His radio was useless, too many people trying to talk at once.He caught fragments of information through the static.
"All units evacuate C-Block!"
"Fire suppression system offline!"
"We've lost power to the main security panel!"
Dawson tried to move toward the exit, but the smoke was too thick now.He couldn't see more than a few feet in any direction.His eyes were streaming and every breath felt like inhaling broken glass.He pulled his shirt up over his nose and mouth, but it barely helped.
Through the smoke, through his tears, he saw a figure moving toward him.Tall, deliberate, wearing something over their face.A gas mask.The figure was wearing a full gas mask.
Dawson reached for his weapon but his hands wouldn't work properly.The smoke had gotten into his lungs, into his blood.He felt dizzy and disconnected, like he was watching himself from a distance.
The masked figure walked past him without a glance and stopped in front of Kane's cell.They produced a keycard from their pocket and swiped it through the electronic lock.The door clicked open.
Kane stood up from his bunk with fluid grace.He hadn't been meditating.Dawson understood that now, understood it with the terrible clarity of someone who'd been played.Kane had been sitting there with his eyes closed and his breathing controlled because he'd known this was coming.He'd been holding his breath, preparing for the moment when the smoke filled his cell.
The masked figure handed Kane a gas mask.Kane put it on without hurry, adjusting the straps with the same calm precision he brought to everything.Then both men turned and started walking back the way the masked figure had come.
Dawson tried to shout but all that came out was a wet cough.He fumbled for his weapon, finally got his hand on the grip, tried to pull it from the holster.But his fingers were numb and weak and the smoke was everywhere, filling his lungs, choking off his air supply.
He saw Kane and the masked figure disappear into the white smoke.Saw the orange glow of flames spreading along the ceiling.Heard the inmates screaming and the alarms blaring and his own heartbeat thundering in his ears.
Then his legs gave out.Dawson hit the floor hard, his cheek pressing against cold concrete.He tried to get up, tried to reach for his radio, tried to do anything at all.But his body wouldn't respond.The smoke had just weakened him far too much.Hell, he could hardly tell what was up and what was down.
The last thing he saw before darkness took him was the empty cell where Gabriel Kane had been sitting.The door stood open and the bunk was vacant.The man who had orchestrated murders across the country, who had built a philosophy of death around the periodic table, who had been safely locked away in maximum security, was gone.
And Dawson had watched it happen.
He tried one more time to move, to call for help, to warn someone that Kane was loose.But the smoke filled his lungs, and his vision went dark and he felt himself sliding away into unconsciousness.
Somewhere in the distance, more explosions.More screams.More chaos as the prison tore itself apart.
Kane was free.
The thought followed Dawson down into the darkness, a final moment of terrible clarity before everything went black.The whole thing had been planned.The electrician who'd come to fix the breaker weeks ago.The careful timing of the explosion.The gas mask waiting at exactly the right moment.Kane hadn't been a prisoner waiting for rescue.He'd been a piece on a chessboard, positioned exactly where he needed to be for this exact scenario.
And Dawson had stood guard over him every single day, never knowing that the game was already over.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Miles and Vic walked through the revolving door of the Marriott on Lexington Avenue at 10:45, both of them exhausted from hours of research and database searches.Claudia Ashford wasn't going anywhere, and they needed to be sharp when they questioned her in the morning.So, getting a bit of sleep made the most sense, even if itdidmake Miles feel like they were sort of quitting.
"Two rooms," Vic was saying to the desk clerk."Preferably on the same floor."
Miles stood slightly behind her, rubbing his eyes.His head ached from staring at computer screens, and his shoulders were tight with tension.They were close to something with Ashford; he could feel it.It all fit together in a way that felt right even if all the pieces hadn’t yet snapped together.
When he heard his phone ring at low volume, he almost wasn’t surprised.The Elementalist cases tended to move fast, and it was becoming common to get late night calls.When he checked the caller ID and saw that it was AD Hayes, he instantly began to assume the worst.Another victim, maybe or, God forbid, another disciple had started their work before they’ve even foundthisone.
Miles answered, trying to sound as calm as possible."This is Sterling."
"Sterling."Hayes's voice was tight, controlled in a way that immediately put Miles on alert."Where are you right now?"
"Manhattan.We're checking into a hotel for the night.We've identified a strong suspect in the platinum killings and we're planning to interview him first thing tomorrow morning."
"Good.Keep that as your priority."Hayes paused and the two seconds that passed were so tense that Miles could feel them pressing into him through the phone."I'm calling because you need to hear this from me before you see it on the news.”
“Okay…what is it?”
