Pierce yanked his finger out of the trigger guard and raised the muzzle, but he leveled it again as the Cerberus man dragged Dourado to her feet, holding her between himself and Pierce as a human shield.
“Let her go,” Pierce said. He trained the red dot on the man’s head, or rather the fraction of it that was not hidden behind Dourado’s cobalt hair. Lazarus probably would have taken the shot, but Pierce didn’t want to risk Dourado’s life. The man hunched lower, removing even that slim opportunity, and he began backing toward the stairs. Pierce started forward, but the man slid an arm around her neck, none-too-subtly signaling what would happen if he came any closer. Pierce kept the red dot aimed at a spot just over Dourado’s shoulder, determined to pull the trigger if the man revealed even an inch of himself. At the edge of the scope, he could see Dourado staring back at him, her eyes bulging from the pressure at her throat.
Then, all of sudden, she wasn’t there anymore.
The Cerberus man, now fully exposed, gaped in disbelief as his hostage squirmed away. Pierce fired, wiping the shocked look from the man’s face, along with most of his other distinguishing features. The man toppled backward, disappearing into the stairwell, but Pierce just stood where he was, the gun still pointed at the empty spot where the Cerberus man had been, the red dot aimed at nothing but the smoke drifting up from the end of the suppressor.
“George?”
He engaged the gun’s safety and lowered it before turning to meet Gallo’s wide gaze.
“You…” Her eyes dropped to the dead man on the floor. “You killed them?”
“Uh. Yeah.”
She limped toward him and then threw both arms around him, hugging him tight. “Thank you.”
Relief washed away any emotional turmoil. Gallo was safe. Dourado, too. He returned the embrace, savoring the reunion as long as he dared. “Augustina, where’s Fi?”
“Fi?” Gallo drew back, her expression instantly changing to a look of horror. She pointed at Kenner, who still stood dumbfounded, just a few steps away from the stairwell. “He said they killed her.”
Pierce’s joy turned to sand. He rounded on Kenner, bringing his gun up, fully intending to put a bullet between the man’s eyes. Kenner, sensing what was about to happen, let out a wail of protest and dropped to his knees, hands raised in a show of surrender.
“Don’t kill me,” he shrieked. “Please. I didn’t do anything.”
The pathetic display was just enough to dull the edge of Pierce’s resolve, but it did not prevent him from moving closer and aiming the weapon at the back of Kenner’s head. “Where is she? Where’s Fiona?”
“I don’t know. Tyndareus has her.”
“Where?” Pierce jammed the muzzle hard against Kenner’s neck. There was a hiss as the hot suppressor scorched exposed skin, leaving a ring-shaped brand, and Kenner let out a yelp.
“I don’t…” He broke off, as if realizing that professing ignorance was a poor position from which to negotiate for his life. “Don’t kill me. I’ll help you.”
“Is she still alive?”
Kenner swallowed. “Honestly, I don’t know. Tyndareus is a monster, but he might have kept her alive for leverage against Augustina.”
Pierce swept the muzzle of the weapon across the back of Kenner’s head. Kenner pitched forward, squealing in pain. “You don’t get to say her name,” Pierce growled.
“No! Please. I’m sorry.” Kenner was weeping now. “Don’t kill me.”
Pierce took a breath and counted to ten, then kept counting until the urge to pull the trigger finally abated. “Get up.” He turned his head until he could see Gallo and Dourado in his peripheral vision. “We’re getting out of here.”
He felt Gallo’s hand on his arm. “George. Do you know what this place is?”
Kenner raised his head, adding to Gallo’s words with the desperation of a man trying to be useful. “Herakles was here. He took the map from Queen Hippolyte. He learned the location of the entrance to the Underworld from her.”
“Map?” Pierce asked.
“George, the Amazons were the Sea Peoples,” Gallo said. “They lived right here, in this city. And Queen Hippolyte’s belt had a map of the entire world. That was the key to their power.”
Pierce frowned. “Where’s the map, now? Do you have it?”
Kenner hesitated a moment, but then nodded. “In my satchel.”
Gallo hobbled forward and knelt beside Kenner. She rooted in his bag and then held up the object Kenner had taken from the Labyrinth. Pierce glanced at it, noting the images inscribed upon it.
“We used it to find this place,” Gallo said. “Fiona figured it out.”
“We?” Pierce regretted the implicit accusation as soon as he said it. “It doesn’t matter. We’re leaving.”
“Tyndareus wants to find the source,” Kenner insisted. “He’s desperate to find it. If the girl is still alive, he’ll trade that information for her. I know he will.”