Kat kept her face neutral, her chin tilted up, while her mind raced through options. “I was reassigned this week. Interim coverage.”

The guard frowned at her name badge as he approached. “Hughes left earlier. Family emergency.”

The crowd was thinning, most personnel filing out through the double doors, chatter still echoing in the corridor. But a few lingered, throwing less than casual glances in her direction. And Garner remained on the stage, watching like a hawk that never blinked.

Shit.

She risked a glance at Leo.

A second guard slid in behind the first. The first was already two steps too close.

Kat snapped forward, slamming the heel of her hand into the lead guard’s throat. His eyes bulged as his throat collapsed under the precision strike, oxygen cut off in an instant. He crumpled with a wet gagging noise, one hand pressed to his injured throat.

Leo caught the second guard’s wrist mid-draw, wrenched it sideways . He screamed, then fell to his knees as Leo dropped him with a brutal elbow to the chest.

Kat unholstered her weapon.

Garner’s shout cut in like a scalpel. “Security breach—briefing room, level four—” She hit a red alarm panel on the wall, which shrieked instantly.

Leo crouched, yanked the guard’s access badge from his lanyard, and shoved it into her hand. “Move!”

They sprinted for the exit as Garner barked over the intercom. “Shut down exits. Full lockdown!”

The door crashed behind them, and they were running, shoving their way through startled scientists.

Ahead, black clad security barreled toward them.

“Left,” Kat snapped, tracking the layout Eli had provided.

Leo followed, boots pounding. Red lights blinked above doors as they sprinted past.

Locking down .

She rounded a corner hard, nearly losing her footing, her heart in her throat. Her Glock came up instinctively.

Shit. Shit. Shit. Sh ? —

Ahead. Double doors. Secure Disposal. Authorized techs only.

She swiped the stolen badge through the card reader.

Green .

The door hissed open with a pneumatic wheeze. She ducked inside, Leo on her heels.

The door sealed behind them.

Leo smashed the locking interface with the butt of his gun.

Muffled shouts came from the far side, but the door didn’t budge.

The space was cavernous and dim, cluttered with rolling carts, sealed bins, and motorized track systems used to move waste containers. The air stank of chemical cleaner and old metal—sterile, but undercut with rot.

“Kat.” Leo pointed to a hatch at the far end.

Dock Eject

Level-3.

They sprinted, dodging carts and low rails.

Over the chute hatch, a flickering status panel cycled.

Sterile Transit Engaged—00:45 Until Seal Cycle

“Once that hits zero, it locks down and floods with sterilant gas.” Kat grabbed the manual lever and yanked.

Nothing.

Leo shoved in beside her. Braced his feet and threw his weight into it.

The hatch groaned and separated.

Kat grabbed a broom from a nearby rack and wedged it in. The wood creaked but held.

She slid in first, shoulder scraping metal. The walls were slick with God-only knew-what. Her nose burned with the reek of heat-cured plastic and cleaning solvents. Leo followed, grunting behind her.

She scooted forward?—

The chute pitched sharply downward, launching her into a breathless free fall.

Kat hit the bottom hard on something lumpy and squishy. Her jaw throbbed from where she’d clipped it on the way down.

Leo landed next to her with a thud.

She pushed off a knotted refuse bag, gagging. “Jesus?—”

Something rustled beneath her, and an enormous rat screeched, its pink scaly tail lashing.

Fuck.

She scrambled back on her butt, desperately digging backward with her heels, her lungs locked against the rank air.

“You okay?” Leo secured one hand on her wrist, the other braced around her waist.

“I’m fine.” She pulled in a shaky breath, fighting the adrenaline surge.

He scanned the dim chamber. “Let’s get out of here before we discover it’s a trash compactor.”

They waded through knee-deep pink plastic bags and peered over the edge.

Ten feet ahead, there was a loading dock. A small truck was backed up to it, double doors open—half-loaded.

No driver in sight.

Leo vaulted over the refuse ledge first, then turned—his hands strong around her waist, hauling her over and setting her down with care.

His eyes searched hers. “You sure you’re good?”

She nodded. “Go.”

They ran low across the concrete to the truck’s cab. Leo yanked it open. He climbed in and reached under the dash. “Let’s hope they haven’t upgraded.”

Wires sparked.

The engine coughed—then roared to life.

Then—a yell.

A shadow lunged in the wing mirror?—

The driver. Sprinting up from the blind angle by the dock wall, already grabbing the cab rail, hauling himself up.

“Leonid!”

Leo jammed his boot against his door. It burst open, fast?—

The edge caught the driver across the temple. His head snapped sideways with a sickening crunch.

He crumpled with a whimper, falling back onto the concrete.

Leo vaulted down, checked his pulse. “Still breathing.”

She nodded. “Let’s go.”

Back in the seat, he dropped the gearstick.

Crack-crack-crack!

Gunfire.

Gouging the concrete in bursts. The passenger mirror exploded into crystalline shards that rained across her lap.

Kat ducked low. “Go!”

Leo slammed the accelerator. The truck lurched forward, throwing her against the seat as they careened toward the freight gate. Her knuckles whitened against the dashboard.

They hit the gate at speed, bulldozing it open with a metallic scream.

Daylight flooded the cab, buildings merging into a blur as they rocketed down an alley. The wail of sirens echoed between buildings, the sound bouncing closer with each turn.

The stolen security badge was still clutched in her fist.

Evidence.

Proof of the unthinkable.