Chapter 11 · Rift Protocol - Chapter 11: The Seventh Trigger

"Do it."

I'm standing three feet from him. Gun in his hand. Safety off. I can see the micro-tremor in his trigger finger.

"Kess—"

"Don't say my name like that." I step closer. "Like I'm someone you know. You don't know me. You know the mission."

Dalen doesn't move. His jaw's tight. The barrel's still angled down, pointed at the floor between us. Wrong angle. Wrong everything.

"The first time," I say, "I begged. I didn't know what was happening. I woke up strapped to a chair and you walked in and put two rounds in my chest. Clean. Professional. I reset thirty seconds later."

His knuckles go white around the grip.

"The second time, I fought. Broke your nose. You shot me in the throat. Messy. I drowned before the reset kicked in."

"Stop."

"The third time, I tried to run. You caught me at the stairwell. One shot. Back of the head. I didn't feel that one."

"Kess, I said stop."

"The fourth time, I told you the truth. You didn't believe me. You thought I was stalling. You shot me in the heart. That one hurt."

His hand's shaking now. Not fear.