“The Revenant commander’s orders, I bet,” Dmitri said. “He’ll want to start isolating every floor.”
“Then we move,” Lev said.
“Not yet,” I said, eyes still on the feed.
I watched the screen as one guard charged from the landing; Andrei ducked under his arm, twisted, and slammed the man into the wall hard enough to knock him unconscious. Katya, still beside him, didn’t hesitate. She whipped one of her knives in a clean arc that sliced right through another guard’s quadriceps, dropping him before he fired.
My chest tightened. Watching Katya move like that—fierce, precise, alive—made my heart clench in my chest.
Andrei didn’t say a word to her on the feed, but every time she shifted position, he adjusted to cover her. When he moved forward to clear the next landing, she matched him without hesitation. He trusted her implicitly.
I didn’t know whether to be grateful or jealous.
“Once they reach this level,” I said, tapping the screen, “we meet them here.”
“Revenant will expect us to head for the exits,” Lev said.
“We won’t.” My voice was cold. “We’re going to need to hit something important on the way out.”
Roman cracked his neck. “What about the servers?”
“Good idea,” I confirmed.
The console beeped sharply, three loud tones that echoed off the walls.
“Uh-oh,” I said.
“I hate that word,” Roman muttered.
“They’re overriding my remote control,” I explained. “Someone knows we’re here.”
“Then it’s time for us to go,” Dmitri said.
We ran.
The hallway shook beneath our feet, either from alarms or structural systems shifting into lockdown. Smoke drifted faintly through the air. Somewhere below, someone screamed orders. Gunshots cracked like snapping bone.
The Markovs moved as a single unit behind me, Kara between Dmitri and Roman, Lev taking the rear, all weapons ready. I kept point. Bare feet silent on the concrete, rifle warm in my grip.
We reached the junction that would lead to the stairwell.
I looked at the others. “Ready?”
Roman grinned. “Been ready.”
Kara tightened her grip on her pistol. “Let’s go get them.”
Lev gave a single nod.
Dmitri’s eyes locked on mine. “We move.”
We rounded the corner as one.
The stairwell door at the far end burst open.
Andrei came through first, breathing hard, gun raised, eyes locked angry and intense until they found us.
Shock flickered across his face, quickly replaced by relief, then determination.
