Chapter 31 · Stealth in the Dead Zone

"Kai, move!" Lilith slammed her palm against my chest and shoved me away from the black glass doorway.

The door split open.

A blade of white light cut across the corridor. Every dead screen on the walls flashed at once, and a red warning stamped itself over my vision.

[REAPER PLUGIN: COLLAPSE EVENT]

[ZONE PURGE IN 00:47]

I stared at the countdown. "That's not a security alarm."

"No," Lilith said. "It's a kill order."

She grabbed the front of my jacket and dragged me backward. My boots scraped over the metal floor. I caught the edge of a broken console and stopped us both.

"You knew this place was wired."

"I knew it was abandoned."

"You lied."

"I edited the truth. Keep up."

The light behind us snapped off. Three black drones dropped from the ceiling and opened fire.

Lilith yanked me down. Bullets chewed through the console above my head. Sparks sprayed across my hands. She landed half on top of me, one knee braced beside my ribs, her pistol already raised.

"Can you shoot?" she asked.

"I can do lots of things when people stop sitting on me."

Her eyes narrowed. "Then prove you're useful.