“They weren’t innocent! That woman was going to turn Manny in! That’s why I told him to kill her! To protect him!”
“You told him to kill Jenna?”
A silent beat. “Who?”
My molars grind nearly to dust. “Jenna. The woman Manny killed. Or did you do it and leave him to take the blame?”
Another beat.
I keep moving. Slowly. Cautiously. Trying to judge his distance from me by the sound of his voice.
“He called me in a panic because she saw him giving the shot to the traitor. She was going to turn him in. And she told that stupid bitch about it. So I told him what to do. Kill one of them. And frame the other for it. Then there’d be nothing to connect it to him. It should have worked.”
His voice keeps rising. “It should have worked! Me and Manny would be on to the third traitor by now! But you! You had to get involved! And the plan is fucked!”
Once I get past him, I move forward again. With my left hand out, I reach for the wall. When my hand hits stone, I know I’m in the position I want—to his left, flanking him, only a few feet away.
Close enough to knock him out with a blow to the head.
Close enough to hit him before he knows it’s coming.
Close enough to attack before he gets a shot off.
I just need the right opening.
“You have to be punished,” Mack continues. “It’s the only way. And here… it’s fitting. This is where Manny and I used to come. Not deep in the tunnels, of course. That would be dangerous.Don’t go in the tunnels,Mother used to tell us.It’s too dangerous. People die down there.And look.”
He laughs softly. “Now, peoplewilldie down here. You. And that deaf bitch.” His laugh turns into a malicious cackle. “That was a neat trick, wasn’t it? Hacking into her implants like that. The app on her phone gave me the idea. I hoped the threat would work.”
As much as I want to respond, I keep my mouth shut.
And I inch closer to his voice.
My left fist clenches.
My jaw sets.
“I bet she was scared,” he adds. “Hearing those sounds in her head. I wish I could have seen it.”
Thisfucker.
“Manny couldn’t have done it,” Mack explains. “He’s not good with computers, like me. Too smart for school, Mother used to say. It was better for me to stay home. School is full of government pawns. Indoctrinating the students.”
What?
“I’m tired of this.” Stones shift. “I don’t like it down here. It’s time for you to die. And then her.”
He’s moving.
It’s time.
All my anger coalesces into fiery determination.
He won’t hurt another person.
He won’t put his hands on Bea again.
This ends now.
