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“I’ve got you. And if you’re not all right, I’ve still got you.”
“Back atcha.”
Ramon chuckled. “Ten-four, good buddy.”
“Can we just do this?”
“There’s the Kenna we all know and love.”
She rolled her eyes. “How was Wisconsin?”
“No go.”
“What? That’s a shame.”
Ramon sighed. “Can we just do this?”
Kenna figured that was the end of their conversation, so she picked up the pace and headed for the source of the sound while keeping her gun up. Her feet moved the way they’d been trained, almost silent on the floor. Everything loose. Aches and pains forgotten. Nothing in her mind but instinct and the need for justice. It was who she was supposed to have been.
An agent.
An investigator.
“Those kids had better be where Nicola said they were,” she muttered. “Or I’m going to crack some heads together.”
From the phone tucked in her vest, Maizie said, “There are bigger rooms up ahead.”
“Copy that.” She had to ask, “Are we still broadcasting live online?”
“Yes. And in true social media style, I manipulated what everyone was shown next, so it went out to millions. The views just crossed half a billion, and it’s climbing. We also have TV news broadcasts coming in and out as part of their programming.”
“Assuming people believe it’s real.” Kenna figured there were some people watching who didn’t think this was live. Probably more like a fabrication or some kind of simulation.
“No one will be able to ignore this.”
Kenna said, “That’s exactly what I’m afraid of.”
She slowed at the end, knowing Ramon would want to go through the door first. He didn’t even hesitate. Her friend stepped past her and went first, hooking around the door and going left. She did the same, moving right.
Any analyst who knew what they were looking at would see that as a cop move. They’d look into Kenna, and assuming they could see his face in the footage under his hood, they’d find him. They’d learn that she had been at Quantico with Ramon, giving them more to talk about when they discovered the disgraced and then exonerated former FBI agent was here working with her. He deserved to have people see that he was a good man, who worked to save people now.
“Nicola’s group got up two levels so far. They haven’t encountered anyone,” Maizie said. “And the agents are inside, heading toward them.”
“Good.”
Ramon looked around. “What is this place?”
She stared at the huge vats of liquid, bubbling behind Plexiglas. “They’re warm.” She could feel the heat coming off each one. “Eight of them.”
More gunshots, this time from all the way at the far end of the room.
She spotted movement through the glass and liquid. There was someone on the other side of this vat. Above them, a raised metal walkway surrounded the room, suspended from the wall.
“I don’t think I wanna know what’s in these,” Ramon said. “Whatever it is, they’re mass-producing it.”
She tracked the person moving on the other side, watching them try to sneak around behind her. Kenna waited until the last second and swung around, slamming her rifle against the person’s shoulder. She caught the edge of the face as well, and the porcelain mask shattered.
Earnest’s black eyes stared back at her, and he launched toward her, no mercy in his gaze.