The Lie That Nearly Won

Gunfire inside a tunnel does not sound like thunder.

It sounds like the world splitting apart.

Vale fired.

The round struck the wall where my head had been a fraction of a second earlier.

I rolled beneath Briggs' chair, cut through the tape around his right boot, and drove the chair sideways.

Briggs crashed onto the floor at the same instant Ward fired toward Hayes.

Hayes moved as if pain had never existed.

He struck Ward's arm and redirected the shot into the ceiling. Vance drove her shoulder into Vale's ribs. The captain stumbled, but remained upright.

He struck her hard across the face.

I rose behind him.

Damaged ribs.

Bruised leg.

Cheek still blurred with pain.

Still standing.

I looped the medical tape around Vale's gun wrist and pulled with everything I had. His hand jerked upward. Briggs, still attached to the chair, drove his freed boot into Vale's knee.

Vale collapsed with a shout.

Briggs stared at me.

Stunned.

I cut the tape securing his other boot.

"Do not make me regret this."

"I won't."

"Too late. I already regret it."

He almost laughed.

Then pain made him wince.

Across the chamber, Ward and Hayes crashed into the far wall. Ward was quicker than he appeared. Hayes was stronger than he looked.

The fight between them was close and ugly.

Elbows.

Knees.

Breath.

Anger.Colonel Vance recovered Vale's pistol and pointed it toward him.

"Down!"

Vale froze.

For one second, the situation appeared finished.

Then Ward shouted.

"Package live!"

The red indicators on the cameras changed to green.

A speaker cracked to life.

A computerized voice began counting.

"Upload commencing. Ninety seconds."

Ward laughed with blood on his teeth.

"The edited footage is already prepared. Mitchell kills Briggs. Vance hides it. Hayes assists her. Perfect scandal."

Fury drained the color from Vance's face.

"Where is the server?"

Ward smiled.

"Everywhere."

Briggs turned toward me.

"No. Not everywhere."

Everyone looked at him.

He swallowed.

"Captain Vale had me carry equipment yesterday. Told me it was tournament security hardware. I saw a relay unit near the old boiler room."

Vale snarled.

"Shut your mouth."

Briggs looked at him.

Something changed in his face.

It wasn't fear.

It was understanding.

For years, he had built himself into a hammer.

Only now was he realizing what kind of hand had been holding the handle.

"No," Briggs said. "I don't think I will."

Hayes trapped Ward's arm, disarmed him with a violent twist, and drove him onto the floor."Mitchell, go!"

I ran.

Every breath cut through my ribs like shattered glass.

The tunnel blurred past.

Pipes.

Steam.

Concrete.

Red warning signs.

My boots splashed through puddles and sent cold water over my legs.

Someone was running behind me.

Briggs.

"You're injured!" he shouted.

"So are you!"

"I deserve mine!"

"Not useful right now!"

We reached the boiler room with forty seconds remaining.

The relay box was mounted high behind a maze of pipes, its green indicator blinking.

Too high for me to reach quickly.

Briggs looked up at it.

Then looked at me.

"Climb."

I stared at him.

"You're serious?"

"For once."

He braced himself beneath the pipes and locked his hands together.

Thirty seconds.

I stepped onto his grip.

Despite his own injuries, he lifted me high enough to grab the pipe.

I swung upward and drove my knife into the relay housing.

Sparks flew.Twenty seconds.

The casing cracked.

It stayed closed.

I struck it again.

Ten.

The blade broke.

"Avery!" Briggs yelled.

He grabbed a metal wrench from the floor and threw it upward.

I caught it.

Five.

I smashed the relay unit with every bit of anger I had carried through the previous four days.

The green light disappeared.

The countdown froze.

One second.

Silence filled the tunnel.

Then emergency lights flickered on.

Red.

Dim.

Alive.

Briggs slowly lowered his hands.

For the first time, he said my name without ridicule.

"Mitchell."

I looked down at him.

He swallowed.

"I'm sorry."

I studied him from above while breathing through the pain.

"Good."

His expression fell.

Then I added:

"Now prove it."