Chapter 6 · The Map That Lies

"You left me in the acid pool."

Ada's voice came from behind, close enough that I felt the heat off her body. I didn't turn. My hand stayed on the wall panel, fingers hovering over the screen that showed a map of the prison—six floors, color-coded, exits marked in green.

"I don't remember that," I said.

"Loop four." She stepped closer. I heard the slide rack on her gun. "You pushed me in and ran for the stairwell. I melted for three minutes before the reset kicked in."

I turned slow. She had the barrel aimed at my chest, steady, professional. Her other hand gripped a folded piece of paper—some kind of schematic, edges burned.

"I've never seen you before today," I said.

"Liar." She took another step. The gun didn't waver. "You don't forget a face in here. You don't forget who killed you."

"Then tell me what I was wearing."

She blinked. The gun dipped half an inch.

"Tell me," I said. "If I pushed you into acid, you saw my face. You saw what I had on. So tell me."

Her jaw tightened. "Gray jumpsuit. Standard issue."

"Wrong." I opened my jacket.