Page 330 of Eight of Swords, Part Two

Only the alarm keeps him company.

Inside the Cove, his greatest fear stares him in the face.

They’re gone.

Jules and Mimi are gone.

Taken.

No signs of a struggle, though. Maybe they’re hiding.

He runs to the nearest Pocket, but it isn’t locked down. Nothing is locked down when it should be.

A masked man comes from the left. Not enough time to raise his gun for a headshot, Lachlan drives him into the wall, strips the rifle and breaks his neck across its stock before dropping him.

He runs to Control.

Kills five more along the way.

Inside, he finds Rook in the corner with a bad hit to the head, but it’s not fatal.

Everything is dark inside.

‘No, no, no.’

Screens are unresponsive.

The system is dead.

Safe-room indicators are dark.

Even Control’s independent hardline has been severed.

Power.

Comms.

Surveillance.

Access control.

Containment.

Every layer is gone.

The failsafes. The backups. The clever tricks.

Pride goeth before destruction.

He almost wants to laugh.

But that way leads to a breakdown, and he cannot afford that.

Lachlan opens the Control armoury with the mechanical override and pulls on the first plate carrier he finds. He takes an automatic rifle and loads up on ammunition.

Rook makes a weak sound behind him. ‘Tanner…’

Lachlan goes to him. ‘Stay down, I’ll come back for you.’