“Kenji is getting Ella onto a plane. I’m going to wait for you just outside this door,” she says. “Do you think you can make it? If you go invisible in front of everyone, they’ll be on to us, and it’d be better if they think you’re just trying to run.”
Again, I nod.
“All right then. I’ll see you out there.”
I wait a second or two, and then I head for the door.
“Hey—” Ibrahim bellows.
I hesitate, turning back slightly, on my heel.
“Yes?”
“Where do you think you’re going?” he says. He pulls a gun from the inside of his jacket and points it at me.
“I have to use the bathroom.”
Ibrahim doesn’t laugh. “You’re going to wait here until Max gets back. And then we decide what we’re going to do with you.”
I tilt my head at him. The gun he’s pointing at me lookssuspiciously like one of the guns I stole from my father earlier.
Not that it matters.
I take a quick breath. “I’m afraid that’s not how this is going to work,” I say, attempting a smile. “Though I’m sure we’ll all be seeing each other soon, so I wouldn’t worry about missing me too much.”
And then, before anyone has a chance to protest, I run for the door, but not before Ibrahim fires his weapon.
Three times.
In close range.
I fight back the urge to cry out as one of the bullets shoots clean through my calf, even as the pain nearly takes my breath away.
Once I’m on the other side of the door, Nazeera pulls her invisibility over me. I don’t make it far before I take a sharp breath, slumping against the wall.
“Shit,” she says. “Did you get shot?”
“Obviously,” I bite out, trying to keep my breathing even.
“Dammit, Warner, what the hell is wrong with you? We have to get back to the plane in the next fifteen minutes, or they’re going to leave without us.”
“What? Why would—”
“Because I told them to. We have to get Ella out of here no matter what. I can’t have them waiting around for us and risk getting killed in the process.”
“Your sympathy is truly heartwarming. Thank you.”
She sighs. “Where did you get shot?”
“In my leg.”
“Can you walk?”
“I should be able to in just a minute.”
I hear her hesitate. “What does that mean?”
“If I manage to live long enough, maybe I’ll tell you.”
