Chapter 7 · The Fake Evac

"Everyone to the north exit, now!" Marcus's voice cut through the mess hall like a blade.

Reina was already moving. Half the kids looked confused, forks still in hand. The other half scrambled up, chairs scraping tile.

"Sir, we're scheduled for ward practice in—"

"I said now." Marcus grabbed Danny by the collar as he passed. "Move your ass, Locke."

Danny's eyes went wide. "What's happening?"

"Nothing if you run."

The lie tasted like copper. Marcus had spent three loops mapping the blast radius. The mess hall was safe for another eight minutes. The north corridor wasn't. But the mole would expect him to evacuate south—away from the device he still hadn't found. So he was betting twenty-seven lives on a bluff.

Reina stopped at the corridor entrance, one hand on the doorframe. Her gaze cut straight to him. "North exit's been under repair since Tuesday."

"It's clear now."

"Since when?"

"Since I checked it this morning."

Her fingers tightened on the frame. For half a second her face went blank, the way it did when she was running scenarios. Then she turned and shoved the door open. "You heard him. Move."

The kids poured through. Marcus counted heads. Twenty-three.