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Chapter Thirty-Six

Quinn

One phone call from Eve to Gabriel is all it takes to get everyone moving. Within minutes, Kendrick and some Gilda soldiers are snapping questions at me. When did I last see Grandad? Did he mention he was going anywhere? Was he behaving oddly?

Kendrick orders a full-scale search of the Compound, every available soldier to take part.

Gabriel arrives, Sebastian on his heels, and we all crowd around Kendrick in Jacob’s lab while his assistant watches nervously. Kendrick pulls out his phone. “I’ll let Jacob know.”

“I already called him, he’s not—”

“Hello? Jacob, I’m afraid I have some bad news.”

He answered. That bastard answered Kendrick after ghosting my calls.

Stop it. That’s not important right now.

“Yes.” Kendrick pulls the phone from his ear and presses a button.

Jacob’s voice fills the silent lab. “Sir, can you and the Gilda hear me?”

“Yes. Some others also.”

“Doesn’t matter. My sister called, and…”

I listen to his story. My stomach churns, and my breath picks up as I start to grasp what’s really happening. Grandad or the hospital. That’s what Jacob has to choose. His sister is safe, but mine isn’t.

Marlowe.

No.

Not again.

He wouldn’t do it, would he? Blow up a hospital full of people?

If he doesn’t, though, he has to kill the person he loves most. Could I do it if things were reversed? Could I kill Marlowe to save Grandad?

I don’t want to answer that question.

Everyone starts talking at once.

“We’re already searching the grounds. We’ll find…”

“...disable the explosive…”

“...override the door lock. It can’t be…”

“It’ll take too long.”

“There’s no time.”

“No time.”

No time. No time to find Grandad, no time to find Kelly, and no time to disable the door locks. It scratches at something in my mind, and Hadrian’s voice comes back to me. I’d been asking him about Candice.

“Why can’t she explore the whole internet?”

“Cybernetic brains move so fast that we can’t comprehend it. Once she's loose, we can’t control her. We have to be absolutely sure she won’t do anything to harm the population. Give Candice five minutes, and she could destroy a city, if she was so inclined.”

Five minutes.

“Candice! Use Candice to stop this. She could do it in time.”

I shout it over the babble of voices, and the room falls quiet. Kendrick turns to me with a frown. “This is serious business. Keep quiet.”

I seethe as he turns away, back into discussions with a Gilda officer. He sees me as a stupid brat. Jacob’s little plaything. And really, I haven’t done much to change that impression. I have to get through to him.

“Kendrick!"

His gaze snaps back to me.

"Please listen!" I rush to get it all out before he shuts me down completely. "Call Hadrian. His CIs operate millions of times faster than a human."

His eyes narrow, but he doesn’t cut me off.

My words tumble out. "Candice can help. I know she can. What other choice do we have? This can work!"

Every second he thinks about it is a knife driven into my skull. This delay is wasting time we don’t have.

“She’s got a point.” It’s Sebastian, and I want to throw my arms around him. “But it’s a risk. End of the world, Skynet-level stuff.”

Maybe I should slap him instead of giving him a hug. "No. Candice doesn't think like that. She'll help." I turn to Kendrick. "Call him. Tell him to release her."

Jacob’s voice issues from Kendrick’s phone, tinny but clear. “Fuck me, that’s a good idea. Please, Kendrick. It’s the only chance we’ve got.”

I hate the desperate sound of his voice. It’s so unlike him. Unlike my strong, confident Jacob. When did I start thinking of him as mine? Maybe the moment he actually called this in, rather than saving his grandad with a sneaky word to his sister and keeping the choice to himself. He could have done it, and none of us would have known.

Kendrick considers for seconds that feel like entire goddamn ice ages, then finally nods. “Okay.”

He dials Hadrian and explains the situation in a clipped, efficient rush. “What do you think? Could your cybernetic intelligence assist?”

Silence. Come on, Hadrian. Don’t be a chickenshit. Get it done.

He draws in a breath, then his voice fills the room. “Yes, she should be able to. But are you sure? Unleashing her…it’s a big step.”

It’s the right thing. Please.

“We’re out of other options. Do it.” Kendrick doesn’t waste time. One tiny good point about him in a sea of crap.

“Yes, sir.” Another agonizing pause. “Candice, do you understand what you need to do?”

I’m the only one in the room who doesn’t flinch when Candice’s Scottish lilt comes through the speakers. “I sure do. Be back soon.”

I look at the tense, pale faces surrounding me. Eve and Gabriel are hand in hand, knuckles white as they clutch each other. Sebastian paces the room, muttering about nuclear launch codes. The Gilda stand at attention, though even they can’t hide their worry. And Kendrick is staring directly at me.

“You’d better be right.”

He says it softly, not as a threat but as a statement of fact. If I’m wrong about Candice, we’re all fucked. Kendrick’s disapproval won’t matter one iota, and he knows it.

“I am. I know it.”

We all jump as the closest monitor flares to life and Candice appears on the screen. “I’ve found her. Sending the location to your phones.”

A chorus of beeps punctuate her announcement. Jacob’s voice comes from someone’s phone speaker, grim as all hell as he says, “That’s five minutes away. I’m on it.”

Five minutes. Still too long.

“Can you stop the explosives?” Kendrick asks Candice. “Jacob won’t reach her in time.”

“Risky. If she gets suspicious, she might blow both bombs. She has video feed of the hospital and of James West.”

James West? Oh. I’d almost forgotten Grandad’s real name. Very dashing. I bet it suited him as a younger man. Then it hits me—this could be the end for him, which would destroy Jacob. This has to fucking work.

Candice’s voice rings out. “I’m sending you James’s location. Don’t approach him until I give the okay.”

“Go.” Kendrick nods to the Gilda soldiers. “Stop when you’re close. I’ll tell you when to move in.”

The four men salute and race from the room. I crane to see Gabriel’s phone. “Where is he?”

“In the forest. It’s going to be close.”

Shit.

Candice speaks again. “I’m looping the video feed of James so she won’t see you. It’s dark and grainy footage.” A long pause. “Done. You’re safe to approach.”

How long has it been? I’ve lost track, though there’s a large digital clock on the wall. Seven minutes? Eight?

It’s taking too goddamn long, I know that.

A quiet beep, just from Kendrick’s device, and he taps something in response. “I’ve given them the go-ahead to engage.”

Jacob’s voice blares again, though this time, the connection is crackly. He’s breathing hard. “She’s calling. Confirm, is Grandad clear?” Nothing. “I said is Grandad fucking clear!”

One second. Two. An unfamiliar voice pants, “He’s clear. Collar is off. Target is clear. I repeat, target is clear. That device can blow.”

I’m not relieved. Not yet. This could still all go to hell.

“Silence on the line,” Jacob snaps, followed by, “Yes.”

I can’t hear what his sister says. Whatever it is, Jacob responds with a very convincing. “Yes, you fucking bitch. Grandad. Blow up Grandad.”

Even knowing he’s safe, it must have cost Jacob to say it. It must have torn out his heart. Another pause, then I cover my hands with my ears as a loud boom rips the air. Like a Fourth of July firework magnified a million times over.

Holy fucking shit.

She did it. The bitch did it.

They said he was clear, but what if they were wrong? That explosion sounded huge. What if they got caught in it after all?

Jacob shouts down the line. “Fuck me. Is he safe? Confirm he’s safe.”

For a long, long time, there’s nothing. Then a crackly voice says, “Confirmed. No casualties.”

It feels like there should be cheers, but there aren’t. Just a collective outrush of breath and the shaky feeling of adrenaline coursing through my veins.

“Good. I’m at her location. I’m going in.”