Page 122 of The Hero Within
They hit a T-intersection, and Johnny paused. A set of steel bars was slowly descending from the ceiling.Shit."They’re locking down the facility and trying to herd us."
"This way," Mayhew gasped, limping past them, bloody fingers holding his datapad. "There’s an exit at the back."
At each intersection, the steel bars were descending. Arik cursed behind them as he tried to spit enough bullets back toward the squad to keep them at bay, but conserve their ammunition.
"Stay with Lincoln," Johnny said to Eden, giving her a little push. "I’ll help Arik keep them off us."
Mayhew plugged into a fuse box. "If I can get us through here, we have a clear run to that exit."
They were dangerously in the open here. Johnny saw the enforcers’ red dot bloom right in the center of Arik's chest as he swung his rifle off his back.
"Get down!" he screamed, slamming into Arik.
They hit the floor, Arik sliding across the polished concrete with Johnny atop him just as gunfire turned the air above them into a hailstorm of death. Bullets slammed into the wall ahead of them, pitting the brick, and Johnny buried his face in Arik's shoulder before someone called out sharply behind him.
It stopped.
Eden.
Lincoln crouched behind a steel box, his hand holding Eden's head down. "The cure!" he yelled, pointing at the briefcase on the floor behind them. He’d clearly shoved her out of the way, and she'd dropped it.
No way was Johnny losing that briefcase.
Without it, Eden’s people would die.
Sprinting low toward the case, Johnny heard a loud groan echo in the ceiling. A wall of bars began to descend, and red lights flashed at intervals along the ceiling.Shit. No wonder they weren't shooting.
"Code black," one of the enforcers yelled into his radio. "We have a code black in the Wing C. All units. I repeat, all units."
Skating to a halt, Johnny bent to grab the case and tore back toward Eden. The bars ahead of him cranked down inexorably, separating him from the others. He wasn't going to make it. He wasn't going to—
Johnny threw himself into a slide, one foot flung out before him.
At the last second he thrust the case ahead of him, and it flew beneath the bars just as they crashed into the floor. Johnny slammed against them, his knees bending with the force and his body colliding against the silver-coated steel. He jerked back with a hiss as the silver burned him.
Too late.
He was trapped on the other side.
"Johnny!" Eden screamed, throwing herself at the bars.
Behind him the enforcers advanced, lifting their rifles. Red dots glowed to life across Eden's chest.
"Down!" he yelled.
Arik wrestled her back, tossing the polished steel case to his brother. "Damn it, Eden. We've got to go."
Arik looked at him helplessly, and Johnny understood. He wasn't getting out of here. They had no time. Barely any ammunition left. And the enforcers were right behind him.
There was a tight clenching in his chest as if the cage of his ribs fought to contain his heart. His ears were ringing, and all he could see was the shock and fear on Eden's face.
He loved her.
He'd found more of himself in the past week than he'd ever dared to hope for, thanks to her.
Someone needed to make the decision.
"Go," he whispered, dread sliding through his veins as he crawled to his feet, putting his body between the enforcers and Eden. "Get her out of here. Get her safely home."
