Page 120 of Coldwire
“I imagine not.” Sluggishly, he grabs the glasses and puts them on. “Did you go looking for your footage?”
I frown. I didn’t think to go looking for it. Why didn’t I? A small pit of self-consciousness replaces the all-around dread I’ve been wallowing in these past few hours. That would have been one less item to worry about when it came time to clear my name.
“Yeah, found it and stole it already,” I intone. “Goodbye. You can no longer hold me hostage.”
Nik shifts into a proper sitting position. He makes a delicate process of it, ensuring that he can distribute his weight at every small change before he straightens fully. By the time he’s upright, he looks like he might start panting.
“I suppose,” he says, reluctantly, warily, “I have you to thank for saving my life.”
“Go on.”
Nik looks away. He sounds utterly stiff when he says, “Thank you. I appreciate it. I was quite delirious by the time you forced Eveline into my mouth.”
“You’re welcome. I do need you to survive if I’m going to go free.” I stand up, dusting off my hands. I’m trying not to think too hard about the act of going free, and what it’ll take. Proceed forward one step at a time. What other choice do I have? “Are you okay to be on the move? You’re probably going to be extremely weak for another day.”
“I’ll be fine.” Nik’s gaze swivels quickly, typing behind his glasses. “We don’t have time for me to lounge around resting.”
“You may have to,” I say. Daylight shifts with a change in the clouds outside. A dam has broken in the sky, spilling bone-white over the city. “I don’tknow how you expect us to get out when Threto’s closure extends for two weeks.”
“Government cars are allowed to exit with a negative avian flu test. Miz and Blare have already gotten out. Miz is routing a self-driving car to arrive downstairs as we speak.” Nik starts to rise. The floorboards creak beneath him, protesting at the motion.
It almost disguises the scraping sound by the door, too.
“Stop, stop, stop,” I hiss suddenly, holding my hand out. “Stop moving!”
He freezes.
“Get behind the couch.”
“Why—”
“Nik.Now.” I shove him when he doesn’t move quickly enough. Just as I’m ducking too, the door opens quietly. Whispers enter the apartment, numerous footsteps dispersing wide. They’re light. I count three, then more.
My heart is pounding in my ears. I thought Teryn was letting me finish the assignment. Has she sent forces? Did I lose her trust?
We’re too high up to jump from the window. Too surrounded to make a run for the door. Frantically I switch between either scenario with no alternative in any direction, and before I’ve come to any decision, one of the intruders surveys around the couch, spotting us.
Ski mask, large jacket, gun in his hand.
I don’t wait for him to make the first move. I rise, knocking him off his feet. As soon as I’m up, I’ve heard the click of a gun coming off its safety. I skid two steps and spin to face the others in the room. The one farthest from me holds the weapon.
Nik slams upright too. He rasps, “Wait,” and I can’t comprehend why when a bullet strikes the wall. The gunman aims again, but I’ve closed the distance and gripped his wrist, throwing the next shot awry to hit the windowpane. I see my opening. I strike hard on his arm, and the gun clatters loose.
The others are moving. I see them in my periphery, but I’m quicker to pick up the weapon.
“Soldier.”
I finally freeze, the gun steady in my hand. Nik’s been trying to get my attention. I was aware of it as some faraway call until now, once his volume has risen to a thunder strike.
I turn.
“Don’t shoot,” Nik says. He’s standing, his arm outstretched, palm out likeI’mthe enemy he has to persuade to disarm. “Come on, soldier. They’re kids. They’re just kids.”
And I look at the intruders properly. They’re holding varying bags stuffed with tin cans, with bottles and glass. The masks hide most of their features, but now that I’ve stopped moving, I realize none of these people are any taller than my shoulders, skinny and gaunt under their oversized jackets.
Horror seizes my chest. This isn’t NileCorp. Teryn has nothing to do with this. The intruders have frozen too, eyeing the gun in my hands nervously. Nik steps forward.
“Take the gun,” he instructs me. “But let’s go. Leave them here.”
