanners continue to assess damage, listing concerns.
Respiration labored.
Third-degree burns.
Something catches my eye and I see Jovana climbing a synthetic rope toward a hatch in the ceiling.
The other exit.
I stand up to go after her, but Klaus spots me and slams a fist into my face. I push Mia out of the way as I turn to fight him.
“I’m not drugged this time, Klaus,” I say to him.
He delivers a roundhouse kick to my legs, but I easily turn aside and grab his knee, twisting him down onto the floor.
I look up. Jovana’s at the hatch.
But Mia is right behind her.
The screens flash, waiting for authentication. “Open,” a feeble voice calls out.
A check mark appears by the image of one woman.
The others start to find their voices. “Open,” cries another. Then another.
The check marks appear as the scanners finish their round.
The last image is the man who poured the water. An arrow pulses by his name. Then it switches to “Deceased.”
