"No," I say. I reach down to my thigh. I draw the ceramic knife. "You made a victim.Hemade me." I gesture to Alaric.
Charles sees the knife. He laughs. "You're going to stab me? Go ahead. My heart stops, the bomb goes off."
"I'm not going to stab you in the heart," I say.
I grab his hand. The hand holding the cigar. I slam it onto the table. I drive the knife down.THUNK.Right through his palm. Into the wood of the table.
Charles screams. He drops the cigar. He tries to pull away, but he is pinned. "You bitch! You crazy bitch!"
"Pain is information," I whisper, leaning into his face. "It tells you you're still alive."
Alaric steps forward. He puts the gun to Charles's head. "Disarm the bomb," Alaric commands. "Now."
"I can't!" Charles sobs, clutching his impaled hand. "It’s a dead man’s switch! If my pulse drops below 40 or stops... it blows!"
"Then keep your heart rate up," Alaric says. "Elodie, check his pockets. The controller."
I rifle through his pockets. I find a phone. And a small remote device. "Got it."
"Override code," Alaric demands.
"I won't give it to you!" Charles spits. "If I give it to you, you'll kill me!"
"We'll kill you anyway," Alaric says. "The only choice you have is whether it’s quick... or slow. Elodie?"
I look at the knife in his hand. I look at the man who gave me life and then tried to take it back for profit. "Slow," I say. "He likesLargo."
I reach for the knife handle. I twist it. Charles screams again. A high, thin shriek. "Okay! Okay! The code! It’s 0-4-0-4-8-8!"
I pause. April 4th, 1988. My birthday. He used my birthday as the code to the bomb meant to kill me. The final insult.
I punch the code into the remote.Beep.SYSTEM DISARMED.
The tension in the room snaps. Alaric lowers the gun slightly. "It’s done," he says.
Charles is panting, sweat dripping from his nose. He looks at me with pure hatred. "You ungrateful little..."
"We're done here," Alaric says. "Elodie, let's go."
"No," I say.
I don't pull the knife out. I look at Alaric. "He knows about the Safe Houses. He knows about the accounts. He knows everything. If we leave him alive... he will never stop hunting us. He will send the next wave. And the next."
"Elodie," Alaric warns. "He's your father."
"He ceased to be my father when he signed the lobotomy order," I say.
I look at Charles. "You wanted the land," I say. "You wanted the legacy."
"It’s mine!" he wheezes. "It’s my right!"
"It was never yours. It belonged to the music."
I pull the knife out of his hand. He gasps, cradling the wound. "Elodie... please..."
I step back. I look at Alaric. "Do you trust me?"
"With my life," he answers instantly.
