Chapter 24 · she snapped

She raised the gun.

I caught her wrist before she fired.

"What?" she snapped.

"There's a child in the apartment across the lane."

"Then what do you suggest?"

"I go up."

"No."

"You have a better idea?"

"Yes. We keep moving."

"They'll cut us off."

"They want us moving toward the gate."

"You know that because?"

"Because the tracker is still active."

She looked at the disk in my hand.

The red light blinked faster.

Mira's face hardened. "Give it to me."

"Why?"

"Because I can overload it."

"You can destroy it?"

"I can make it look like we're still carrying it."

"And where will the false signal go?"

"The gate."

"So they'll meet us there."

"No. They'll meet the signal there."

"How long?"

"Ninety seconds. Maybe less."

"You can do that with a corporate tracker?"

"I designed half the trackers in the division."

"You built the leash, then."

Her eyes went cold. "And I learned how to cut it."

She held out her hand.

I gave her the disk.

Our fingers touched.

The contact lasted less than a second, but her thumb brushed the side of my knuckle.