I shook my head. “Not good enough. They don’t even know it’s here. We have to stop the bomb first. Dying in a thermal explosion is seriously going to mess up my college plans.”
Asher frowned. “Fine, but I need you to get downstairs and stop Danvers while I work on this. Maybe Max and Zella will be able to help you.”
“Let’s hope so.” Because I was running out of ideas, and the woman had a gun. I wiped my palms on my jeans and ignored the pricking of my skin. Asher looked as scared as I felt, his eyes wide and skin pale. “It’s been fun,” I said with a half-smile.
He grabbed my shoulders and shook me slightly. His fingers dug into my skin, but I welcomed the pain. “Stop that,” he said. “We’re going to be fine. Besides, you owe me dinner. I’m not letting you get out of that now.”
I wanted nothing more than to believe him. “Promise?”
He leaned closer until his lips almost brushed mine. “Promise.”
I curled my fingers into his shirt and jerked him to me, crushing myself against him. His arms clutched me hard to his chest, and I poured myself into the kiss. It wasn’t soft or romantic. This was a kiss before war, and we both made the most of it, clinging to each other, knowing it could very well be our last. As much as a goodbye as a promise.
And when we pulled away from each other, I saw the realization in his eyes as well.
We might not make it out of this.
Asher’s hand wasn’t quite steady as he rubbed the back of his neck and turned to stare at the monitors on the wall. “I don’t see any of Danvers’ commandos on the security screens, but I’m not sure where they are. Be careful on your way down.”
I nodded, took one last look at the blinking red numbers.
Thirteen minutes.
And slipped out of the relative safety of the security office.
I felt exposed in the great, empty marble room, like there were eyes watching me from every shadow. But I wasn’t going to stop Danvers by quaking in my boots, no matter how cute they were. It was time to move.
Seven levels doesn’t seem like it would take long, but as I ran down the stairs, I had plenty of time to try to figure out what exactly I was going to do to stop Danvers. Unfortunately, it was also plenty of time to realize I had no freaking idea. I was just going to have to hope Asher got the bomb stopped and the stasis field working before I got there.
I finally stopped in front of the blue number seven painted on the stairwell door and tried to catch my breath. They’d moved the machine to a new lab on this level. That’s where Max and Zella would be. And Danvers, too, along with all of her guards. The sheen of sweat I’d developed from running down seven flights of stairs started to dry in the cool air, and I shivered. How was I ever going to stop them?
I knew one thing — I certainly wasn’t going to do it just standing there.
I eased open the heavy fire door. The hall was empty. I scanned the corridor for another thirty seconds, waiting for any commandos to show up. When it stayed clear, I sprinted toward the back entrance of the lab.
The door was made of the same heavy titanium alloy that all the labs on this level used. Max had said it would keep most explosions contained, but no door would be able to stop QT’s destruction if the security system exploded. I pressed my finger to the scanner and let out a sigh of relief when it turned green.
I slipped inside, ducking behind a stack of boxes that had once held robot skeletons. Now they stood sentinel against the wall. Danvers had decided to use them for the next test instead of humans.
My breathing was loud and ragged in my ears, and I tried to hold it in, get it under control. Inching forward, I risked a glance out into the warehouse and then darted back behind the box.
One look had told me all I needed to know. Max and Zella stood off to one side, holding hands. Two commandos were busy disassembling the ultraviolet catastrophe machine, and Danvers supervised the whole scene.
With her gun.
29
Shit. Shit. Shit.
I crouched behind the boxes and rested my head in my hands.
Danvers was here.
She was taking away the machine.
She had Max and Zella.
None of those things were good. I pulled out my phone. Even worse, in exactly eight minutes this whole place was going to explode, and I had no idea how to stop her.
Think, Kepler, think. All I had to do was buy Asher enough time to switch off the bomb and turn on the stasis field. Hopefully that would take care of Danvers.
I eyed the robots along the wall. They were almost built. If I could just get one working, I could use it as a distraction to get Zella and Max away. I inched toward them, staying behind the boxes. The first one had no legs. There wasn’t time to assemble them. The second had legs but no head. I eyed the bolts in its legs. If I could wire them just so, it would still be able to move. And that’s all I needed.
My fingers fumbled with the unfamiliar wires as I tried to connect them silently.
One of the commandos working on the machine spoke. “That’s all of it, ma’am. Do you want us to take the pieces up to the helicopter?”
“Yes, but leave the photon generator with me,” Danvers said.
I peered around the edge of a box to see her hold her hand out. The commando put a small black box in the palm of her hand. “Probably a good idea. Grant wants it ASAP. What about the Kepler girl?”
Danvers frowned. “Leave her.”
The commando shook his head. “My orders from Grant were that she was to be retrieved at all costs. I’ll go back and knock her out. Get her to the copter.”
Danvers glared. “I’m the commanding officer on this mission, and I say leave her. Get moving, soldier. We’re running out of time.”
He saluted, though he frowned at her. “What do you want us to do with these kids?” He nodded at Max and Zella standing stiff and silent against the wall.
“I’ll take care of them.”
The man saluted again before leading the three other scientists through the far door, carrying the machine and its parts between them.
“You can’t do this,” Zella yelled, lunging at Danvers. Max grabbed her arm to hold her back.
“And who’s going to stop me?” Danvers took a step forward, waving her gun at the pair. “You? I don’t think so.”
I twisted the last set of wires together, then flipped the back panel closed. There was a whirr and a click, and the robot’s legs jerked into motion. I turned it in Danvers direction and patted it on its metal ass.
“Good luck, buddy.”