Chapter 29 · Three Kyles in the Archive

"Don't move." Three voices. Same voice. Same face staring at me from three different angles.

I kept my Glock level. Emma stood half a step behind me, her breathing sharp against my shoulder. Lyla froze in the doorway, hand still on the archive door handle.

"Which one of you reset today?" I asked.

The Kyle on the left smiled. "Does it matter?"

"Yeah," I said. "It does. Two of you are echoes. One of you pulled the trigger on Emma's husband."

The middle Kyle tilted his head. "You think you can tell the difference?"

"I will."

"Mark." Emma's voice. Low. Steady. Her hand found my wrist, just above the gun. "The smoke."

I smelled it then. Bitter. Chemical. Coming from the shelves behind the three Kyles.

"Someone lit a match," Lyla said. She hadn't drawn her weapon yet. Smart. Three guns already pointed at us. A fourth wouldn't help.

The Kyle on the right laughed. "Old paper burns fast. You've got maybe two minutes before this whole basement goes up."

"Then talk fast," I said.