He looks back at the flame-filled stairwell, and then the wall to its left.Fuel cells.
It felt like we went further down, but he’s never wrong. And if the fire reaches the fuel cells in the garage, it doesn’t matter what else the Maker has planned for us.
“Alright. He lured us down here to kill us. He should know we’re here. Is he watching us?”
“He was.” Risk lifts his gun and shoots out five different cameras.
“Good. Now, how do we get out?” I look around the room, waiting for Risk to think it, but he doesn’t. “If he was getting in and out, there has to be another exit. Right?”
Risk shrugs and goes to the wall, searching for the doorway that logically has to be there.
I go to the opposite, but Shock stands at one of the consoles, glaring at the information. “There’s a password lock on this. Any chance you know the code?”
“Zero. Two. One. Four.”
“Arabic numerals?” Shock screws his face up in confusion as he punches them in, and misses when Risk nods.
I check a seam in the wall for drafts, scanning all the shelves and cabinets for hinges where they shouldn’t be.
“I think he expects us to panic and fight until there’s no time left.” Shock tabs through the information.
Risk calls him names in his thoughts. “He studies us for as long as he has and got it that wrong?”
“I mean, I did strangle Shock. Have you forgotten that already?”
Risk looks sharply at the wall that separates us from the fuel cells. “Our time just got shorter. If you haven’t found a detailed floor plan, we need you to help look for the way out.”
Shock points toward the floor in the corner. “Trap door.”
“Why the hell didn’t you tell us before?”
“Just found it.” He does three more things on the screen and looks up at us. “I needed to send that information to Kimba. It’s why we had to come down here.”
“Why didn’t he destroy it?”
“He didn’t think we’d know his daughter-in-law’s birthday.” Risk’s head twists to the side and his eyes narrow. “She’s not his daughter-in-law yet.”
“Fascinating.” I kick at the floor in the corner, looking for a handle. “We can talk about thatafterwe get our mate back.”
Risk goes to a panel of switches on the wall, looking at it for two seconds before he presses one. The floor slides away, right where Shock said the trap door would be.
“One last thing before we go.” Risk walks to the console and slaps the flashing button.
The Maker’s face flashes to life on two dozen screens. “Hello boys.”
I don’t listen to the rest. I don’t care to give him any more time to lie or gloat.
Dropping down into the tunnel with them, I look up at the square of light as Risk closes it again.
We thought the Maker died in that fire… Now we get to return the favor.
“We have three minutes before the cells blow.” Risk flicks on his light and starts down the tunnel. “Let’s make it out before that.”
CHAPTER
TWENTY-FIVE
SHOCK
