"Paralytic. Sedative. Carefully calibrated dose. He'll be paralyzed for a few hours. Might have some muscle weakness when he wakes up. But he'll be fine." I let her see the liquid still in the syringe. "The rest of this?" I tilt it slightly. "This goes in, and his heart stops. Right here. Right now."
"No." She steps back. "Don't—"
"Then don't run." I watch her calculate. "Don't scream. Don't fight. Because if you do," I kneel beside Yuri, pressing the needle against his neck, "I finish what I started."
Fee's hands come up, palms out. Surrender. "Okay. Okay, don't hurt him. Please."
"Fee." Yuri's voice is slurred, barely conscious. "Run. Don't..."
I press harder on the syringe. "Quiet."
Fee's eyes shine with tears. "I'm not running. Just don't kill him. Please."
"Smart girl. Now we're going to walk out of here. You're going to come with me quietly. And Yuri lives."
"Where are you taking me?"
"Somewhere safe. Somewhere your sister won't be harmed. That's what you want, isn't it? Moira and her baby, safe?"
She nods.
"Then cooperate. Come with me now, and nothing happens to your sister. Nothing happens to Yuri. Everyone you love walks away from this."
I see the moment she decides the risk is too great.
"Okay," she whispers. "I'll come with you."
I stand slowly, removing the syringe from Yuri's neck, his body like a rag doll on the floor. I gesture toward the maintenance door. "After you."
She moves slowly, looking back at Yuri. He's trying to speak, trying to move, but his body won't respond.
"Fee," Yuri manages. "Anton... Anton's..."
"I know," she says softly. "I know he's coming."
Then she looks at me.
"Now move," I say.
Then I see it. A tiny flesh-colored device nestled in her ear.
Earpiece. Open channel. Clever bastard. Anton's been listening the entire time.
My eyes meet hers. She realizes I've seen it. Panic flashes across her face.
I reach up, pulling the earpiece from her ear.
Before she can stop me, I fit it into my own ear.
And hear him.
Anton Baev's voice, raw with fury and desperation: "Fee. Fee, answer me. Answer me!"
I lock my arm around Fee's waist as she tries to pull away. "For seven years, I've built toward this moment, Anton. I watched my mother die of grief. Seven years planning your destruction."
"Phoenix." Her voice barely whispers the word, but it lands like a gunshot. "You have a phoenix engraved on it."
She stares at the small bird etched into the metal syringe, wings spread in flight.
