“Well, maybe the processing part is taking longer than he thought.” Cam shrugged, coughingslightly.
“Or maybe Alexei had a gun and it’s taking longer to subdue him than anticipated,” Bas suggested. It only made sense, really. It had seemed impossible to him that, after all he’d put them through, Alexei would go down without afight.
“Maybe,” Cort said, but it was clear he didn’t believe it. “If you’re determined to go, I’ll go with you.” He pushed himself to his feet and grabbed the tuxedo jacket he’d been using as headrest, tossing the folded fabric over hisarm.
They walked out and let Rodi and Prada lead them down the hall, away from thesmoke.
“There’s a back entrance this way,” Prada told them, turning around to walk backwards. “Through the laundry room in the basement. Leads to a parking area where a bunch of other folks were already evacuated. I’ll get you out there, and then come back for your agent friend.” He rolled his eyes. “She’sprickly.”
“She’s dedicated,” Cort corrected. His eyes followed Rodi as he turned right and pushed through a swinging door labeledLaundry.
“Sure, sure,” Prada said, pushing open the door and holding it wide as they all filed through. “Reminds me ofmy—”
But whatever comparison Prada was going to make was cut off in a sickening gurgle as a bullet hole ripped open his throat. His eyes widened in shock for one second before he collapsed to thefloor.
For a second, Sebastian’s entire world seemed to have entered a state of suspended animation as his brain tried to process the jumble of his sensory input.Shot. Dead. Bomb. Smoke. Danger…Drew.
A crazy thought danced across his panicked brain -Is this how mom and dad felt during the crash?And then instinct took over and time sped up as Jack Rodi swung his gun in theirdirection.
“Holy shit!” Drew cried, just before Bas tackled him to the ground, covering him with his own stockierbody.
“Touching,” Jack Rodi mocked as he removed his helmet and tossed it aside with one hand while holding his gun aloft in the other. “Truly, your selflessness is impressive.” He removed the mask from his face and tossed it, too,aside.
The man looked directly at Bas and smiled - the same insane smile Bas had pulled up countless times on the computer in his lair, the one that made SILA lieutenants cower. “You were right, Seaver. Idohave a gun. And I’m going to be very,verydifficult tosubdue.”
Alexei marchedthem all to a storage area at the back of the laundry room, and shut the door behind them with the sharpclangof a lock snapping into place. The room was lined with shelves of various chemicals. A pile of rags lay in one corner, and two large white bins full of linens were pushed to one side. The tiny room had the distinct odor of bleach and fabricsoftener.
There was nothing in here to fight back with, no way to escape, and nowhere to hide. He wrapped his arms around the man he loved, burying his face in Drew’shair.
Alexei had brought them here todie.
“You!” he said, motioning toward Sebastian with the gun. “Against the wall. The rest of you, too. Hands flat against thewall!”
Bas looked at Cort. If anyone here had any idea how to get them out of this, it would be him. But Cort seemed to only have eyes for Cam as they lined up their backs against the coldcinderblock.
“Ah! So perfect. All the faggot lovers stood in a row.” He grinned. “Alexei Ilyich throws the best parties. Just one thing missing!” He stalked to the corner, keeping his eyes and the gun trained on Sebastian the entire time, and kicked at the pile ofrags.
“Batya!” Alexei called. “Wake up! You don’t want to be rude to ourguests!”
As Bas watched in horror, the pile of rags shifted and moaned. “Alyosha?”
“Who else would it be but your one and only son? Look what I broughtyou.”
The pile shifted again, rolling slowly and tentatively, and a face emerged from beneath a bulkyblanket.
Bas sucked in abreath.
The hair that had been snow-white this morning was now caked with dried blood, and the tanned, lined face was covered in bruises. Ilya Stornovich, a force to be reckoned with, had been brought low. His eyes were clouded with pain as he surveyed the men against the wall before finally focusing on hisson.
“What,” he began, pausing to swipe his tongue over swollen lips. “What’s happening here,Alyosha?”
“I am so glad you asked!” Alexei reached down and yanked the blanket away from Ilya entirely, revealing his bloodied, rope-bound hands and what appeared to be a knife wound on his leftflank.
Drew turned his head away, like he couldn’t stand the sight, and Bas moved his hand slightly so he could graze Drew’s thumb with his pinkie finger - the only comfort he couldoffer.
“I brought you a present,” Alexei told his father. “And I’ll have you know, I went through a fuck of a lot of trouble to get it for you. You tell me I’m weak? You say I force my men to do evil deeds in my name?” He reached down and grabbed his father by the hair, making Ilya cry out. “Not this time!No onedid my work for me.Imade the bombs,Iplanted them,Ishot the firefighter, stole his gear, and hauled his carcass to the roof of the Parkside to throw the fucking Feds off my trail. So what do you say now?” he screamed. “What do you saynow?”
“Alyosha,” Ilya cried, shaking his head in confusion. “Where has this come from? I do not even recognize you in this moment. Stop! Stop thismadness!”
