The side passage opened into what might have been a maintenance chamber when Pompeii was a living city. But today, it was filled with the containment unit and all the required accouterments. The hoses were coiled on the ground. Were they long enough? They only had to be about a hundred feet long. One hundred plus slack, plus height to reach the metal fittings we’d found.
“It’s all here,” Rav said softly. “Will, are you sure the robot dog’s map included this spot? We checked it all yesterday.”
“Now that I’m looking more closely, it appears the dog walked past this chamber, but never went in.”
I unzipped a pouch at my waist and pulled out a Greek Fire field test kit. I ran the first strip along the containment unit’s surface, tossed it into the little pouch, snapped the inner ampule, and shook the bag.
Nothing. Not even a trace response.
I’d never created the chemical myself, but I’d run thousands of virtual tests in Pendragon’s labs. No matter how careful the handling, Greek Fire molecules always transferred.
Always.
But I ran a second test on the manifold, which also produced nothing.
Had I screwed up the test design?
They work, Brooke. Bobcat got a positive off the truck.
So why was there no Greek Fire? It was well after six. The concert started in an hour. Surely Fenix wasn’t bringing the chemical in later?
“Brooke?” Rav touched my arm, snapping me out of my conversation with myself.
“Something’s wrong.” Irritation burned in my chest. Did I have to crack the whole thing open? That was too risky. I moved to examine the connectors more closely. They were big. Only a few inches, but bigger than the connector we’d spotted near the scaffolding on our first recon into the drainage system. “These thread sizes are— Wait. Shit!”
“What?” asked Rav.
“There’s no power!” No generator, no electrical wiring, no way for the tank to actually push anything material into the amphitheater. I unscrewed one of the connections and shone my light onto the O-ring it revealed. It was pristine. I pulled it out to roll between my gloved fingers. “Brand new. Bone dry.”
Every test I’d run with Haddad’s formula had shown the same results—even minimal exposure would leave unmistakable traces. The arsenical compounds were tenacious, clinging to everything they touched. The test kit relied on that conclusion.
But these fittings were factory-perfect.
I ran my fingers along the housing that would’ve contained the initiator circuits. “No etching. No heat marks. No residue.” I slammed another test strip against the metal surface with more force than necessary. “And no fucking power! It’s all fake!”
“Fake?” Rav asked, leaning in next to me to see the test kits before I shoved them into my disposal pouch.
“The whole assembly doesn’t make sense,” I said, anger flaring. “Why put all this here if you’re not going to bring the chemical down here or power it?”
"The crowds are starting to filter in now.” Scarlett’s clipped voice came through the earpiece. “We’re in position backstage. It’s a veritable who’s who of Fenix back here. I’ve seen at least three people with phoenix tattoos on their hands who I don’t recognize, plus Pavel, Leigh’s brother, Slobbery Mouth Maguire?—”
Someone giggled in the background of the call. The Reynolds team chattered constantly, like they couldn’t shut up.
With the sealed mask on, I couldn’t mute them.
I had to focus.
So I ripped my mask off and threw it at the container, resulting in a loud clang. There wasn’t any fucking Greek Fire to worry about anyway.
“Brooke,” said Rav, pulling me to face him.
But I exploded at him. “I told them this would happen! I fucking told Pendragon to destroy the formula! Using it as bait was the stupidest idea they could have come up with! And now, Fenix is using it as bait for us!”
“Drew here,” came a voice through my earpiece. “Sorry to interrupt, but I’ve tested three of the fireworks displays with the field test kits you gave me. All negative.”
“Keep checking,” I said, unable to mask the desperation creeping into my voice. Thousands of lives hung in the balance, and we were chasing shadows.
Rav swept his light across the setup once more. “Why would they put so much effort into fake hardware?”
